Are you pleased with your food hygiene rating? If so, the likelihood is that your customers will be too. But if you’re not displaying your rating, you’re not giving them a reason to make an informed decision whether to buy from you. If you need some help with achieving a 5, check out our handy Food Hygiene Rating Scheme guide.

Often traders say that, being in a mobile unit, they don’t really have anywhere to display their food hygiene rating. Well folks, it’s time to dispel that idea. Reality is, there’s lots of ways you can display your rating, and doing so is only more likely to get you higher levels of custom.

We’ve come up with six ways you can display your rating but if you’ve got any of your own ideas, we really want to hear them. Feel free to tweet them to @NCASS_UK or send an email to [email protected].

1. On a small, portable board.

Some traders have used a small free-standing chalkboard to display their hygiene rating on the counter. Because it’s portable it never has to get in the way of your cooking and serving processes – you can just move it whenever you need. And the rating sticker itself doesn’t need to take up all the space on the slate; you’d have room to use the rest of the chalkboard to write messages too.

The only disadvantage we can see with using a small, portable board to display your sticker is that punters might not be able to see your rating from a distance. But if you’re able to put it somewhere up high, you might just be able to overcome that little niggle. And still, it’s great to reassure customers that they’re buying from a hygienic caterer while they wait at the counter.

2. On the wall of your unit.

Sure, this is tricky if you trade from a gazebo. But if your trading unit has walls, use them! Giving customers another reason to trust you while they watch you prepare food in front of their eyes will make them look forward to tucking into their meal just that bit more. It’ll also make them more likely to come back to your stall in future.

Again, the disadvantage with displaying your rating sticker like this is that it might not be too obvious to anyone further than a few feet away. Want a different solution? Try number 3…

3. In the window of your trailer or van.

Putting your sticker somewhere that’s visible from anywhere other than right in front of your trading unit could do the trick. Some members we know have stuck their rating sticker inside the side or back window of their vans.

Even if you can’t tell what the rating level is from a distance, the green and black NCASS sticker is eye-catching and now pretty well-known among your customers.

If someone notices you’re displaying your rating, they’re more likely to come and find out exactly how hygienic your local authority deems you to be. And if they’ve come for a closer look, they’re in the perfect position for you to reel them in for a taste of your delights.

4. On your menu board.

Often, punters at an event will take a look at traders’ menus before making a decision about who to go for. Of course, your delightful dishes are probably enough to make them buy from you anyway. But what’s the harm in giving them another reason to plump for your trailer rather than your competitors?

Attach your hygiene rating to the top of your menu board so that it’s the first thing potential customers see when taking a look at what you’ve got to offer. If you keep your menu board at some height, they’ll be more likely to catch sight of the striking green and black sticker from further away too.

5. On a sign hanging from your gazebo or hatch.

By putting your hygiene rating somewhere nice and high you make certain that people can see it, even if there’s already a big crowd around your trading unit.

A simple wooden board featuring your hygiene rating, with a hole in each top corner and a couple of cable ties should be sufficient – as long as you can find something to attach them to. Simple in a gazebo as you’ll have some form of pole running along the front of the structure.

6. On an A-board to the side of your unit.

If you’ve got an A-board or some form of signage you can use slightly separately from your trading unit, you’ve got an opportunity to draw more customers in.

Not only will you be able to attract people from further away but you’ll have more space on the board (underneath your hygiene rating) to use for whatever purpose you like. It’s easy enough to find a large version of the sticker that shows your awarded hygiene rating online, to attach to your A-board.

Again, the black and green is distinctive enough for people to know what it means these days. It’ll be eye-catching from some distance so you shouldn’t have any trouble letting customers know how good your hygiene standards are.

Hint: Make your sticker obvious online too.

Don’t just keep your hygiene rating for your physical set-up. Drop it all over your social media, your website, your NCASS profile and your marketing materials.

Those are all places that event organisers and customers look before deciding to book you for work or eat your food. You want them to know how seriously you take their safety, right?

Remember, if you’ve got any other ideas about displaying your hygiene rating, please do let us know by tweeting @NCASS_UK or emailing [email protected].