Sweeten Your Store’s Sales with Gourmet Treats Year-Round
It's well known that some of the top-selling products are those tied to holidays and special occasions. While the Christmas season is a prime example, there are countless opportunities year-round to attract buyers with gourmet treats. Recently, grocery stores have been expanding their fresh product offerings beyond the traditional bakery and deli departments. Enter the sweet shop setup: an enticing in-store attraction featuring a delightful selection of gourmet popcorn, cotton candy, candy and caramel apples, fudge, and frosted nuts. With minimal labor and attractive profit margins, these sweet shop setups are becoming a new way for grocery stores to stay competitive and draw in shoppers. Dive into the most popular product categories and discover creative ideas for seasonal sales that will keep customers coming back for more.
Gourmet Popcorn
The foundation of any sweet shop setup is gourmet popcorn. It’s like a canvas for flavor! From caramel corn to cheese popcorn, kettle corn, candy glazed and savory shake-on flavors, you can create a menu for your shoppers’ preferences. The profit margins are outstanding, as high as 70%-plus. Additionally, you can sell it in snack portions, shareable sizes, gift baskets, tins, bulk, and more.
Gourmet popcorn is a fit for nearly any occasion. Offer special bulk packages for movie nights and family gatherings. Sell it in holiday-themed tins with red and green popcorn for Christmas. Celebrate game days with popcorn made in your hometown team’s colors. Create pastel-colored popcorn eggs for Easter. There are so many ways to market popcorn that your promotional calendar will be full!
Candy and Caramel Apples
The flavor and crunch of gourmet candy and caramel apples have universal appeal. These high-profit-margin items enable you to create treats that are both delectable and lucrative. Chocolate drizzle, nuts, candies and other tasty toppings are completely customizable. Also, the bright colors and creative flavors make gourmet apples a treat worth sharing on social media.
The prime season for candy and caramel apples is fall. You can make ghost or witch versions for Halloween, or do pastels for springtime. You can even create decorating kits, which are a great idea for kids’ birthday parties.
Cotton Candy
The top reason for selling cotton candy? It's a popular sugary treat that can make anyone feel like a kid at heart! It’s easy to make, and there are so many different flavors and colors to choose from. The cost of ingredients is very low, giving you great flexibility in setting pricing. For the ambitious, it’s even possible to create cotton candy art, which will draw in customers.
Cotton candy is particularly popular in summer. Customize it by color and flavor for birthday parties, such as tropical for a pool party. Patriotic colors will be a hit on the Fourth of July. Go with green and orange for a spooky way to celebrate Halloween. And try out seasonal flavors like winter frost.
Fudge
For indulgence, there’s no better way to treat yourself than fudge. This is a product that lends itself to being flavorful. There’s something for nearly every palate. Because it’s relatively inexpensive and can be produced in large batches, it’s cost-effective. Stores see very high margins on freshly made fudge.
Fudge makes a well-received gift idea. Consider sampler packages offering customers just a taste of multiple flavors. Make holiday-themed fudge like candy corn fudge for Halloween, peppermint bark for Christmas and chocolate-strawberry swirl for Valentine’s Day.
Frosted or Glazed Nuts
Flavored nuts are a satisfying snack. Coated with a thin layer of sugar, honey, maple syrup or spices, they are a tasty treat that customers will appreciate as unique and gourmet. There is a variety of nuts to choose from, including almonds, peanuts and pecans. It makes a great on-the-go snack for parties, in trail mixes or as a topping for dishes. Nuts are both popular and profitable.
Seasonal branding allows nuts to be sold year-round. Most popular in the cooler seasons, flavors like pumpkin spice and peppermint are enticing. Nuts are also ideal for football tailgating parties. Additionally, don’t forget Father’s Day as another selling opportunity, when you can create gift baskets that dads will enjoy.
Grocery stores don’t want to miss out on this profitable opportunity to maximize underused space within their stores. Even a minimal footprint can create substantial revenue. For a comprehensive overview of the sweet shop setup, we invite you to visit our grocery store industry page. You’ll find equipment and supply recommendations, product overviews, snacking trends, resources, and FAQs to help you get started. There are options for any-sized operation, from commercial popcorn machines to full sweet shop setups. It’s a concept that can be scaled based on your individual needs. Additionally, Gold Medal has a dedicated grocery specialist that will set you up for success. Why wait? Get started planning your sweet shop setup today!