What Grocery Store Owners Need to Know About Selling Gourmet Popcorn
The Gold Medal team is excited to help grocery stores get started with gourmet popcorn. Our In-Store Snacking Solutions guide is designed specifically for grocery store owners and operators to provide insights on successfully selling gourmet popcorn to in-store customers.
In order to start selling Gold Medal popcorn in your grocery store, we’ve outlined three questions and responses you may want to consider when learning about the popcorn business. Download our In-Store Snacking Solutions resource for more information.
1. How can I equip myself to sell popcorn in-store?
2. What do I need to know to market and sell popcorn to my customers in the store?
3. What benefits can I expect when selling popcorn in my store?
Equipment Needed to Sell Popcorn
In order to make and sell popcorn in your grocery store, you’ll need the right equipment.
The first piece of equipment you’ll need is a popper. Sizes vary from 16-oz. kettles up to the complete powerhouse production units in the PopClean® line. Gold Medal’s concession specialists take out the guesswork by consulting with you to determine which popper is right for your needs. For gourmet lines, you will also want to consider adding a cooker mixer, tumbler, and a cooling rack or stand. Gourmet popcorn staging cabinets are also available to provide an eye-catching display.
Depending on the size and volume of sales, our In-Store Snacking Solutions download outlines multiple equipment options to fit your store's needs. Ready to buy equipment? Gold Medal and our network of distributors can help you get started and even offer equipment training.
How to Market Popcorn In-Store
Most stores opt to position their popcorn shops within the perimeter of the store. Some choose to make it an attraction near the entrance, while for others, it is more convenient to locate it near bakery or deli operations. One of the great things is that regardless of where the shop is, you can still offer cross-merchandising areas throughout the store.
Maybe you’re wondering about the best time to pop the popcorn? You can pop anytime! To drive more sales, choose a time that coincides with heavy store traffic. Lunch, evenings, and weekends all offer opportunities to entice customers.
Don’t forget to make sure the popcorn is always fresh! There are a variety of popcorn packaging options to suit your needs. Vacuum-sealed bags and stay-fresh containers will offer the longest shelf life.
Additional in-store marketing tactics to consider are:
- Launch holiday offerings
- Have a flavor of the week special and set up a display
- Offer samples of two new potential flavors and have customers vote for their favorite
The Benefits Can Be Big
With low costs to produce, you have the ability to set retail prices that are appealing to the customer and still average 70-80% profit margins. As many shoppers turn to online ordering, stores need creative ways to drive in-store traffic. A gourmet popcorn shop provides a sensory experience and gives shoppers a reason to visit the store. Gold Medal has multiple options that can be customized based on your specific needs and budget.
We also encourage stores to get creative with the cross-merchandising potential. Here are a few illustrations:
- With the deli, pair snack-sized popcorn with a sandwich and drink for a lunch combo.
- Bakeries can offer a party platter special with a cake purchase for birthdays or other holidays.
- Host a beer and wine pairing that showcases different complementary flavors of popcorn.
- When a new movie DVD release comes out, promote a special jumbo-sized popcorn.
- Create a display near the cash registers to drive more impulse purchases.
Our In-Store Snacking Solutions download is the starting point to setting your grocery store up for popcorn success. It provides more in-depth detail on how to create a full sensory experience for your customers, customize your setups, achieve positive profits, and make the process flexible and easy for the grocery store owner and operator. Ready to incorporate popcorn sales into your grocery store's business plan? Get in touch with us here or call today at 800-543-0862!