Carnival is an excellent opportunity to attract more customers and increase sales at your restaurant or bar. With a long holiday and plenty of festivities, traffic increases and establishments that are well-prepared to welcome the public have everything to gain.
According to projections released by the Brazilian Bar and Restaurant Association (Abrasel), the sector should invoice up to 15% more than in 2023. O aumento deve ser maior nas grandes cidades, como Salvador (BA), Belo Horizonte (MG), Recife (PE), Rio de Janeiro (RJ) e São Paulo (SP).
So, take advantage! If you want to increase your revenue this Carnival, check out our tips below.
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How to prepare your restaurant for Carnival
Carnival is Brazil's biggest party: Samba School parades, electric trios, street blocks, and many shows enliven the holiday. The schedule is intense and the festivities also involve plenty of food and drink.
As traffic is more intense and demand is high, especially in large cities, it is essential to be well-prepared to welcome the public and provide a good experience.
For this, some essential points are:
- Get into the spirit and create carnival decoration, with vibrant colors, lots of shine and glitter.
- Adjust the space to accommodate a larger volume of people, move the tables apart to facilitate circulation, improve signage for restrooms, bar, POS stations, etc.
- Determine what the Hours of operation of your restaurant during Carnival. Announce in advance on social media and also at the establishment's entrance.
- Hire extra staff for your team. Busque freelancers com antecedência e deixe combinado para garantir que terá pessoal suficiente.
- Plan a special menu for Carnival, with themed dishes and drinks. Consider including items that are easier to produce and serve – this way you simplify and speed up the process. Create combos to make it easier for customers to decide and fulfill orders faster.
- Think about your audience profile and set up a schedule andsspecial entertainment with attractions such as live music, karaoke, or a fancy costume carnival ball.
- Plan promotions and partnerships to increase sales. Later we will give you some ideas you can adopt.
- Check your inventory to ensure you have all the necessary supplies to meet demand. Also review all the logistics and, if necessary, make adjustments to avoid problems during Carnival.
- Treine sua equipe to provide efficient service even while receiving a much larger crowd than usual.
- Pay attention to safety, such as adequate ventilation, maximum capacity, and fire extinguishers. Also consider hiring a security team for the Carnival days.
Attention to detail is what makes the difference. Having everything prepared and thinking of solutions for possible unforeseen events is the secret to offering the best for your customers and having an unforgettable Carnival.
With everything ready, all that's left is to call your audience and devise strategies to sell more and increase your revenue. Check out our tips below!
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Carnival for restaurants: 7 tips to earn more revenue
to increase revenue during Carnival it's not enough to open the doors and wait for customers to arrive. You need to create good promotions, make partnerships, advertise, and, above all, have an agile operation. To check out our tips, keep reading!
1 – Extended Hours
The festivities start early and go late. For this reason, extend your operating hours to serve people looking for food options before and after carnival events.
2 – Delivery and Take Away
Some people prefer to stay away from the parties and avoid crowds. Offering options like delivery and take-away with special promotions is a way to serve this profile and expand your audience.
3 – Partnerships with Street Blocks
If your city has carnival street parades, why not set up partnerships? Host a “warm-up” or an “after” party for the parade with special discounts for revelers. Create joint campaigns to draw the crowd in, such as costume contests or raffles.
4 – Loyalty Program
A strategy to get customers to return more often is to create a loyalty card special for carnival, offering discounts to those who have already consumed at your establishment on other days.
5 – Reservations for Large Groups
Create a special promotion for large groups that make reservations in advance: a free portion or drink for each person, for example. This way, you attract many more people to your restaurant and increase sales.
6 – Carnival Combos
Create special combos with themed names that are a differentiator during the Carnival period. You can combine popular menu items with more profitable ones. Another idea is to offer drink or portion combos for larger groups.
7 – Sell Convenience
Many times, revelers are just looking for a quick meal. Having sandwiches, burgers, pizza slices, mini portions ready to go are some ideas to serve orders quickly and sell a lot!
Extra tip: increase your operation's efficiency
The secret to increasing revenue is having operational efficiency. On busy dates like Carnival, serving customers with speed is crucial not only to provide a good experience, but also to take advantage of the increase in demand.
After all, the faster orders come out, the more people you can serve.
That's why having a platform like EPOC is essential. With a agile and easy-to-use POS, orders are entered in seconds and sent directly to production.
Furthermore, our solution is versatile and can be adapted according to your operation, so that service is provided in the most effective and intelligent way. EPOC POS works for table service, individual tabs, or counter, and you can use all these modes simultaneously.
That is: the POS adapts to your needs and you have the flexibility to organize your operation in the best way.
And if you want even more efficiency, you can also count on other solutions like the EPOC GO, a digital QR Code menu that works directly on your customer's smartphone without needing to install apps. With it, customers can order and pay without waiting for service.
Want to have these solutions in your restaurant and increase revenue? Schedule a conversation right now with our consultants to learn more about EPOC.
