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Hello,

I just recently was looking to purchase a theatre I am interested in. It has a concession area and I would like to calculate what it takes to run the concession area and what profits can be generated from it. What I would like to know is if there is a supplier that specifically deals with supplying concessions to theatres. I basically need item costs so I can apply a mark up to them and calculate the profits for a business plan.

Thank You,

JG

There is probably a distributor handling paper goods, and candy in your area. The trick is to find them as they don't sell to the general public. They sell to retailers like your theater. Try looking for foodservice companies in your local phone directory. If they can't help you perhaps they can direct you.

I just went to a local convenience store and asked them.

Ok, let me attack this from a more productive angle. I need information to create a business plan. I reached concession expenses and profits. So I was wondering if any independant theatre operator or owner would let me know where they get all their concession supplies from. Meaning not only cups, popcorn buckets, etc, but also candy, soda, etc. I would prefer something I can go to a website for. A website would show proof of cost and that would help me dramatically. I tried going the SAMS Club route since they do carry most concession items...but half the time they force you to call a local store for pricing. Not good enough.

Thank you

JG

We get our pop, cups & lids, and bottled water direct from Pepsi. They also then supply the fountain machine for the pop and the display refrigerator for the bottled water at no cost to us (as well as performing all maintenance and repairs at no cost to us). We get our candy from the local grocery store, Promotion In Motion, and Sam's Club. Popcorn and related items come from a concession supplier about an hour away from us who delivers to our area once a week. Our cleaning supplies and sanitary paper products come from a supplier an hour in the other direction that delivers to our area twice a week. With the exceptions of Pepsi, Promotion In Motion and Sam's, all of our other suppliers are local businesses. A lot depends also on what you want to sell. As Beckwith1 said, use your phone book. Look for foodservice or concession suppliers. Call them up and talk to a sales person and get a catalog with pricing information sent to you. Some of the suppliers we use would not be practical for you due to the shipping costs (unless you are in the middle of Michigan), so you need to find local ones that sell the products you want.

Uhmmmm....If you are really interested in buying that theatre, the present owners would be the people to ask. There are tons of concession suppliers throughout the USA, but most will not handle locations out of their area.

Most foodservice/concession providers I know of do not put their prices on a web site, for various reasons.

As mentioned above, the best numbers will come from someone who's doing business with those vendors right now.

Hello all...

PUZZLEGUT--This theatre doesn't have a fountain...believe it or not. They sell bottled everything. I did manage to squeeze it out of the current owner that they do get supplied direct from Pepsi. So that does verify what you are saying. I squeezed the Sams Club out of him too. The think I can't squeeze out of him is the costs. I see what you mean about local suppliers...I could only imagine what a 50lb bag of popcorn would cost to ship.

MOVIEGUY--The owners are still going to remain in business as a theatrical company. They are just selling the theatre off. I just don't know why they are over protective like this information is a well guarded secret...espcially since I am interested in the theatre. But I have seen that they are willing to volunteer more and more info as they see I am serious about the purchase. But I just wish they would 'spill all', it would make creating my business plan that much easier.

RODEOJACK--Actually I did find a few suppliers that put prices on things...but they were far from the location or they just handled a few items. The one where it seems I can get the most from in one shot is Sams club and there is one located 20 mins from the theatre. I can't visit it because the theatre and Sams Club are in Ohio and I am in NY. So that is why I was a bit teed that Sams Club had such a great website but was lacking the information I need.

Thank you for the info, guys.

JG

You are looking for Yields on a product that once cooked takes up a lot of space do to air between the pieces. How many #130 bags can I get out of a 50pound bag of seeds. I had the same questions about cotton candy. Gold Medal who make the sugar for cotton candy had the answer not the people I buy it from. They were clueless. So try one of the popcorn brand producers not wholesalers for your answer and please post.

Here in the Pacific Northwest, some theaters buy from the Harlan Fairbanks company, Food Services of America (a.k.a. FSA), and good old Costco.

Look in your local Yellow Pages directory under the heading of "Grocers-Wholesale" too.

Hello all,

DSS...I see you ran into a similar problem trying to figure out the results. It would be easy if I had the materials to just do the work myself and figure it out. But to figure it out before hand for Business Plan calculations is tough. BUT I got lucky and did find a supplier that marks the popcorn buckets according to popcorn weight. So that is a BIG help. But I most definately would like to be able to convert the other 'volume' values to physical popcorn weight.

KEN--Thank you for the tip on that supplier. I may not use them because they are far away and the shipping would be a killer to Ohio. But I might try them out and see if they have a branch or know of someone that supplies the Ohio area. I will also check the yellow pages as you suggested. I DID manage to find a Sams Club within driving distance in that area, and so far I been using them for my candy calculations. Their prices are VERY good and I can make a nice profit on candy. The only thing is that they have the standard fair of Hershey, Twix, Kit Kat, Reeses, Pay Day, and the like. They don't have movie theatre favorites like Milk Duds and Junior Mints. I am afraid people will ask for these and I would like to have them. Also what I found wierd is that Sams Club has the popcorn concession supplies (boxes and bags) but they do not seem to have the 50lb bag of popcorn. That is something I would like to pick up local. Shipping that would be a killer!

Thank you all again.

JG

y'know, it wouldn't hurt to visit some of the drive-ins out there. Many of them are pretty open about stuff like that. If you're not competitive, you'd be likely to find some pretty good sources for concessions. Drive-in owners tend to be a pretty thrifty group.

As I now know where you are trying to supply, it may help to know that the northeastern ohio theater industry uses Clark Products out of Wickliffe. They handle all paper goods and the basics that you need. Many of us also use other suppliers for things that are important to us. While Sams is good for as far as it goes, they are getting too pricey for you to make enough profit to stay in business. We have never used them as our main candy supplier and they are pricing themselves out of the small candy business for our purposes. C.J. Dannemiller Co in Norton supplies the absolute best popcorn seed. Ohio Yellow Corn. They also sell and SERVICE concession equipment. I highly recommended that you check to see what they can do for you.

Yes, as mentioned, Clark is a major supplier of theatres in that area. Sams club does sell seed, it is about $12.00 for a 50# bag right now I think.

I just did a little comparision shopping for generic popcorn bags from three of the major suppliers. You cannot order online from all of them though, but you can view their product at these websites. Shipping is included at PMG and Cinema Scene, and free on orders over $750 at Packaging Concepts. At PMG you get 10% off if you order 8 cases or more. In the past, Cinema Scene has also given a discount on larger orders.

PMG: (PMG) http://www.pmg-online.com/stock.asp

Packaging Concepts: (P.C.) http://www.packagingconceptsinc.com/

Cinema Scene: (C.S.) http://www.cinemascenemarketing.com/pages/3/index.htm

46 oz. bags:
PMG-$100/1000
P.C.-$80/1000
C.S.-$93/1000

85 oz. bags:
PMG-$125/1000
P.C.-$55/500
C.S.-$115/1000

130 0z. bags:
PMG-$82.50/500
P.C.-$65/500
C.S.-$$74.50/500


[This message has been edited by BurneyFalls (edited May 24, 2006).]