Expanding Premium Snack Options Can Boost Profitability, Enhance Customer Experience

Whether eaten at home, while running errands or in between meals, snacks remain popular among many consumers and are enjoyed anytime of the day. And, the demand for snacks is growing, as consumers continue to make snacking an integral part of their lives, helping them to ward off hunger between meals, according to Technomic’s 2022 Snacking Occasion Consumer Trend Report.

Seventy-five percent of consumers snack at least once per day, the Snacking Occasion report found, and 20% say they are snacking more frequently, which means more customers are heading to the store to satisfy their snack cravings.

Gold Medal’s sweet shop setup can add popcorn, gourmet popcorn, cotton candy, candy and caramel apples, fudge and frosted nuts to retail stores with low startup costs and high profit potential. Additionally, the sensory experience design of the sweet shop setup provides more than just a package on the shelf. It engages customers’ senses and enhances their in-store experience, which drives traffic, boosts sales and offers attractive profitability. Not to mention, the sweet shop setup adds a fun element to businesses and tons of sales opportunities.

Technomic’s Snacking Occasion report indicates that, compared to before the pandemic, 16% of consumers say they now consume more sweet snacks—up from 13% in 2019. Furthermore, the report found that 13% of consumers opt for more savory snacks, 13% choose salty snacks and 10% go for spicy snacks.

Gold Medal’s sweet shop setup offers a multitude of snacks with various flavors:

Popcorn—Ready-to-eat popcorn is a popular snack, and Americans consume about 14 billion quarts of it, according to data from the Popcorn Board. Making fresh popcorn in stores increases profit potential more than prepackaged alternatives, and provides an added experience for customers.

Gourmet popcorn—Expanding on the popularity and profitability of popcorn, flavors from Gold Medal’s Signature Shakes® and Signature Blends® lines offer glazes, mixes and cheese pastes that allow stores to customize. Savory varieties from bacon, dill and ranch, to sweeter varieties like strawberry, cinnamon and blue raspberry are available.

Fudge—Gold Medal’s Sweet Selections® Fudge Mixes are one-step mixes that are easy to make, deliver consistent batches and operators can create custom flavors.

Frosted nuts—Ideal for snacking, almonds, peanuts, cashews and pecans are coated in a sweet and crunchy glaze. Flavor possibilities include honey, cinnamon and maple. Frosted nuts can be packaged in snack sizes, or sharable large bulk sizes.

Candy and caramel apples—Apples can be customized with a variety of flavored candy dips and caramel, and enhanced with chocolate chips, nuts, marshmallows and sprinkles.

Cotton candy—Flavors such as green apple, birthday cake and sour raspberry are available. 

Gold Medal’s concession equipment and supplies contain everything needed to get started right away—from popcorn machines with corn/oil/salt kits, serving bags and cleaners, to cotton candy supplies like Flossugar, bags and cones.

A Gold Medal sweet shop setup is a great addition to other fresh store departments and can be completely customized. To learn more, visit An Inside Look at the Sweet Shop Setup