Gourmet Foods are Everywhere!

The number of companies selling items labeled “gourmet” is increasing rapidly, particularly gourmet food items.

At one time, getting gourmet food meant going to an expensive, upscale restaurant and giving over a week’s worth of pay for your dinner! Now, you can get gourmet foods from your local grocery store and from countless online retailers, and even through several direct sales companies who come into your home to give taste testing parties for you and your friends.

Home taste testing parties are extremely fun and you get to try the foods before you buy, which makes it easier to decide what you want. What exactly is “gourmet” food, and how is it that everything from soup to nuts to brownies have been given the label “gourmet”? The actual definition of the word gourmet isn’t food at all; it’s: a person who is devoted to refined sensuous enjoyment, especially good food and drink.

We typically refer to foods themselves as gourmet now, rather than the people who enjoy these good edibles! “Gourmet” seems to have become the catch-all phrase used to describe foods that taste good, and that are considered to be of higher than average quality. We also might label foods gourmet if they are hard to find.

Does your grocery store offer gourmet-to-go? These are dinners you can take home and serve instantly- that are designed to taste like you made it yourself. Roasted chicken and seafood dinners are commonly offered through the grocery gourmet food section.

Gourmet in this case simply means it’s going to taste good- and the idea is it’s better than your typical fast food stop. Actually, gourmet foods are all around us, and they give us great and simple gift giving opportunities! People often bring food to house warming parties, or to give the host when invited to dinner. Grab a gift basket of gourmet goodies and your host will be extremely appreciative of the gesture.

If you bring dessert items, you may even get to taste them after dinner is served! Packaged gourmet foods, like nuts, snacks and cheese make great gifts for all types of occasions. They typically come pre-packaged in attractive packaging, and many can be found in gift baskets which saves you time since you don’t have to wrap them before giving.

Some foods labeled gourmet are actually boxed mixes that you then add other ingredients to, or cook with, in order to create the finished product. You can find gourmet brownie mixes, sauces and marinades, and even soups.

A popular cooking show on the food network often uses these packaged items to make “almost homemade” meals- but the use of these gourmet packaged goods make it much faster to bring the dinner to the table- giving you more time to enjoy with your family and less time standing in the kitchen.

From coffee to dessert- and everything in between, you can now enjoy gourmet versions of all your favorite foods simply by looking up gourmet foods online or making a quick stop to your local grocery store’s gourmet section.

Gourmet Food Home Party Tips

So how do you go about earning extra income as a gourmet food consultant? Here are some tips to get you started!

The trick is being casual about it, and simply placing your product in the right spot at the right time. Gourmet food items practically sell themselves! Here are some great party plan tips that will be sure to boost both your direct sales and your overall customer base.

1. Sign up as a helper for all parties at your church and other local community events. Take a sampling of prepared food products and you are sure to get a lot of attention. You can usually take a few orders on the spot!

2. Volunteer for all festivities at your kids’ school and use the opportunities to showcase a few great items. School staff are always having little parties for each other, and you can probably get a steady trickle of orders. Once they know you are a home party consultant, you might be able to recruit a few!

3. Offer to “cater” parties, using your products. People will always ask who catered, and you will have made one big sale plus gotten the chance to meet more potential customers. You might be able to make a nice sideline out of combining direct sales and catering!

4. Use a few items to stock a booth for a school fundraiser or church charity event, and sell sample “tasters” for a dollar each. The proceeds can go to the charity, and you will probably pick up a few new clients! Often you can take enough orders on the spot to make up the cost of the donated items, and future orders will be forthcoming.

5. If you know a party of some type is being planned, offer to bring some of the food. You can easily wow the guests with one or two gourmet selections, and when they exclaim over them you can discretely make the sale. If you stock a few of your most popular items, you can often send guests home with an impulse buy!

6. There are many different ways you can combine your direct sales pitch with another party plan. If you help throw a baby shower for an expecting friend, you can utilize your home party consultant status to help both of you! Simply bring a sampling of products to use as refreshments, and announce you will be splitting all profits from sales made with the lucky mother to be as a special gift.

Using these and other party plan techniques can grow your business on the side in addition to giving you more opportunities to host larger direct sales parties for others. You will also be able to recruit some of these people to become home party consultants. All you have to do is be on the lookout at all times to make extra sales and contacts to help you build your home business!

Rayven Perkins is a 7 year direct sales representative. Her site http://direct-sales-supplies.com/store-home/tastefully-simple-supplies offers game ideas, tips, and hard to find consultant supplies for all distributors in the party plan industry.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rayven_Perkins

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