Restaurants, increase sales during the Big Game with these Super Bowl food trends, stats, promotion ideas and more

Super Bowl Sunday is just around the corner, with ~100 million worldwide gathering to watch and indulge. The reach of the Super Bowl event is massive, and your potential customers are already planning on opening their pockets and loosening their belts to celebrate kickoff. Did you know that 52% of surveyors even say running out of alcohol & food is the ultimate Super Bowl sin? Second only to Thanksgiving as America’s largest eating day of the year, the Super Bowl is known worldwide as a day to kick back and eat. Most ordered Super Bowl food? Pizza and Wings: 1.3 billion chicken wings, to be exact – laid flat, that's enough wings to circle the earth three times! While this may sound ultra Stars and Stripes, it’s not. The Super Bowl reaches a global audience of 210 local TV markets worldwide. In the following blog, we’ll discuss global viewership stats, mind-blowing Super Bowl eating trends, and how you can increase your sales through promotions surrounding this year’s Big Game. 

Fast facts: what to know for the 2022 Super Bowl:

When is Super Bowl Sunday?

Sunday, February 13, 2022.

Where is the Super Bowl? 

SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, CA.

Where can I watch the Super Bowl?

The Super Bowl is available globally on television and streaming.

• USA: 6.30pm ET / 3.30pm PT (5.30pm CT) 
• United Kingdom: Available at 11.30 p.m on BBC One. 
• Australia: Available on Channel 7 at 10:30 a.m.
• Canada: Bell media’s CTV, TSN, AND RDS 
• Mexico: Available at 7:30 pm on TV Azteca and Televisa.
• Brasil: 8:30 p.m.
• Perú: 6:30 p.m.
• Ecuador: 6:30 p.m.
• Paraguay: 8:30 p.m. 
• India: 5 am IST (Monday)
• Japan: 8.30 am JST (Monday)
• New Zealand: 12.30 pm NZDT (Monday)
• South Korea: 8.30 am KST (Monday)
  

Now that we got the logistics out of the way, let’s dive into some fascinating stats about foreign football fans!

Global Viewership Stats:

• When Statista examined the global audience for Super Bowl LIV two years ago, it found that 30 to 50 million people outside of America streamed the event
• Italian football fans are increasing global views, with the number of Italian viewers projected to grow 30% year-over-year. 
• The Spanish language network, Fox Deportes, averaged 757,000 viewers. Spain contributes around a quarter of a million people to the hype, with 225,000 sports fans signing up to stay up late to watch the game last year.
• Last year’s Super Bowl set a Canadian viewing record with an average audience of over 9.5 million viewers. 
• In 2020, the Super Bowl had an average TV audience of roughly 1.9 million viewers on German TV networks. 

Now that we’ve reviewed FAQ & global viewership, let’s move on to the fun part.

Super Bowl food, what people eat and drink on game day

Super Full: Pizza, wings & a side of calories 

• On average, Americans will consume 6,000 calories during the Super Bowl, more than double the recommended daily amount 
• According to Hungry Fan, Americans spend over $387 million on snacks, $130 million on pizza, and over $2 billion on chicken wings on Super Bowl Sunday
• Americans are projected to spend $14.6 billion on food & drinks for the upcoming Super Bowl, or $78.92 per person

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Pig(skins) and Rib-bingbacks 

• 20 million hands will get sticky eating 10 million pounds of ribs 
• While the quarterback tires his shoulder out slinging the pigskin, we’ll eat the equivalent of 22,700 pigs in bacon - we can’t all be good at everything, am I right?

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Super Sips

• 325.5 million gallons of beer will be consumed on Super Bowl Sunday
• $2.37 million will be spent on soda
• 62% of people that plan to host a party will be serving soda to their guests, but they’ll keep beer on hand for those who want to get a bit more fired up for the fanfare 

When it comes to Super Bowl food, we’re serious about the chips & guac

• 11.2 million pounds of potato chips will be smashed on Super Bowl Sunday
• In 2020, close to 127 thousand metric tons of avocado were exported from Michoacán, Mexico, to the United States to fulfill the rising demand for Super Bowl guacamole
• Avocado prices hit a record high as Super Bowl Sunday approaches
• 8.2 million pounds of tortilla chips will be eaten

Feeling hungry? Us too. But before grabbing snacks, let’s talk about how your restaurant can use some of these Super Bowl food trends to make some money during the Big Game.

