Offering food samples at supermarkets prompts shoppers to spend more money compared to when gratis bite-size morsels are not available, according to a study conducted by Kenny Herbst, a marketing professor at Wake Forest University. Determining the effect of food sampling on sales and store loyalty were among the top issues studied. Although the Wake Forest study focused exclusively on sampling at supermarkets, the results may be applicable to food producers who direct-market to consumers at farmers’ markets or other venues.

10
Percent increase in time customers surveyed spent in stores where they are offered food samples.

28
Average percent sales increase for a product during the three weeks following a food demonstration at a supermarket (compared to the three weeks prior). Research suggests that sales lifts continue up to five months following a food sampling event.

34
Percentage increase in spending by supermarket shoppers offered food samples.

86
Percent of shoppers surveyed who said they like to shop in a store where they can try foods before buying.

90
Percent of all new products introduced in the marketplace that ultimately fail.

When Eric Heinbockel, Nick LaCava and Fabian Kaempfer were studying political science and economics at Columbia University only a few years ago, they never envisioned their careers might turn, well, sweet. But late last year, seeing firsthand that jobs were hard to come by, the recent graduates decided the traditional job market didn’t hold much promise.

After much thinking and a chocolate meltdown (literally) in the trunk of LaCava’s car, the three found their answer: they would produce high-end customized chocolate bars. Yet, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory their relatively new company, Chocomize.com, is not.

The company is based on a model of mass customization that is highly popular in Europe, but not well established in the United States. But, Heinbockel, LaCava and Kaempfer are determined to boost the trend and eventually become the leaders of U.S. mass customization. Oompa-Loompas beware.

While currently working with other mass customization companies that offer various products, the Chocomize guys themselves are sticking with chocolate for now. “Everyone likes chocolate,” said Heinbockel. “Plus, it’s recession-proof and affordable.” Chocomize bars average $6.

Chocomize uses only the best ingredients, including high-end chocolate imported from Belgium. When creating their own bars, consumers have a choice of either milk, dark or white chocolate. Next, they get to pick as many or as little ingredients as they like from a list of more than 90 items, including nuts, spices, candies and decorations. If they want to be really non-conformist, customers can also add ingredients like beef jerky, potato chips, parsley and edamame.

In all, according to Heinbockel, there’s about 15 billion chocolate bar possibilities. “There’s really something for everybody,” he said.

Customer interaction is also a really important part of what the company is doing. The site includes a blog where customers get to nominate food items to be added to the list of growing ingredients. “Aside from ordering, we want the entire experience to be interactive,” said Heinbockel.

With a small budget that one would expect with a start-up, the company heavily relies on social media and Google to build its customer base. And it’s paying off. The Academy Awards contacted them to include chocolate bars at one of its parties and business is growing by leaps and bounds.

“It’s been a lot of hard work to get the exposure so far,” said Heinbockel. “But we are fortunate that people really seem to take to the concept.”

And that just may be the Golden Ticket.

National grilling month is celebrated in July and during “grilling season,” which generally runs from May through September, bratwurst is served virtually everywhere in Wisconsin. Bratwurst is a German compound word—“brat” means fry, “wurst” means sausage.

Bratwursts are served at a huge number of outdoor events, as well as in nearly every Wisconsin backyard. The key to cooking them is to use high-quality brats and the right technique. Don’t ever boil bratwurst. Instead, you need to simmer the brats in beer or water, usually with chopped onions added. Simmering means bringing the liquid to the temperature at which steam rises from the surface, but not so hot that it bubbles. Boiling will cause the casings to burst.

“Children in Wisconsin grow up thinking that brats are as common as hamburgers and hot dogs,” said casey Langan, director of public relations for the Wisconsin Farm Bureau and a native of Edgerton, Wis. “During our grilling season, no cookout is complete without brats. Brats are consumed in large quantities from opening day at Miller Park in Milwaukee, through the end of the football season at the ‘frozen tundra’ of Green Bay. For many Wisconsinites, all is good in the world when they have a brat in one hand and a beer in the other.”

Bratwurst can be pan fried, and you may see recipes that call for it, but at a Wisconsin “brat fry,” the bratwurst are cooked on a grate over charcoal, usually on a kettle grill. Bratwurst is a fresh sausage that must be cooked thoroughly before eating. You may see pre-cooked bratwurst for sale—they do not look, feel or taste like fresh bratwurst.
Brats are served on a bun and dressed with condiments.

Typical condiments include any combination of chopped onion, sauerkraut, ketchup and mustard. In Sheboygan, brats are typically dressed with “da works”—ketchup, mustard, chopped onion and pickles. Purists frown on sauerkraut as a topping. “While ketchup, onions and sauerkraut are all consumed on brats, I take mine with mustard only, either yellow or brown. Although some say yellow mustard on a brat is an abomination,” said Langan.

Typical sides include German potato salad or American potato salad and baked beans.

Eating brats is meant to be a relaxed social activity and part of the celebration of an all-too-short summer in Wisconsin. Brats are nearly always washed down with cold beer, which Wisconsin residents call “bratwash.”