Seasonality has become an increasingly important factor in encouraging customers to try limited-time offers. But getting consistent seasonal fruits and vegetables distributed in sufficient quantities to every restaurant in a chain can be challenging. A great alternative to produce is celebrating flavors or dishes that evoke the season. The Melting Pot tapped into the seasonal trend with its Dip into Summer promotion, a fondue take on warm-weather favorites.
The promotion included the Summer Seafood Catch entrée with Old Bay Boil. The Melting Pot celebrated the classic seafood boil with Pacific white shrimp, scallops, lobster and shrimp ravioli, andouille sausage and crab claws, along with corn on the cob, red bliss potatoes and mustard crème fraîche dipping sauce.
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The Melting Pot also celebrated barbecue with its BBQ Brisket Cheddar Cheese Fondue. For the brisket special, the chain shredded the smoked meat into melted medium-sharp Cheddar and Emmenthaler Swiss cheese, and gave the dish more seasonal cues by topping it with tomatoes and scallions.
The Melting Pot even celebrated the summertime banana split with a Banana Split Milk Chocolate Fondue.
“We wanted to find a way to bring back happy memories associated with summertime while tying in our fondue style in a different way,” said Mike Lester, president of parent The Melting Pot Restaurants Inc.
One reason for the promotion’s success was a creative approach to its marketing, Lester said.
“Typically, when promoting our limited-time offers, we print graphics that show our dishes, but not as much capturing the essence and feeling instilled by our limited-time offers,” he said.
“Our marketing creative content instilled memories of crab boils and summertime happiness.”
Contact Bret Thorn at [email protected]
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