Foodandwine
What Swifties Are Eating and Drinking at the Final Stops of Taylor Swift’s ‘Eras’ Tour
E.Garcia2 hr ago
The edible strawberry straw in the Taylor Swift-themed Go Viral mocktail served at the final three stops on Swift's United States leg of her record-breaking Eras Tour adds a touch of surprise for hundreds of thousands of Swifties. What's not a surprise, though, is the sheer volume of fans descending upon some of the final concerts in Swift's world tour. From the 200,000 fans in Miami across three nights to the 225,000 over three nights in New Orleans and more than 200,00 for the three nights in Indianapolis — not even counting the six stops in Toronto and roughly 180,000 fans for the final three nights in Vancouver in December — serving Swifties inside NFL-sized stadiums is no small feat. "It's like serving 12 Super Bowls over eight weeks," says Carmen Callo, Sodexo Live! senior vice president of culinary. But each Taylor Swift-styled Super Bowl comes with a concert-centric twist: plenty of beverages. Specialty mocktails and cocktails — plus soft drinks — abound Concerts skew more toward beverages than sporting events, largely because there's less movement from the fans once things get underway. "Swifties stay true to this trend," says Sam Stewart, Sodexo Live! beverage director. That's why Sodexo Live!, which operated concessions at the final three U.S. stops — along with the final international stop in Vancouver from December 6–8 — not only themed a range of menu items to attract Swift fans, but also designed a specialty mocktail for the tour stops. Adding to what the company dubbed its "Fearless Flavor" menu for the concerts, the Go Viral mocktail and Love Spiral cocktail play to the crowds. The Go Viral features club soda with bursts of citrus and strawberry, served with an edible strawberry straw in a plastic mason jar, disco ball, or carafe. The Love Spiral is an adult-friendly version with vodka, blue curaçao, lime sour, and strawberry-infused syrup. "We wanted to create something that was both bright in color and flavor, and something that would appeal to fans of all ages, since this is offered as both a cocktail and mocktail," Stewart says. "We thought the edible straw was also a unique add that you might not expect to see at a stadium." The company used research from its analytics team to see what would resonate most with fans. "It really came down to taste testing a few iterations and working with our procurement team to ensure adequate supply," Stewart says. Adequate supply is key, with the Eras Tour fans estimated to have purchased roughly 68,000 mocktails and cocktails across the three nights in the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. At Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, the team estimated roughly 30,000 were sold — with another estimated 30,000 in Indianapolis across the November 1–3 concerts. The beverage experience continues with the simple soft drink, with anywhere from 24,000 to 33,000 sold each weekend, based on estimates. A truly "Fearless Flavors" menu On the food side, pizza slices and nachos are the big sellers across locations, but never count out chicken tenders, which Stewart says goes well with a mocktail. Sodexo Live! estimates over 32,000 pizza slices were sold in Indianapolis, along with more than 10,000 nachos. Both those numbers are higher than the numbers in Miami or New Orleans for the same items. In Miami, chicken tenders were king, with 24,000 orders sold. Miami also had a fascination with the soft pretzel, with more than 13,000 of those purchased across three nights at Hard Rock Stadium. Estimates had New Orleans with an even mix of pizza, hot dogs, and nachos.
Read the full article:https://www.foodandwine.com/taylor-swift-eras-tour-food-and-drink-8735120
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