Safe Food Sampling During COVID - EcoTaster Customer Spotlight: Savannah Bee Company
At Savannah Bee Company, honeybees are a passion and in-store specialty honey sampling is key to their brand. While the COVID-19 pandemic halted sampling programs across the US in the early spring, it’s back on the menu for Southern retailers like Savannah Bee.
Sampling is an important part of the customer experience at specialty honey retailers. In-store sampling allows specialty food makers to talk to customers about their products, ingredients, and get intimate with the brand.
In 2011 Savannah Bee made the switch to 100% compostable plastic-free EcoTaster sampling spoons and they’ve never looked back. The taste-free EcoTasters are as silky smooth as the honey itself, and so is a perfect textural complement. We spoke with Lauren Plourde at Savannah Bee Company in Savannah to hear about how they are sampling safely in their retail stores across the South.
Q: Sampling is a big part of Savannah Bee’s retail experience. What are you currently doing to sample safely in your retail stores?
A: In our guided honey tastings, we have shifted towards serving each guest individually. Not having guests pump the honey themselves is not only safer, but it allows each guest an even more special and personalized experience with our educators.
Q: Besides serving up your honey on EcoTasters, what specific changes have you implemented in your retail shops to make sampling safer during COVID?
A: Local guidelines vary by location, but in addition to the shift in the guided honey tastings we have implemented the recommended safety measures to protect guests and educators; added plexiglass barriers, social distancing guidelines, reduced capacity, masks, gloves, and extra sanitization stations. Our main goal is to make the safest environment we can, while still providing the warm and inviting experience that makes Savannah Bee special.
Q: Pre-COVID pandemic, approximately how many EcoTasters do you go through each day/month?
A: It feels like a ton. Roughly 75,000 a month. They are definitely a key tool in our sampling experience.
Q: We see you recently opened a new retail store in Sedona, Arizona. We can’t wait to visit!
A: We did! We love our Sedona space, the view of the Red Rocks can’t be beat. We’ve also recently opened a location in Greenville, South Carolina. The community there has been so welcoming, and the team is really excited to be a part of it.
Safe and Hygienic Sampling with EcoTensil
Hygienic dispensing is imperative when offering a sampling program at your retail outlet, road show, farmers’ market, etc. Ask us about how EcoTensil can help your food business with safe food sampling during this COVID transition time.
Having servers routinely reaching into a big bag or box of loose wooden or plastic spoons is not safe food service protocol, even with gloves on. Sustainable EcoTensil cutlery is uniquely packaged for safe and hygienic sampling.
The EcoTaster and iScoop sampling spoons come neatly packed in tidy rows for clean and easy dispensing, such that the server touches just the handle end of each utensil individually. The reclosable trays keep the remaining spoons perfectly clean between usages.
Our durable plexiglass dispensers allow for servers or customers to touch just one utensil at a time, while keeping the rest clean. They’re ideal for dispensing EcoTasters, iScoops or EcoSpoons in a safe and secure manner.
The new EcoTensil SafeServe is like a mini sneeze guard for touchless hygienic sampling.
It’s made from clear plexiglass so the sample shows beautifully. The bottom tray easily slides out for server to place a fresh sample or two or three, handle facing customer. The server slides the tray under the SafeServe and the customer can pick the sample up by the EcoTaster’s handle from their side of the SafeServe. The server can pull the try back out and quickly and easily wipe and reload.
Portable mini sneeze guard for stunning and safe food sampling:
• Return to food demos safely
• Small, fits on tabletop
• Shows off your sample beautifully under crystal clear acrylic
• Tray slides out for easy loading with samples
• Slides back out for quick wipe down and reloading
• gives your customer confidence that your sample is safe from exposure to COVID-19
• Available in single or multi sample sizes.
