Store-made Hoagies Become a Community’s Preferred Fundraising Tool

About

Doug Sprankle
Sprankle’s Fresh Market IGA
LDC: Merchant Distributors, Inc. 

Strategy

Three years ago, we started working with local non-profits to help them raise needed funds. We are known for our hoagies in town, and since we’re able to procure our supplies at a much lower rate than any hoagie shop it made sense that these non-profits could resell our hoagies and keep the profits to go towards their fundraiser. Once a non-profit has collected their orders, our team gets to work assembling hoagies and delivers them to a predetermined destination for distribution. To date, we’ve increased our hoagie sales by 40 percent and better still we’ve watched our community grow and prosper at the same time.

40%
Increase in hoagie sales

Why It Works

For Our Shoppers

Value
Our fundraising customers can purchase our hoagies at a much lower rate than any other hoagie shop out there. By working with the store, they stand to raise a lot more money.

Quality Product
Everything is made in-house. We bake the buns and slice the meat the morning of our hoagie delivery, so they feel good selling our hoagies to friends and family.

Convenience
Because we intentionally staff up our deli team, we are able to take on the brunt of the work for customers. Aside from collecting pre-orders, we will make, package, and deliver the hoagies.

For Our Store

Connects us with our shoppers
Being an independent grocer in a community with a number of big box competitors, we have to focus on the things we can do really well that will make us stand out. And one of those areas is getting to know our shoppers and providing them with a great experience every time they walk into our store. We feel honored to help our community, and by hosting these fundraisers we’re able to get to know our shoppers better while helping them grow.

Lets us staff up our deli
Having a part-time deli team has made all the difference during our busy seasons. Instead of having to bring in unexperienced, unfamiliar temps, we have trusted employees who know us, and our customers and are excited to help.

Drives sales
There is such a need in our community for fundraising and we are able to support numerous organizations this way. Being as our hoagies are a single-use item, we often have repeat fundraisers and it seems they are raising more and more each time.

Tactics

Make sure you have enough staff and the right equipment
Part-time hoagie makers are all you’ll need to ensure the day-of hoagie making goes smoothly. Having more staff also means you’ll have experienced folks on hand during busy seasons and holidays—a win-win. We can use all existing equipment to bake the buns and slice the meat, but we did have to purchase a company car that we branded as our hoagie car so we can make quick and easy deliveries to the city.

Ask your non-profits to handle pre-booking
We bring a tray of hoagies over to our fundraising customer so they can try them out personally. Then we ask that they pre-book every hoagie. Requesting all hoagies to be pre-ordered ensures you bring in enough product and can properly time your hoagie prep day and delivery.

Host your hoagie assembly day
Depending on the order size, making the hoagies can take the better part of the day, but with a dedicated team your deli does not need to be affected.

Brand your final product
Be sure to have a label on your box or wrapper so folks know where the hoagies came from. It can be a great recruitment tool for future fundraisers and lets the community know you care.

Pro Tip

We started out with banana boxes but the holes meant contaminants could get in. Try buying boxes in bulk and just make the exact amount you need each time.