The smell of popcorn is often associated with the cinema or movie theater. However, that’s not the only place to eat popcorn. In fact, many people enjoy snacking on popcorn on a regular basis and this includes gourmet popcorn.
Popcorn is consumed in cinemas, at home, at parties, and during similar festive occasions. With gourmet popcorn, there’s a certain kind of lux associated with it which makes it an interesting business opportunity.
For some, popcorn is one of the healthy snacks to choose from. Due to its uniqueness, it’s an ideal choice for a snack food distribution business.
Gourmet Popcorn: What Is Gourmet Popcorn?
Gourmet popcorn is generally hand-made in smaller batches compared to regular popcorn, and it includes little to no added preservatives. Most gourmet popcorn comes in a variety of flavor options including butter, caramel, cheese, and chocolate.
The flavor possibilities are endless due to creativity with flavor fusion. This experimentation is what makes gourmet popcorn desirable and exciting.
Gourmet popcorn is oftentimes packed in unique popcorn boxes or bags to make it more appealing to customers. It’s possible to design the packaging in different themes and shapes, just like with eCommerce packaging.
Starting your own wholesale popcorn business will provide you with opportunities to channel your creative side. This way you can fully customize your product and your wholesale food distribution business.
Key Takeaway: It’s possible to start a gourmet popcorn business from home without a huge cash investment. However, to do this you will need a solid business plan.
6 Tips On How to Start a Wholesale Popcorn Business
Do you love popcorn and dream of opening a business of your own? Selling wholesale gourmet popcorn is an idea that has the potential to make you a nice profit.
It’s not only a chance for you to get more financial independence, but also an opportunity to explore a new creative outlet. The following six tips will help you start a wholesale popcorn business.
1. Create a Business Plan
Successfully running a wholesale business starts with a business plan. When you write a business plan, you will be able to outline the important details of your business.
The important details include your source of funding, goals and objectives, wholesale marketing strategy, customer acquisition, and customer retention strategies. Your business plan should be thorough and precise so that you and potential investors can understand and refer back to it when necessary.
2. Do Market Research and Choose a Target Market
Before you begin any business, including a gourmet popcorn business, it’s important to do market research. This research will clarify your niche market and your competitors.
Explore existing popcorn businesses, and look into their pricing, business practices, and the quality of their products. In order to succeed, the quality of your product has to match or exceed that of your competitors.
When it comes to your target market or niche, your goal is to stand out from the competition. To do this, you have to offer something unique. This doesn’t necessarily have to refer to your product. In fact, the unique qualities can be in the packaging of your products.
Potential customers for your gourmet popcorn business include:
- Restaurants and hotels in the hospitality industry
- Movie theaters
- Shopping malls
- Online customers
- Offices
3. Pick a Location for Your Business
One of the crucial factors for starting a business is determining the location. For a gourmet popcorn business, there are many options for you to choose from to produce and distribute your product.
- eCommerce. Choosing to operate an online gourmet popcorn business means that you will have minimal startup costs. You can choose to sell your product through a direct to consumer sales method or B2B wholesale. This is similar to an online candy store.
- Brick and mortar. Opening a brick and mortar location for your gourmet popcorn business will require more startup costs. These costs include purchasing or renting a location and securing equipment such as display cases, utilities, and decor. However, a brick-and-mortar location provides you with an opportunity to literally position your business right in the middle of your niche market.
- Food truck. Opening a food truck business will allow you to stay mobile and change locations as often as you desire. It’s also possible to utilize this food truck business to incorporate a catering business into your gourmet popcorn plan. This way, you can increase brand awareness at parties, events, and similar social gatherings.
4. Build Your Online Presence
Developing an online presence is crucial for any business these days, especially when starting an eCommerce business. This is true even if you choose not to sell online to customers.
Most websites include a product catalog of all items, a location, contact information, an about us page, and a privacy policy. To make your website visible on search engine results pages, you may want to include eCommerce content marketing tactics. Such tactics include internal linking and SEO terms.
Your website should include content that informs potential customers about your business. It should also have functions that allow you to sell your products and offer discounts. This is essential for your customer acquisition strategy.
Part of building an online presence includes establishing social media profiles. This will provide you with an opportunity to reach new customers and additional target markets. To determine your business’ success on social platforms, you have to calculate your social media ROI.
5. Determine Your Distribution Channels
As a business owner, you have to determine how you will distribute your gourmet popcorn to your customers. Will you sell products online, sell through a food truck, or open a storefront?
Your food distribution channels are how you will get your gourmet popcorn products into the hands of your customers. If you plan to ship your gourmet popcorn to your customers, you may want to look into how to ship candy.
It’s possible for you to save money on shipping costs by setting up accounts with FedEx, UPS, and USPS. You can calculate overnight shipping and bulk shipping costs using a shipping cost estimator.
6. Develop a Marketing Plan
A business marketing plan will allow you to focus on reaching new customers which is especially important when starting a new business. As a gourmet popcorn business, your marketing plan should focus on pricing, quality, and excellent customer service.
It’s ideal to test out different marketing strategies in order to determine your customer acquisition cost and which strategy is the most effective. These days, the internet holds a lot of power when it comes to maximizing brand awareness. Utilizing different internet and social media channels will come in handy in this case.
Frequently Asked Questions About a Wholesale Popcorn Business
Turning a passion like gourmet popcorn into a business–like a wholesale popcorn business–is what many people dream of. To do so requires careful planning and a desire to make it happen.
Popcorn is consumed in different ways and for different reasons. Whether it’s for a special occasion or an everyday snack, the market for it is huge.
Before you start your wholesale popcorn business, consider the following commonly asked questions:
Is a Popcorn Business Profitable?
Yes, a popcorn business can be profitable because it doesn’t cost a lot of money to make. There are different types and flavors of popcorn on the market which is what makes it even more appealing to the customer. Tapping into this market through a marketplace online or a storefront would be ideal, similar to selling wholesale chocolate and other wholesale snacks.
What Supplies Do You Need to Sell Popcorn?
The supplies you need to sell popcorn will depend on whether you’re popping it yourself or reselling it. However, the standard supplies you need to sell popcorn include:
- Popcorn machine
- Seasonings and toppings
- Oil
- Branded bags, boxes, and packing materials
- Promotional materials
Additional supplies will help you successfully run a wholesale distribution business, like a wholesale candy or bulk candy business. However, gourmet popcorn businesses tend to have low overhead expenses when it comes to producing and selling the product.
Why Is a Gourmet Popcorn Business a Good Idea?
Starting a gourmet popcorn business is a good idea because people are willing to pay premium prices for their most-desired snacks. In fact, moviegoers tend to pay a minimum of $7 for a bag of popcorn when it costs less than a dollar to make.
Including custom branding and attractive packaging will make your gourmet popcorn product more appealing. It’s also possible to combine your popcorn sales with other items such as flavoring packets, to increase your profit.