West Coast Vend LLC Posted September 19, 2009 Share Posted September 19, 2009 We talk a lot about top sellers in beverage but how about candy & Snacks. I know there are so many different locations with different tastes but I sell all regular sizes in my machines. How are King Size items doing for you if you have traded up. My pricing on chocolate is 90c - $1 per bar. (avg. cost 46c) The cost on king size products is about 88c. I can double my money on regular sizes but I don't think I could go to $1.85 on king size to match my markup. What do you guys do? What prices do you go with? Also, I am seeing more and more ad's about changing my old type stick gum coil system to a larger pack gum and mints set up. Have any of you done this with success? Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mission vending Posted September 19, 2009 Share Posted September 19, 2009 I was thinking about asking a similar question with chips, to go all LSS or not? For me, I've for the most part stayed with the regular size (choc and chips) due to price point issues. I had a devil of a time when I went over 1.00 on 20oz a while back. I'm at mostly .85 on choc with a cost avg around .42. ( Get to know your local grocery manager and buy cases when it goes on sale at the local grocery store) With the cashless stuff I'm considering, I'm looking at revisiting the larger sizes as well because people don't think about how much they are spending with cashless payments, that's why there is usually such an increase in sales. The CC companies did some studies on this stuff that I read about a few years ago and the finding was that with a cashless payment system impulse sales numbers rose dramatically. For me, another consideration is room in the truck, I don't know that I can effectively manage to handle that many additional items if I utilize both regular and large sizes. Locally, the trend for the larger operators is that they are moving to all LSS and some are also going w kingsize candy as well. Hope this helps. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leviholt Posted September 19, 2009 Share Posted September 19, 2009 Ok my company is very large we have around 150 snack machines. Maybe more. We only use lss chips its just the way to go. We do use lss candy and we do good with it we only carry about 6 types of it we sell it for 125. We have about 10 new crane 6 wide snack don't know if anyone has seen them but wow. They do not have a place for the small gum and mint only the big gum and mint. As far as sells go. We sell more large gum and mints out of ten machines then we sell out of a 100 snack machines with the small th small gum and mints we will not have any of the small gum and mints in the next year or two. One thing you can do is cut out some candy and poy the large gum and mints on the candy shelf and that will cut down on some candy cost because you will not have it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snack dude Posted September 19, 2009 Share Posted September 19, 2009 No offense to leviholt but all the so called experts will tell you LSS is the way to go but they will not tell you why. Because it just is. We own close to 100 machines ourselves and we have no, repeat no zip zero LSS stuff. There is an argument to be made for LSS. Sell less to make the same amount of money and there is nothing wrong with that. But I have found and have seen it in action That I can sell three or four regular items if the price point is right to the LSS one. Case in point I buy regular size chips for .22 cents a bag and sell them for 50 cents. A person with a dollar can buy two different bags of my chips and I get their whole dollar. In some places LSS does not get that sell because your customer does have enough money. Or where we are at, a person with a $1.25 can buy a bag of chips and a can soft drink. Now the real point is I dare you to come in and try to kick me out by explaining a bag of chips or candy bar will cost twice as much as mine. Thats what I do. hey mister operations manager,same machine, same brands, same service, smarller bag or bar but your employees only need two quarters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leviholt Posted September 19, 2009 Share Posted September 19, 2009 Well let's see the ss bag of chips has less then a handful of chips a lss bag has a lot more. And when we looked at going to lss we had 1 of ss and 1 row lss the lss at in every lss was out selling ss 3 to 1 that's why its the way to go. Just took over a big factory that had ss chips in the machines. When we put lss in and every one loved it because when you sell two bags of chips its not because the chips are so good its because its to small.its the same bag that you can by all day long at walmart for .25 ask yourself would you go to subway and get a sub and a drink and for the chips you can get 2 bags for a dollar or for .75 you could get a bag with the same amount of chips in it. Taking care of your customers is what it takes to make it in vending. when I can give a better value for my customers I do. On candy I sell ss candy and lss candy. In most factory s I sell lss candy for a dollar I give my customers what they want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leviholt Posted September 19, 2009 Share Posted September 19, 2009 By the way I have great price on lss. I pay less then most company's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leviholt Posted September 19, 2009 Share Posted September 19, 2009 On top of that we make more on lss then ss. We sell lss for .75 in factory's. 85 to 90 in schools where do you buy your chips. