Olive Garden, the Italian cuisine restaurant chain part of Florida-based listed group Darden Restaurants, celebrated the new year by offering its customers a “flight” of sparkling Italian wines that include a prosecco by Zonin, Italy’s largest vine-growing and wine-making family company.
Special offers have become a successful way to reach out to new customers and retain old diners in an industry that needs to offer warm hospitality as much as innovation to keep sales and appetite growing. This is even more appropriate for Italian-themed restaurants like Olive Garden, which reported $3.8 billion in sales in fiscal year 2015, up 4% from 2014, helped by the addition of new restaurants, new gluten-free and lighter fare options, as well “create your own pasta” and take out services.
For the new-year holidays, Olive Garden has offered its US customers a Sparkling Wine Flight promotion with a sample each of Zonin Sparkling Prosecco, Primo Amore Moscato and Rosso Dolce Roscato. A similar initiative with Zonin a couple of years ago helped boost sales. Placed on a placemat, each glass was accompanied by information about the grape, flavors and food pairings.
In fiscal 2016, Darden expects same-restaurant sales to increase 2-2.5% at its seven full-service restaurant brands, with Olive Garden rising 1.5-2.5%.
