An irresistible deal can motivate a diner to place an order, and pairing that deal with a food holiday can boost your ROI. In fact, 80% of companies that monitor the ROI of their loyalty programs and promotions see on average 4.9% more venue than their expenses. Adding February national food holiday promotions to your marketing strategy empowers your business to design creative promotions that no diner can refuse.

What are national food holidays?

National food holidays are micro-holidays that celebrate a specific cuisine. Each food holiday is dedicated to a particular dish or ingredient, ranging from classic staples like National Pizza Day (Feb 9) to more unique options like National Greasy Foods Day (Oct 25). These occasions provide a unique opportunity for restaurants to showcase their dishes by crafting a holiday menu and running an ingredient-specific promotion. 

National food holidays also offer an avenue for restaurants to connect with their customers on a personal level, tapping into the shared joy and nostalgia associated with specific dishes. By actively participating in these celebrations, restaurants can not only boost orders and revenue, but also strengthen their brand identity, creating memorable experiences that resonate with diners and encourage repeat visits.

No matter how you celebrate, embracing national food holidays is a great way to spice up your marketing strategy. Browse our national food holiday calendar to determine what food celebrations fit your menu and plan promotions that resonate with your diners.

4 Promotion ideas for February food holidays

February is full of irresistible national food holidays celebrating everything from fettuccine (Feb 7) to strawberries (Feb 27). This month has a day dedicated to celebrating pizza, one of Grubhub’s top ordered items. Establishing a marketing strategy around national food holidays starts with selecting what cuisine you want to celebrate. Then, you can build out a promotion plan that will inspire customers to order.

1. Throw a pizza party

In-person events are a great way to generate buzz around your restaurant. Throw a pizza party on National Pizza Day (Feb 9) to encourage diners to celebrate the holiday with your business. If you run a discount like a free slice of pizza or 15% off pies you’re bound to get orders from diners searching for a good deal. Elevate your restaurant’s ambiance with celebratory decorations and place some local advertisements around your community to spread the word.

Extend the party to at-home orders by offering a discount on delivery and takeout orders. Make sure to check your staffing prior to throwing an event so that your business can handle the increase in patronage.

2. Run a social media contest

Social media is the best platform to connect directly with diners and prospective customers. Running a contest around a food holiday is a great way to encourage engagement with your account. Whether you are looking to boost orders on muffins (Feb 20) or margaritas (Feb 22), running a contest where diners must interact with your account to enter will boost visibility.

Select a February national food holiday that you think your diners will love. Then, create a social media calendar for the month outlining when you will announce the contest. Be transparent by clearly establishing the rules of entry and selecting a winner at random. Don’t forget to award a foodie-related prize to your contest winners.

Test out one of these contest ideas:

• Award a coupon for 50% off an order to three diners that post a photo of your fro-yo on their story on National Frozen Yogurt Day (Feb 6).
• Celebrate Valentine’s Day by giving a free dinner for two to one lucky winner that tags who they want to share the meal with on your social media posts.
• Post food-related trivia facts on your Instagram story and give a $25 gift card to the first diner who answers correctly.
• Encourage in-person diners to enter a raffle for free edamame for a year on National Edamame Day (Feb 28).

3. Offer takeout and delivery deals

February can be a slow month for in-person dining, but a great time to ramp up your off-premise dining strategy. Let diners know that your restaurant offers takeout and delivery by running a promotion on these kinds of orders. Try offering free delivery for breakfast orders on National Pancake Day (Feb 13) to see if that boosts sales. Or give free delivery for anyone who orders margaritas to-go on National Margarita Day (Feb 22). Make sure your restaurant is set up for alcohol delivery before the big day.

Grubhub can help your business grow and streamline delivery operations. Tap into Grubhub’s delivery fleet to start delivering to your community or to expand your already existing services. Listing your restaurant on Grubhub Marketplace will get your restaurant in front of thousands of diners looking to order their next meal, and using Grubhub’s tools to run a food holiday promotion can help boost orders.

4. Sponsor a food giveaway

Nothing motivates diners more than free food, and offering a free menu item can actually increase your sales. In fact, running a giveaway can increase your marketing conversion rate to about 34%, greater than any other type of content.

The reason why giveaways work is straightforward: customers who may not frequent your business are drawn to your restaurant because of the freebie, and they often end up spending a little extra to complete their meal. Diners will appreciate this customer appreciation tool, boosting brand recognition and loyalty. 

Running a giveaway on a national food holiday will encourage more diners to place an order. If you give away a free side of tater tots on National Tater Tot Day (Feb 2), you’ll likely get orders for main dishes to complete the meal. Be sure to prepare your inventory to accommodate the rise in demand.

Announce promotions with food holiday templates

Ready to spread the word about your food holiday promotions? Tap into Grubhub’s free social media templates to let customers online know you’re celebrating. Give details of the food promotion in the caption, and add a link to your online ordering site in your bio to boost conversion.

The best part about these templates is you can customize them to match your brand. Put your own food photography center stage while encouraging diners to place an order. 82% of people would order food just because of how it looks in a photo, regardless of whether they wanted it or not. Getting your dishes in diners’ social feeds can have a direct impact on order volume. Post your templates with #GrubhubPartner for a chance to be featured on our Instagram, Grubhub for Restaurants.

February national food holidays

February is National Potato Lovers Month, National Hot Breakfast Night, and National Snack Food Month.

• Feb 2: National Tater Tot Day
• Feb 3: National Carrot Cake Day
• Feb 6: National Frozen Yogurt Day
• Feb 7: National Fettuccine Alfredo Day
• Feb 9: National Pizza Day
• Feb 13: National Pancake Day
• Feb 14: Valentine’s Day
• Feb 19: National Chocolate Mint Day
• Feb 20: National Muffin Day
• Feb 22: National Margarita Day
• Feb 24: National Tortilla Chip Day
• Feb 26: National Pistachio Day
• Feb 27: National Strawberry Day
• Feb 28: National Edamame Day