--- title: "From Proactive to Profit: 5 Steps to Prep for a Feast of Holiday Sales" description: Discover 5 strategic steps for food and beverage brands to build early anticipation, engage consumers, and maximize holiday sales before the seasonal rush. image: https://tenaciousplate.thefoodgroup.com/hubfs/HOLIDAY-PLANNING-FEATURED.jpg --- [![](https://www.thefoodgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/thefoodgroup.svg)](https://www.thefoodgroup.com) - [Who We Are](https://www.thefoodgroup.com/who-we-are/) - [What We Do](https://www.thefoodgroup.com/what-we-do/) - [Our Insights](https://www.thefoodgroup.com/our-insights/) - [Our Work](https://www.thefoodgroup.com/our-work/) - [Contact Us](https://www.thefoodgroup.com/contact-us/) [Tenacious Plate](https://tenaciousplate.thefoodgroup.com/) # From Proactive to Profit: 5 Steps to Prep for a Feast of Holiday Sales ![1. Recognize the Runway Is Getting Fa-La-La-Longer](https://tenaciousplate.thefoodgroup.com/hs-fs/hubfs/HOLIDAY-PLANNING-FEATURED.jpg?width=600&height=400&name=HOLIDAY-PLANNING-FEATURED.jpg) The holiday season no longer begins when the decorations go up; it kicks off when consumers begin searching, scrolling, sharing and planning for the moments they want to create. The smarter approach is to treat the holiday menu not as a one-time launch but as a monthslong marketing moment that moves consumers from inspiration to anticipation to action. This 5-step prep is a must for getting the most out of the season. ## 1. Recognize the Runway Is Getting Fa-La-La-Longer Holiday planning is happening earlier, and consumers are increasingly intentional about how they spend their time and money. According to Reddit research, 31% of people said they start holiday shopping earlier in the year to get better prices. And when it comes to holiday celebrations, 40% of U.S. social media users said they plan a holiday gathering or party.1   This planning mindset extends beyond gift-giving. Reddit reports that 77% of people researching food and beverage for holiday gatherings had already begun shopping by mid-November.2 In other words, the decision-making window for holiday food and beverage brands can begin well before the traditional December rush. That gives marketers a longer runway to build awareness, introduce seasonal products and establish a reason to return when the menu officially arrives. ## 2. Make the Menu Feed a Content Engine A holiday menu shouldn’t be limited to a menu board or ordering page; it should be fuel for a content engine. Limited-time drinks, desserts, seasonal bundles, entertaining solutions and giftable products naturally lend themselves to video, social posts, creator content and online conversations. A new peppermint beverage can become a behind-the-scenes preparation video. A holiday dessert can become a recipe or customization challenge. A catering bundle can inspire content around how to host a gathering with less work. The goal is to give consumers something to talk about before they’re ready to purchase. Online communities can be especially valuable because consumers are looking for ideas, recommendations and reassurance. In fact, nearly two-thirds of consumers said a product recommended by a Reddit community feels more credible than one recommended by an influencer.2 For today’s food and beverage brands, that means creating seasonal content that invites participation, answers questions and gives people something worth sharing. ## 3. Win Discovery Before the Purchase Moment The path to a holiday purchase is increasingly fragmented. Consumers move among search, social, video, maps, reviews, retailer sites and now AI-powered experiences as they explore options. As a result, today’s consumer journey is a hopscotch of searching, streaming, scrolling and shopping, and consumers make online purchases involving multiple touchpoints.4 AI is adding another layer to discovery. Google reports that AI Overviews had reached more than 1.5 billion monthly users across 200 countries and territories as of 2025, while Search is becoming increasingly exploratory rather than simply a way to find a specific website.4 “For food and beverage brands, seasonal visibility can’t depend exclusively on paid social or a homepage takeover,” said Megan Keleshian, vice president of digital marketing at The Food Group. “Consumers are planning earlier and searching throughout the entire journey, often before brands are ready to launch their seasonal campaigns. That means holiday planning needs to be part of an overall content strategy, not just a few weeks of promotional activity.” Brands should be building a library of useful, structured and discoverable content and assets throughout the year, so they have something valuable to surface when consumers start querying Google and AI platforms as they prepare for the season. And video matters. A holiday menu shouldn’t just be something consumers read about; it should be something they can see being made, customized, shared and enjoyed. Sixty-five percent of consumers say recipe/cooking videos are among their preferred types of food-brand content.5   ## 4. Make Seasonal Intent Easy to Act On Once consumers discover a seasonal offering, friction can quickly turn interest into abandonment. Every piece of holiday marketing should make the next step obvious. That means providing accurate menu information, availability dates, prices, locations, hours, ordering options and links to purchase or reserve. For restaurants and foodservice brands, local information is particularly important: Consumers need to know not only what is available, but where and when they can get it. The same principle applies to AI-powered discovery. If a brand wants its seasonal products to appear in emerging recommendation experiences, information about those products needs to be clear and consistent across its digital ecosystem. ## 5. Build a Holiday Plan, Not Just a Holiday Launch The strongest holiday programs can be thought of as a rolling calendar. Tease early and build curiosity by introducing the flavors, products, packaging or experiences before the full menu arrives. When you launch, give consumers a clear reason to try the offering, whether it’s a limited-time flavor, an exclusive holiday bundle, a new twist on an old favorite or a shareable experience, and make it visually distinctive. Use creators, social content, communities, video, search and timely promotions to amplify your reach and keep the menu culturally and digitally present. Step up to the plate now, because by the time consumers are ready to buy, the most important part of the holiday journey may already be over. “Holiday marketing is no longer about flipping the switch when the calendar hits December,” said Keleshian. “The brands that plan ahead can build anticipation, earn attention and become part of the conversation before consumers are ready to make their holiday decisions.” Ready to get a jump on holiday sales? Hungry for the right marketing mix to grow your business for the holidays and throughout the new year? Contact us now. --- 1 Peres, Fernanda, Holiday 2025: The Year of Intention, Reddit, May 9, 2025 2 Reddit, Holiday Shoppers Lean on Peers for Reassurance Before Checkout, January 2026 3 Gelinas, Samantha, The Clock Is Ticking: 3 Urgent Actions to Capture Ready-to-Buy Holiday Shoppers, Google, November 2025 4 Clemares, Fuencisla, Your Marketing Questions, Answered by Google Experts, Google, June 2025 5 Makvana, Ashish K. and Prajapati, Himanee R., Effectiveness of Social Media Marketing for Food and Dairy Brands, International Journal of Agriculture and Food Science, September 10, 2025 Topics: [Marketing & Communications](https://tenaciousplate.thefoodgroup.com/topic/marketing-communications), [Food & Beverage Marketing](https://tenaciousplate.thefoodgroup.com/topic/food-beverage-marketing), [Seasonal Strategy](https://tenaciousplate.thefoodgroup.com/topic/seasonal-strategy), [Consumer Insights](https://tenaciousplate.thefoodgroup.com/topic/consumer-insights) ### subscribe The Front Burner is a bi-monthly newsletter addressing the latest in food and beverage trends. 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