The Super Bowl’s super crowded digital landscape 

We now know that your potential customers are getting ready to eat a lot on Super Bowl Sunday, which presents every opportunity for your restaurant to make a lot on Super Bowl Sunday. However, the digital landscape is jam packed during the Big Game, and companies big and small are bumping up their ad spend during the event: making it harder for your restaurant to stand out amongst the noise. It’s a valid concern – your customers (both football and non-football fans) will be bombarded with all kinds of promotions, commercials, and sponsorships on Super Bowl Sunday. In fact, 85% of game viewers said they're interested in the ads that air during the big game, and 69% are likely to discuss those ads via their smartphone. The good news is that you don’t have to sponsor the half-time show or buy an expensive television ad to rack up orders. Keep reading to hear our biggest tips for running Super Bowl food promotions:

How to run promotions for Super Bowl Sunday:

1. Audit your menu for the best Super Bowl food: Knowing that your customers are not going to be watching what they eat while they watch the Big Game, audit your menu for the ultimate comfort foods. Maybe you have terrific chips & guac that you can sell in bulk, a 1 for 2 pizza deal, or a referral program to solicit friends of customers to choose your restaurant for their Super Bowl Food. Since many people will be gathering with friends and family, consider adding a catering option or bulk-discounts on wings, pizza or whatever other calorie-packed item your restaurant offers. Bonus: consider adding the portion size & how many people each order feeds to make your customers’ lives easier. 
2. Score a touchdown with social media: Taking advantage of social media is a powerful and underrated tool for sharing your Super Bowl specials to gain free, organic traction. First, ensure your menu’s photographs are updated and consistent. Second, make sure your followers are aware of your Super Bowl deals ahead of the weekend. Third, play into timely conversations happening online — whether that’s engaging in a Twitter thread about Super Bowl foods or creating a poll based on what’s trending. You might even also consider hosting a social media giveaway by gifting a free meal or gift card to customers who enter (rules: tag the restaurant & repost). That said, we know you have enough on your plate already, so to get started, click here to download free social media templates for your restaurant. 
3. ‍Spread the word through QR Code Magic: Consider appealing to your restaurant locals by creating a flyer with a QR code that links to your menu/ Super Bowl food promotion. Hang the flyer up around busy areas and pass them around to pedestrians ahead of the weekend.
4. ‍Take advantage of third-party app promotions: Including promotions on third-party apps is an excellent incentive for more customers to order from your restaurant. Running promotions on food delivery apps can help boost your chances of showing up on the front page of each app. And in 2021, when 80% of delivery orders happen from the home page of an app like Uber Eats, finding ways to boost your ranking in the algorithm could have a significant impact on your sales. If running promotions on your own sounds a little overwhelming or time-consuming, let the team at Otter take that off your plate with our marketing automation solution, Boost. Learn how you can increase sales through Boost’s automated promotions without lifting a finger here. 

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Beyond game day, are you ready to tackle the delivery game alongside Otter?

The team at Otter hopes these Super Bowl food stats & suggestions help you prep for the second biggest eating day in America. If you’re interested in having a partner in all things delivery, please fill out the form below to sign up for Otter for FREE.

Fast facts about Otter:

• Otter integrates all online orders onto a single tablet that can link right into your POS—no more manual entry, no more mess.
• With Otter's user-friendly delivery management solution, say goodbye to multiple tablets, manual entry, and order issues.
• Update delivery app menus, track sales, address order issues, and more right from your dashboard.
• Manage online promotions from one dashboard—or automate them altogether.
• Otter scales with you, whether you manage 5 or 500 locations.