By Claire Reilly
With hands-on cooking classes, a new-look product display stand and a new-format Celebrity Theatre that brings Australia’s top chefs out into the open, Fisher & Paykel is going strong at the Good Food & Wine Show this year.
The second run of the show kicks off in Sydney today — the show has previously toured Melbourne and is set to hit Perth and Brisbane in July and November respectively — and despite the pouring rain, consumers were out in force to get their fill of tasty samples of Australia’s best food, and to get up close with the latest products.
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According to general manager marketing at Fisher & Paykel, Peter Russell, the displays that the brand developed for this year’s tour of shows was designed to offer an appliance “experience” rather than just a traditional line-up of products.
“This is all about concept selling,” said Russell. “What we’re trying to elicit here are lightbulb moments — ‘Ah! I didn’t know you could do that’. So we aimed to create that experience, rather than lining up products like lots of tin soldiers standing there. You can see that in a retailer. Don’t recreate retail — this stand should complement retail.”
As F&P tries to push its brand messaging into the more premium end to take on higher-end competitors, Russell said the brand was moving to drive up ASPs and bring strength to the appliance industry. And as a show that targets foodies, a presence at the Good Food & Wine Show is the perfect way to sell its premium messaging he said.
“That’s what all this is about. We’re selling brand experiences, we’re not getting into that chatter about spin speeds or kilograms or litres. Premium brands don’t do that. Premium brands sell concepts, like this stand, and they solve problems.”
Outside F&P's demo kitchen stand at the Sydney Good Food & Wine Show. According to Russell, the brand has tried to take ownership of a single, short word that stands for universal enjoyment… 'Yum'.
The brand is using its stand to offer paying customers a chance to do a hands-on cooking class with professional demonstration.
Budding chefs get to try out F&P's appliances while making a Mexican dish.
F&P demonstrates the difference between a traditional all-in-one refrigerator and integrated refrigeration options that can be spread through the kitchen.
Inside Fisher & Paykel's stand, which shows products in different environments to show solutions for both large and small kitchens.
New point of sale: F&P will use this "retail plinth" to show up its new oven with a cheeky tagline. The new 60-centimetre pyrolytic oven features sleek fixtures, and a dedicated Vent Cooking mode that uses automated vents inside the oven to control moisture levels while cooking.