Popcorn and candy floss machines: when the making is the product

Most vending machines store a product and hand it over. These two make it while you watch, and that difference is the entire commercial case. People stop to watch popcorn pop; other people stop because a small crowd has formed; some proportion of both then buy.

What they do

The popcorn machine pops fresh to order in two flavours behind a glass front, with a 10-inch touchscreen for selection. The candy floss machine spins floss onto a stick in a cartoon shape, which is specifically engineered to make children pull their parents towards it.

There is also a simple wall-mounted gumball and wrapped-candy dispenser at a fraction of the cost, for sites where the footfall does not justify a full machine but a small impulse line still earns.

Be honest about the site

These are the machines we are most likely to talk a customer out of, because the gap between a good site and a poor one is wider here than anywhere else in the range.

They need three things together: high footfall, long dwell time, and children or a leisure context. A multiplex foyer has all three. A busy office lobby has footfall and nothing else, and the machine will take a fraction of what the same capital would earn as a snack cabinet on the same floor.

Where they earn

• Cinemas and multiplexes — queueing, waiting, interval demand, and popcorn is already the expected purchase.
• Family entertainment centres — the natural home for both machines.
• Amusement and water parks — long dwell time, children, holiday spending.
• Malls and food courts — works well near a play area, poorly near the exit.
• Events and exhibitions — a strong rental case rather than a purchase.
• Zoos and attractions — captive, seasonal, strongly weather-dependent.

Operating realities

• Consumables matter. Kernels, oil, flavouring, sugar, sticks and bags are a real cost per sale, unlike a spiral machine where the consumable cost is zero.
• Cleaning is more involved. Oil and sugar residue build up. These machines need a proper cleaning routine, and somebody who will actually do it.
• Noise and smell. Both are selling tools in a leisure venue and complaints in an office. Site accordingly.
• Throughput at peaks. Making to order takes time. At a cinema interval a queue forms fast — worth modelling before you assume one machine covers the rush.