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snack dude Posted September 19, 2009 Share Posted September 19, 2009 I agree with you giving the customer what they want is job 1 and your right that the reason they are buying two bags is not because the chips are so good. it is because they cant deceide on BBQ or Sour cream and onion. So I give them the opportunity to do both. I am not saying your wrong I am saying there is a different way of looking at it. When I have taken over accounts that was being serviced by one of the nationals one of the first things I hear is the price is too high. It sounds like you are giving your customers a great value at 75 cents. But some people dont look at it that way. They see 75 VS. 50 or 1.25 vs 85. This is just how I differentciate ( I know I didnt spell that right) myself from all the others and it works for me. Snack Dude Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leviholt Posted September 19, 2009 Share Posted September 19, 2009 Snack dud that may be the way for you to do it. Where I am at ss just does not sell like lss. In fact we started using all lss in 2000 there is only 2 vendors that used ss one we just took them over because they were going out of business and the last one left is going out of business cause of us. I am on here to maybe to give some 1 some help. cause I know how it is to start out when we started out 1 truck that was wreaked no money old h22 machines and a lot of work ahead uf us. Now 10 trucks 35 employees 150 snack I think around 45 fresh food around 40 coffee and I would say around 200 drink and 1 ocs truck and icecream 28 machines Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snack dude Posted September 19, 2009 Share Posted September 19, 2009 Congratuations, Sounds like things are going good for you. I think we should just agree to disagree. The difference between us is outlook. Ive done the having 100 employees and multiple trucks and all the corporate crap that goes with it in my former buisness. Now I have two trucks that my wife and I operate. two grown sons and a daughter that help out and about 75 snack 100 drink, a dozen cold food and some coffee machines and that about as big as I plan on getting. NO EMPLOYEES, Just us Have a good one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leviholt Posted September 19, 2009 Share Posted September 19, 2009 Well snack dude good luck and god bless you your family and your business it was fun talking. But every 1 needs to try the big gum and mints just go to sams or costco and just buy some and try it. It sells. We do best with stride gum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
West Coast Vend LLC Posted September 20, 2009 Author Share Posted September 20, 2009 Thanks folks for all the input. I think I may just stay with regular size candy for now. I already do LSS sizes on the chips and do better with them than the smaller bags. As for the gum and mints, I really want to check in to some larger tracks for larger packaged gum and mints. The small stick packs and single rolled mints are just not doing it for me. Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leviholt Posted September 20, 2009 Share Posted September 20, 2009 You do not need to chang a thing in the machine to put large gum in just try in on the candy tray it will vend just fine test it out and I bet you will do good with it. That's something I see companys doing to cut back on candy because cost is so high Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snack dude Posted September 20, 2009 Share Posted September 20, 2009 Leviholt, thanks for the good discussion, it really has been fun. I just hate it when someone says this is the way to go and cant back it up with reasons. You on the other hand have your S**t together and you gave me something to reconsider. I really like the idea about putting the big gum in the candy spots. So thanks again Snack Dude Remember: When everyone is out to get you, Paranoid is just being smart. LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poplady1 Posted September 20, 2009 Share Posted September 20, 2009 I think you all have covered the in's and out's of the LSS question. I wanted to add one thing about product selection. If you are installing equipment in a office setting with a high percent of females I think going with the small bag will certainly increase sales and increasing those Diet Selections will bump up the sales too. If you are in a blue collar setting, LSS would be the better pick. There are some data reports available on trends which reflect where LSS does better too. On the larger size candy bars many of the companies went to those larger sizes when the choc. prices rose so sharply. Everyone needed to increase the price but needed a good reason so they let the accounts know they were stocking the new size in candy and the cost would be 1.00 to 1.25 a bar. It was also a good way to educate the public/customer to seeing $1.00 price points in snack machines. Once they got used to that price you could offer better pastries, tuna kits and a different product mix. Blue Moose Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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