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We have sodas/ coffee/ popcorn/and a large selection of candy........ what should we add next? I'm leaning to the frozen drinks? Pretzels? Nacho's?

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Michael Hurley
Impresario

I'd go with the Pretzels, Nachos, and maybe Hot Dogs. I'd stay away from the frozen drinks, only because the dispensers are so large and bulky.

Mike,
For us, Nacho's and Hot Dogs are good sellers, the following is from Jan through March last year at a 3 plex.

1191 Nacho's
883 Hot Dogs
198 Corn Dogs
109 Slush Puppies

We do not sell pretzels at this location.

Forzen drinks are high profit but seasonal, our sales about triple during the summer months while the other items are up on average with the increase in attendance.

Mike,

I think it is time you had a heart to heart with the concession purveyors at ShoWest.

Personally I will be steering Ky towards the Gold Medal booth.

I like the Nachos that come with the cheese pored on top. (With tons of jalapeños) I dislike the pre-packaged cheese cups and bags of chips. I would eat a pretzel that you baked at the theatre. I would ignore a warmed, pre-cooked pretzel in a rotating display.

My problem is that I like the things that are a pain to clean up after. One area that I move away from that is in the hotdog. I dislike hotdogs off of roller grills. I never know how long they have been there and then there is the waste issue. We use a pre-packaged Bagel Dog. You keep a selection in your fridge in a thawed state. You microwave them for 45 seconds when people order then. No waste, no muss, no fuss. (Don’t forget the condiments. Make mine one with Gulden’s Spicy Brown mustard, chopped onions and jalapeños.)

Since you are small, think of things that large theatres couldn’t possibly do, like homemade lemonade. (Our personal choice) In Houlton, since you have that area, how about setting up a grill outside and having grilled hotdogs? And don’t forget the zillion things one can do with popcorn.

The great thing about being small is that you can try stuff and dump it fast without incurring much cost. At UA it always took a year and a budget to try new things. They still don’t do coffee.

Buy stuff at the local Costco or Sam’s Club and see if it works. Perhaps you will become the worlds largest seller of maple flavored macadamia nuts, or moose jerky?

Show West it is. The Macho Nacho with Moose Pellets Moussed. I have not had lunch and I'm getting hungry!

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Michael Hurley
Impresario

I have two recomendations. Cotton candy does great. Served in a large bag (no cone)with two different colors the cost $.27, the profit $ 2.23. The other is flavored popcorn such as cheddar cheese or chocolate. Cheddar cheese powder is mixed in with the popped corn. Chocolate crystals are put in the kettle with uncooked corn. Both are popular and profitible items. The last thing I would want to do is add an item that would take away from my high profit items.

We do quite well with cotton candy. It is an item that is an "add on." Customers still order drinks and popcorn and the cotton candy doesn't take their place. A couple of unfortunate things about the cotton candy though is 1) It starts to "shrink" after a couple of days and doesn't look all nice and fluffy, which means you can't stock up on it too many days ahead of time and 2) when you do have to make it it is very labour intensive....not difficult but someone has to stand next to the machine the entire time, where as popcorn, nachos, hot dogs, prezzles, cook by themsleves.

If we didn't have Little Caesars in our theatre (and tied in with Pacific Concessions) we would probably be doing hot dogs and nachos again.

Mill,

You're right about the cotton candy shrink.
Depending on the humidity, I get two to three days to sell the cotton candy before it "shrinks". Since I inventory the bags, I would dump out the shrunken cotton candy and replace it. The cotton candy can be made during slow periods (ie. when all the show are in).

I sell cotton candy and package it in the plastic tubs. While the tubs add substantially to the raw cost, they stay fresh for about 2 weeks. We sell a ton of it and it is a real money maker. We usually make about 100 tubs ahead. The blue is the biggest seller and it isn't just the kids that buy it.
lance

Mike,

If you have not already done so, you might take a look at The Nutty Bavarian line of products and equipment. Their specially coated hot nuts, which I think we may have been discussed at some point here at Bigscreenbiz, are delicious.

Another thing, which is very important to impulse sales, is that they have a very tempting aroma. Sort of the way Cinnebon products draw you in as you approach one of their locations.

We had a rep from The Nutty Bavarian as a guest speaker at the 2002 United Drive-In Theatre Owners Association Conference and again as a vendor at the first ever trade show at our 2003 conference last week. Several of our members that bought machines and product from them after last years demonstration have reported good sales.

The Nutty Bavarian's website can be found at www.nuttyb.com

When we opened in 1994, we carried Pop, Popcorn, and Candy. Sometime later we added nachos. The bulk cheese is definitely the way to go, not the prepackaged cups. We do use the prepackaged chips, fresher and better portion control. To control portions on the cheese, we use a tray with a section for cheese. We now carry chocolate malt cups and frozen yogurt cups. We give people free ice water, but thought we'd try bottled water. We sell a LOT of bottled water! BUT, our best seller behind pop, corn and candy? Slush! We sell 2 flavors in 12 oz and 20 oz cups, and slush outsells Nachos, Ice Cream, and Water COMBINED! We're making about a 60% gross profit on slush. Our per capita on concessions went from 1.50-1.60 with pop, corn and candy to 2.20-2.30 with our additional items. Only a small amount of the increase is due to price increases.

What would you say your ratio is per cotton candy sales. How many adults buy it as to kids.

About 85% kids/teens/families

15% Adult "couples"