Why Your Business Needs Gumball Machines

Gumball machines are classic display fixtures for a wide assortment of merchandise. You can fill these machines with gumballs or other kinds of bulk unwrapped candy, or you can use them as display fixtures for small children’s toys like bouncy balls, play jewelry, and action figures.

If you’re still unsure about whether or not your business can benefit from gumball machine displays, think about how convenient they are for you and your customers, how attractively they display merchandise, and how well they provide opportunities for passive income.

Gumball Machines Are Convenient for You and Your Customers

One of your first priorities to your customers is to make sure you offer the merchandise they need in convenient ways, but wouldn’t it be great if you could also make sure things are convenient for you?

Yes! And that’s where gumball machine displays come into play.

Just consider all the ways these machines add convenience to your shoppers’ experiences and your store operating duties:

• You can fill the machines with gumballs; snacks like unwrapped pieces of candy, peanuts, or trail mix; and small children’s toys like bouncy balls.

• You can offer as much merchandise as you want using these machines. The heads of these machines come in a variety of sizes, so you can find heads that will hold as much or as little merchandise as you want. Plus, you can look for machines with as few as one head or as many as eight, so you can make your merchandise display as small or as large as you want.

• You can place the machines virtually anywhere in your store. There are gumball machines designed to sit on countertops and stand on floors, so you can place them near your countertops and registers for point of sale purchases, near your store’s entries and exits so customers can make a purchase on their way in or out, and throughout your store to complement other merchandise displays.

Gumball Machines Are Attractive Display Fixtures in Any Business

Because it’s easy to find gumball machines in a wide variety of sizes, shapes, and styles these days, it’s also easy to find the perfect gumball machine for any business. When you think about businesses that use these machines, you probably think of convenience stores and gas stations, toy stores, and grocery stores.

However, gumball machines are also great additions to:

• Movie rental stores and movie theaters.
• Restaurants and specialty food shops like yogurt shops, bagel shops, and ice cream parlors.
• Beauty salons and barbershops.
• Hotel and motel lobbies.
• Travel information centers.
  

Gumball Machines Offer Options for Passive Income

Gumball machines provide one of the most passive income options around.

Think about it: You don’t have to worry about sales or promotions. You don’t have to think about encouraging your customers to purchase the gumballs or the handful of candy or the bouncy balls as add-on items. All you have to do is buy your machine, position it somewhere in your store, make sure it stays filled with whatever product you want, and collect the money!

Choosing Accessories for Your Food Displays

Whether you operate a bakery that specializes in delicious brownies and fresh bread, an ice cream parlor that boasts the largest selection of toppings in your area, or a candy store filled with an assortment of bulk unwrapped candies, you know how important it is to have plenty of food grade acrylic containers at your disposal.

Yet, food grade acrylic bins aren’t the only tools you need to properly store and display your baked goods and bulk unwrapped candies; you also need tools that will both allow your customers to easily access the food and keep the food clean at all times.

Plastic or Aluminum Tongs

You can find food grade acrylic containers designed to hold unwrapped food items such as donuts and bagels with plastic or aluminum tongs already attached. Some of these kinds of containers even include a special side “pocket” for placing the tongs when they’re not in use.

If you manage a business that sells food items that are accessed easiest using tongs, but the acrylic containers you currently use for storing these food items don’t include any tongs, you don’t have to order to containers. You can just as easily order just the tongs! You can even find tongs that come in kits that also include a chain and hook as well as tape so you can secure the tongs to your container.

Plastic or Aluminum Scoops

Plastic or aluminum scoops are best for smaller food items like cereal, coffee beans, and pieces of unwrapped candies – the kinds of food items customers need to access themselves without handling any of the rest of the food.

Like with tongs, you can find acrylic bins that come with plastic or aluminum scoops already attached, or you can order these scoops separately. If you opt to purchase scoops separately, make sure you use them with a container that has a side “pocket” for storing the scoop when it’s not in use, or devise some way to keep the scoop from being exposed to the elements while it’s not in use.

Lids

Most often, you’ll order containers that come with lids. However, sometimes those lids become damaged and sometimes you find yourself using regular plastic containers for a new purpose that requires lids, like storing bulk unwrapped candies.

When these situations arise, you can find lids for your containers in a variety of sizes and styles. For example, you might want a lid with a handle that makes it easy for you to transport the container and easy for your customers to remove the lid, or you might want a lid with a knob to add an attractive flair to your display. You might even want to keep things simple and use flat lids with no handles or knobs for a streamlined look.

