Beyond the shelf: why hosting events is a key strategy for building customer loyalty and trust

As consumers increasingly seek connection, experience and authenticity alongside the products they buy, events are becoming an invaluable part of the independent retailer toolkit. From tastings and producer meet-and-greets to seasonal festivals and community gatherings, events offer retailers the opportunity to bring their products and values to life, create memorable moments and build stronger relationships with customers.

Whether driving footfall, encouraging discovery or turning first-time visitors into loyal regulars, retailers across the speciality food and drink are finding that bringing shelves to life can deliver long-lasting benefits.

Building brand trust

In the age of online shopping and faceless retail, customers are increasingly keen to understand provenance and the stories behind products, and events allow retailers to translate their products into meaningful experiences. Beyond simply selling products, events can build memories around the brand and connections with those selling the products.

“People are craving connection and experience more than ever, particularly within food and drink,” explains Jessica Summer, founder of luxury cheese and wine business, Mouse & Grape. “Artisan producers and independent retailers have such rich stories behind what they do, and events allow those stories to come to life in a way that simply can’t happen on a shelf or online. It can be difficult to communicate the beauty and craftsmanship behind products through retail alone, whereas events give customers the chance to taste, learn and connect more personally. Events also help build community, strengthen customer loyalty and attract new audiences. We often find people come to Mouse & Grape for an event having never visited before – whether drawn in by the theme or gifted tickets – and many go on to become regular customers.”

Amy Elles of Stocks Kitchen says, “Hosting events has probably been one of the biggest shifts for us already. We’re finding people are really craving experiences around food again, particularly cookbook events, tastings, suppers and demos – things that feel intimate, relaxed and slightly behind-the-scenes. There’s a real appetite for connection and storytelling around food at the moment, not just consumption.”

“Being able to spend time with our customers outside of our normal hours and offer them an experience that you can’t get locally is fantastic,” agrees Josh Patrick and James Channon of The Cellar Door in Wivenhoe, Essex.

“It allows us to get to know them better and to receive immediate feedback on wines that they might not normally choose, so the next time we get a shipment of new wines I can have a mental list of specific customers who I know will love a certain wine.”

For Sally Bendall, managing director of Suffolk’s Hollow Trees Farm, events enable her to engage differently with customers compared to a normal shopping visit, resulting in both repeat and new footfall.

“Customers get to see more of ‘us’ and more of what Hollow Trees Farm is all about during our events, plus they get to spend more time with our team and other suppliers.”

In practice

From product-led tastings to seasonal and family events, there’s scope for retailers to engage in a wide variety of events. “At Mouse & Grape, we run a mix of tasting-led events including wine and cheese pairings, producer collaborations and themed seasonal evenings, alongside more informal community events like ‘bring your own baby’ mornings and our local run club.”

“We try to host a public event once a month, where we’ll choose a specific theme such as our Pink Rosé Club and guide our guests through six different wines on that theme,” says Patrick and Channon. “The other tastings we do are private events where we work with the organiser to create a theme or style of wine they want. We try to make events as fun as possible; we wander around with the wines and offer them to each group individually, and give a quick explanation of why we chose that specific producer, region and style, and why we like it. We feel this style of informal wine tasting makes it more of an experience for our guests, and allows them to enjoy an evening chatting to friends and trying some fantastic wines.”

“We host a range of events all year round, from birthday parties on a weekly basis to seasonal school holiday events at Halloween, Easter and Christmas,” adds Bendall. “In the café we also have ‘knit and natter’ and a ‘book club’ alternating each Thursday. We also run a year-round education programme that sees school groups visiting each day from March until October, and a large Food and Farming careers event in June. Our Halloween seasonal event and the Food and Farming Careers events see the largest footfall.”

Commercial benefits

From increasing dwell time and return custom to creating conversion through sampling, events hold meaningful monetary prospects for indies.

“The first event we did was just a one-off showcase to get people to try wines that we thought would be good for Christmas Day, but within a day we had a queue of people asking for more events and waiting lists for the next event, so we couldn’t really turn them down and started arranging more,” say Patrick and Channon.

As well as increasing dwell – and potential purchase – time, events can also encourage return custom, says Bendall. “We actively give customers more to see and do during all the events so they have more ‘touch points’ to hear about what we can offer all year round, and a reason to return at another time.”

Pros and cons

But it’s important to note that hosting events does also come with its own challenges, from staff demands to logistical considerations and of course, a need to keep customers happy. “Parking can be challenging on wet days as our overflow car parks are on grass,” shares Bendall.

“Having a varied visitor range like we do, keeping regular customers happy when we are running events – especially the events that are aimed at children / families that they don’t want to be part of – is key; they tend to like their regular, quieter shop.”

Ultimately, it comes down to enjoying the occasion, and making sure you don’t push yourself too far when hosting your first event, says Patrick and Channon. “Our first piece of advice is to start small. If hosting events is not what you’re used to, it can be hard to get it right from the offset. The first few events we did were with smaller groups and at a slightly lower price. This gave us a bit of breathing room to get things right and improve as we move forward.

“Our second piece of advice is to try and have fun with it. Yes, you absolutely have to be knowledgeable and professional, but if your guests can see that you’re enjoying hosting them it puts everyone at ease – the most important part of running an event is making sure that your guests are comfortable and are having a fantastic experience.”

“My main advice would be to start small and focus on creating a welcoming, authentic experience rather than overcomplicating things,” Jessica says. “Focus on what you specialise in. It takes time to build momentum and attendance can be hit and miss, which is completely normal. Try different ideas, learn what works for your audience and repeat what resonates. Clear communication is key, as customers want to know exactly what they’re getting, and atmosphere matters just as much as the products themselves. Collaborating with producers can make events far more engaging, but it’s also important to understand your costs and make sure events are commercially sustainable, and not just good for marketing.”