Everyday, the bakery department of the SuperFresh supermarket at 10th and South Street in Philadelphia does a steady business selling filled-to-order, regular and chocolate-enrobed cannoli. But on most weekends, staffers pack up their demo table and pastry bags to take their “Cannoli Road Show” to other SuperFresh stores in the area.
Balloons and Italian music create a party atmosphere around the table, which is set up in the store's bakery department. Members of the traveling team pipe the company's exclusive cannoli cream into crisp shells for three days of sampling and sales. Tasting portions of other products, such as pies, are offered as well, but the cannoli are the main attraction.
In addition to allowing customers to taste for themselves that SuperFresh is more than just a name, the Road Show goes beyond the usual product sampling. Jim Saufl, director of bakery/deli for SuperFresh parent company A&P, notes that during one Road Show event, cannoli sales soared as high as $800 a day.