Containers with Hand Grips

Hand grips aren’t exactly “accessories,” because they’re already part of the containers, but they are useful additions to what would otherwise be typical acrylic bins. Containers with hand grips are great for dry food items customers need to pour, such as small bulk unwrapped candies, trail mix, peanuts, coffee beans, or dry cereals.

Hand grip containers are also idea storage tools you can use under your store’s counter or in the stock room.

Ordering Wholesale Bulk Candies for Your Candy Store

If you operate a candy store or are planning on opening a candy store, chances are high that you’re in the market for wholesale bulk candies. But how do you get started? Where do you begin?

Below are several of the most popular kinds of bulk candies you can find at wholesale prices. Consider your candy store and the kinds of customers you expect to do business with as you select the best candies for your business.

Wrapped and Unwrapped Candies

When ordering wholesale bulk candies for your candy store, you’ll find that wrapped candies and unwrapped candies offer the widest variety of selections. You can find these candies in traditional popular types like gumballs, Jolly Ranchers, Skittles, M&Ms, and Jawbreakers, or more novelty or specialty types like saltwater taffy.

You have a variety of choices when it comes to displaying your bulk wrapped and unwrapped candies. Colored acrylic bins and clear plastic containers positioned on wire display racks throughout your store or on your countertop are convenient ways to display your candy for your customers. You can even situate the containers as stand-alone countertop displays without the racks.

Keep in mind that if you’re display bulk unwrapped candies, you need a little extra protection to keep them fresh and safe from debris. Make sure you look at containers with lids as well as pair aluminum or plastic scoops with the displays.

Gourmet Candies

Some children do enjoy candies like chocolate-covered peanuts and pretzels, but if your store does most of its business with a mature customer base, gourmet candies are definitely the way to go. Chocolate-covered coffee and espresso beans, for example, aren’t the best choices for kids; many adults, however, love them!

You can display your bulk wholesale gourmet candies in many of the same ways you’d display more traditional candies; however, because these candies are gourmet, you might want to consider trading the plastic containers in for glass jars, and – depending on the style of your store – switching wire display racks for stylish wooden baskets and shelves.

Pre-Filled Candy Displays

Is your store just starting out? Or, do you not have enough time to create your own candy displays? Maybe you should think about pre-filled candy displays.

Pre-filled candy displays are available stocked with a wide variety of candies and styles perfect for every kind of business. Consider these popular pre-filled candy display options:

• Gumball Machines: Gumball machines are classic pre-filled candy displays and ideal for every business from convenience stores and grocery stores to gift shops and bookstores; naturally, they’re perfect for candy stores! You can find these machines designed to stand on your floor or sit on your countertop, and they’re available with as few as one head and as many as eight heads. Gumball machines are also available in a wide variety of styles. For example, you can find them in fun designs like rocket ships and with clear stands so your customers can see their gumballs whizzing down to meet them!

• Lollipop Displays: Lollipop displays generally come in “tree” designs for floor displays or plastic or cardboard containers for countertop displays. You can find these displays pre-filled with an assortment of lollipops or suckers, and once they’re empty you can refill them with new suckers or reuse the containers for an entirely different purpose.

• Wall, Floor, and Countertop Displays: You can find pre-filled candy displays made of plastic containers situated on wire display racks or wooden baskets situated on wooden trees or shelves and designed to sit on your store’s floor, hang on a wall, or sit on a countertop. Note that you can also find pre-filled candy floor displays large enough to act as entire aisles in your store.

Choosing Candy for Countertop Displays

Candy is one of the most common items included in countertop displays. There’s plenty to choose from, so it’s easy for storeowners to choose a selection that will please their customers, and it’s popular among a wide variety of customers, which means you’re just as likely to please a shopping grandmother as you are to please the grandson she’s with.

As a business owner, maybe you’ve already decided what kind of candy your store will sell, as well as the kind of candy you’re going to display on your countertop; however, if you need some help, consider these two factors: the kinds of customers your store will attract and the countertop space you have to work with.

Consider Your Customers

Because they cater to a wide variety of customers, retail businesses like convenience stores and grocery stores tend to include just as wide a variety of candies in their countertop displays. For example, bulk wrapped candies like Laffy Taffy, Squirrel Nut Zippers, Starlight Mints, Jolly Ranchers, and Atomic Fireballs tend to satisfy the masses, as do bulk unwrapped candies like Mike & Ike, Good & Plenty, Hot Tamales, Jelly Beans, Skittles, M&Ms, Runts, and Sprees.

