In the face of the recession, more businesses are offering incentives to get customers through the door, some of them in the form of mouth-watering temptations known as free samples.

But with some customers grazing around like they were at an all-you-can-eat buffet, how much does giving out free food increase a company’s profits?

“A lot,” said Joe Iavrone, co-owner of Iberon Brothers Quality Foods, a grocery store chain in Nassau, New York where sales of homemade dip are 30% since free samples began being offered 12 months ago.

“I’ve always been a big advocate of [samples] in my store, but we can see more of a difference in the recessions,” Iavrone said. Typically Iavrone offers samples of six to eight different types of food at his stores on Saturdays from 11 AM until 3 PM, including seafood, fresh meat, and bakery items.

Most recently, Iavrone said the company offered samples of pasta sauce, and placed jars of the sauce for sale next to the sample table. On that day, sales of the sauce went from three cases to 10 cases.

But is sampling worth the initial outlay companies must make?

“It’s worth a few packages of brats to get the entire store’s population to try the bratwursts,” said Drew McLellan, CEO of McLellan Marketing Group in Des Moines, Iowa. “Because if they try it, they’re much more likely to buy.”

Though free sampling has been around for centuries, it’s especially helpful during hard times, because people are more afraid of buying the wrong thing, McLellan said.

“People are afraid of making the wrong choice; they’re afraid of spending their money incorrectly. But if I try it and I like it, I am less likely to be wrong,” he said.

In Indianapolis, Indiana at Cater it Simple, owner Debi “Banna” Brim said free samples are the only form of advertising she does. But because Cater it Simple is a special order bakery, there is no foot traffic of customers through the door looking to sample.because of this, Brim goes directly to her prospective customers.

During slow times, she bakes up several dozen cookies and goes around to local businesses to introduce herself, offering them a dozen cookies in a bakery box and a flyer about her business.

And this “cold calling” approach has proven successful. After visiting a local attorney’s office with a box of fresh cookies, Brim was inundated with an order for nearly $300 worth of cake, and the law firm has been a steady customer ever since.

“No one ever turns down free cookies and they remember me as the ‘cookie lady,’” Brim said. “it’s a great way to keep my name and the taste of my product in front of them.”

For businesses not interested in going door to door, there are other ways to get free samples out to the public, like providing samples at stores and charity events.

Lori Karmel at We Take the Cake in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida provides samples to prospective customers in stores like Williams Sonoma and Godiva Chocolatier.

“Samples are the only advertising that I do,” Karmel said.“I’d have to say that 100% of my sales come from free samples.”

Another company, HINT Essence Water based in San Francisco, CA, has found it profitable to provides samples at events including women’s professional soccer games and at locations like college campuses.

“When we give free samples, our sales are two to three times what they are on a particular day,” said Kara Goldin, CEO of HINT.

Though the recession has inspired Goldin to cut back on some marketing expenses like billboard advertising, she said that sampling is one thing that’s here to stay.

“A lot of people taking our drink were at some of these events first, saying, I never would have picked up this beverage had I not tried it,” Goldin said.

But at the end of the day, how do you know if customers are really interested in buying your product or just taking advantage?

For companies looking to ship free samples to prospective retailers, the problem can be solved by charging for shipping costs, said Benjamin Gordon, Managing Partner for Wholesale Italian Foods in South Florida.

“We charge people for shipping them a sample in order to weed out those individuals just seeking a free ride,” said Gordon.

The company was inspired to charge for free samples when sales began declining in February. They noticed that as many as 90% of restaurants would use the free samples yet never purchase a single product.

However, now that shipping is charged, Gordon said 50% of people who receive free samples become customers. Today, 10% to 15% of the company’s current customer base was attracted through free samples.

http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/personal-finance/free-samples-bigger-profits-food-companies-recession/