St. Patrick's Day

At Your Olive Oil Store

Paint their world green! Many observers of this classic Irish Holiday can easily get into the spirit by being offered items that are considered "lucky" or even unusually colored green! While many bars see their sales increase during this holiday simply because people love the novelty of being able to purchase green colored beer, the same concept can easily come into play at your own Olive Oil Store!

Take Notes from History

Originally, the colour associated with Saint Patrick was blue. Over the years the colour green and its association with Saint Patrick's day grew. Green ribbons and shamrocks were worn in celebration of St Patrick's Day as early as the 17th century. He is said to have used the shamrock, a three-leaved plant, to explain the Holy Trinity to the pagan Irish, and the wearing and display of shamrocks and shamrock-inspired designs have become a ubiquitous feature of the day. In the 1798 rebellion, in hopes of making a political statement, Irish soldiers wore full green uniforms on 17 March in hopes of catching public attention.The phrase "the wearing of the green", meaning to wear a shamrock on one's clothing, derives from a song of the same name.

What is going on during this Holiday?

Depending on your location, St. Patrick's Day can take many different forms. For instance, in Buffalo, NY, they actually hold two great St. Patrick's Day parades! While in New Orleans they celebrate not only with parades, but by concocting a traditional Irish stew that consists of Onions, Carrots, Potatoes, and other ingredients.

Our Top 5 St. Patrick's Day Ideas for your Olive Oil Store:

1. Offer up a special product - perhaps a green loaf of bread that they can use to taste your olive oils and vinegars with for the day!

2. Show your spirit! Shamrocks and Green galore!

3. Make someone Lucky! - Hold a "Lucky St. Patrick's Day raffle" to make one of your customers the lucky winner of a bottle of their choice of oil or vinegar, or perhaps a gift certificate!

4. Hold an event! A special St. Patrick's Day tasting event, or even a special Irish-themed cooking demonstration. Green pastries and baked-goods will also do the trick!

5. Give 'Em Gold! People love to see others getting into certain holidays, and as a town's staple Olive Oil business, people will be looking to you to get them into the spirit of whichever holiday that it happens to be. Hand out small chocolates in gold tin foil with every purchase during the days leading up to St Patrick's Day. (you can buy these at most stores). People will appreciate the thought, and others will find it nice that you remembered!