However, if your business deals with a more mature demographic, you might want to consider candies like European-Style Gold Label Chocolates and Rich’s Gourmet Chocolates. These kinds of candies work well to make your countertop displays more appealing for customers who’ve outgrown the days of Jawbreakers and Tootsie Rolls. While they’re popular in convenience stores and grocery stores, they’re also well received in more formal restaurant settings and hotels.

Consider the Size of Your Countertop

Countertop displays that feature candy require containers to organize, store, and showcase that candy. You have many options to choose from including colored and clear plastic containers, food grade plastic containers, and glass jars. The kind of containers you choose will depend on the kind of candy you sell as well as the overall environment of your convenience store.

If you have ample countertop space to work with, you can display several different kinds of candies using numerous medium-sized or small candy containers or a few large candy containers. You might want to situate your candy bins atop countertop racks, or you might want to get creative and play with the positions of the containers to form your own display.

However, if your store’s countertop isn’t very large, you’ll probably need to use small glass or plastic containers; you might also be able to situate one or two large candy containers on your countertop. Keep in mind that countertop display racks work well to make the most of the space you have to work with.

Also remember that if you opt to include unwrapped candies in your countertop display, you should store them in glass or plastic containers with lids and make sure your customers have access to aluminum or plastic scoops. The lids help keep the candy fresh and clean, and the scoop makes it possible for your customers to easily dig out the amount of candy they want without contaminating the rest of it.

Thinking of Selling Bulk Candies in Your Store?

If you’re not thinking of ordering bulk candies for your store, you certainly should be! Candy is a popular food item among nearly every kind of retail business – even those that don’t typically sell food.

• Convenience stores and gas stations can set up countertop displays of candy, situate gumball machines near their stores’ entryways, and use c-store racks to display candy throughout their stores.
• Restaurants can create candy displays on their countertops near their registers so their customers can purchase gum, breath mints, or pieces of hard candy before they leave.
• Hotels and motels can offer candy to their patrons in their deli or snack areas, as well as their more formal dining areas. Some hotels even opt to place gumball machines throughout high traffic areas of the building such as hallways and near conference rooms and lounge areas.
  

There are so many different kinds of candies on the market, which means you’re able to easily offer your customers a wide variety of candies to choose from. Plus, when you buy bulk candy at wholesale prices, you’re helping your business save money and making sure your store stays stocked with your customers’ favorite kinds of candy!

Bulk Wrapped Candies Offer Many Countertop Display Options

Wrapped candies lend themselves to a great deal of flexibility when it comes to displaying them throughout your store. Wrappers protect the candies, so you don’t have to worry about choosing plastic containers with lids or scoops; this usually means you have more freedom to play around with the sizes and shapes of your display containers, as well as where you situate them.

Look for popular bulk wrapped candies at wholesale prices such as:

• Jolly Ranchers
• Bit-O-Honey
• Tootsie Roll Midgees
• Atomic Fireballs
• Smarties Rolls
• Lemonheads
• Jawbreakers
• Laffy Taffy
  

Add Bulk Unwrapped Candies To Your List

Unwrapped candies are great for gumball machines, but you can also create countertop displays using food grade plastic containers with lids and plastic or aluminum scoops. Containers with lids help protect the candy from dust and other debris, while the scoops provide a sanitary way for your customers to access the candy.

You can find a variety of bulk unwrapped candies at wholesale prices, including:

• Good & Plenty
• M&Ms
• Hot Tamales
• Jelly Beans
• Runts
• Skittles
• Sprees
• Mike & Ike
  

Save Money Buying Bulk Candies at Wholesale Prices

Saving money is something everyone – including business owners – strives to do during these tough economic times, and saving money is one of the best benefits of ordering bulk candies at true wholesale prices.

Be careful not to place your bulk candy order with the first vendor you run across. Although many companies claim to offer bulk quantities of candy at wholesale prices, a little research quickly shows that the prices these companies are quoting are significantly higher than true wholesale prices. Be sure to shop around and compare the prices of several different vendors before placing your order.

Countertop Displays: Consider Bulk Candy Wholesale

Countertop displays are staples in many retail settings. For businesses like convenience stores, grocery stores, and even some restaurants, countertop displays often consist of wrapped and unwrapped candies purchased in bulk at wholesale prices.

Ideas for Countertop Displays of Bulk Unwrapped Candies

If you plan to store and display your unwrapped candies using a countertop display, there are two tools you should become familiar with: gumball machines and food grade plastic containers.

You don’t have to use gumball machines strictly for gumballs; these machines can hold an assortment of small, unwrapped candies. Many gumball machines are attached to tall stands, but you can also find smaller, standless gumball machines that are perfect for sitting on convenience store countertops.

Food grade plastic containers come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Lids designed for the customer to screw or snap on and off, or lids designed to stay attached to the containers with hinges, help keep the candies protected from contamination, and plastic or aluminum scoops make it easy for each customer to get the exact amount of candy he wants without touching the rest of it.

Ideas for Countertop Displays of Bulk Wrapped Candies

When it comes to creating countertop displays of bulk wrapped candies, traditional acrylic and plastic containers are very durable and glass candy jars add an elegant charm to your display. Consider the following factors as you decide how to create your countertop display of bulk candies:

• Countertop Space: The number and size of the candy containers you use depends on how much countertop space you have to work with. Regardless of the size of your countertop, you might consider using countertop racks to hold your containers. Small versions of convenience store racks, or c-store racks, help you make the most of the space you have and include even more candies in your display.
• Store Traffic: If your store is quite busy, plastic or acrylic containers will work best. They’re durable and less likely to break or cause harm to anyone if a customer accidentally knocks them off the counter. If your store has a slower pace, or your displays are located in a place where they’re less likely to experience passing traffic, you might want to use glass candy containers.
• Store Theme: You can find acrylic and plastic containers in a variety of shapes and colors to add pizzazz to your countertop theme! If your store has a more muted atmosphere, glass containers are a stylish solution for holding and displaying your bulk wrapped candies.
  

You can find containers with lids if you want to help protect the candy from theft or if you like the visual appeal some candy bins with lids provide, but because these candies are wrapped, the lids aren’t necessary as far as protection from contamination is concerned.

Buying Bulk Candy Wholesale Helps You Save Money

Aside from helping you create attractive countertop displays and making sure your store is always stocked with your customers favorite items, buying candy at bulk wholesale prices helps you save money.

Wholesale prices are less expensive than retail prices, and when you buy in bulk your getting more candy than you would if you spent the same amount of money on candy set at retail prices. Plus, buying in bulk means you won’t have to order as much candy as you would if you purchased smaller quantities.

Before you place an order for bulk candies, make sure you shop around and compare prices. Some companies might claim to offer bulk wholesale prices but actually charge higher prices than what is considered “wholesale.”

How Can Bulk Unwrapped Candies Benefit Your Retail Business?

If you haven’t started selling bulk unwrapped candies yet, what are you waiting for? These kinds of candies:

• Are ideal for nearly every kind of store, restaurant, and retail business where any kind of food product is sold. You can sell these candies in convenience stores, gas stations, hotel snack bars, grocery stores, fast food restaurants, and even more formal dining establishments.
• Lend themselves to an assortment of display options. You can display these candies on convenience store countertops, in gumball machines, in plastic food grade containers near your store’s deli area, and even near the entries and exits of markets and major national chain stores (think of stores like Wal-Mart and Target).
• Come in a variety of types. You can find unwrapped candies like Sprees, Skittles, Mike & Ike, and gumballs to display throughout your store or restaurant. Because of the wide variety of candies available, you can make sure your store is always stocked with something to please every customer.
  

Find Unbeatable Bulk Wholesale Prices on Unwrapped Candies

When you buy in bulk, you’re making sure your business is always stocked with the kinds of merchandise your customers prefer. Before you order bulk unwrapped candies at wholesale prices, take some time to observe sales trends. What kinds of candies do you customers buy the most? What kinds of candies do they avoid? You’ll want your ordering process to match your customers’ buying trends.

Buying unwrapped candies in bulk not only helps make sure your business stays well stocked; it also helps you get the most bang for your buck. When you find a company that sells bulk candy at true wholesale prices, you save much more money than you would if you ordered smaller quantities of candy.

Of course, in order to make sure you get the best deal, you have to be careful of the “wholesale price” claim: Many suppliers will make this claim, but their prices might actually be higher than true wholesale. Be sure to shop around.

Display Suggestions for Bulk Unwrapped Candies

Unlike wrapped candies like Jawbreakers, Laffy Taffy, Tootsie Rolls, and Jolly Ranchers, unwrapped candies need extra protection to keep them sanitary; therefore, a little extra thought has to go into display bulk unwrapped candies. Consider these ideas:

• Gumball Machines: Gumball machines aren’t just for gumballs anymore! You can use these machines to store and display gumballs as well as other kinds of unwrapped candies like Reeses Pieces, M&Ms, Jelly Beans, and BananaRama candies.
• Food Grade Plastic Containers: These containers have screw-on, snap-on, or attached hinge lids to help keep unwrapped candies protected. Using a plastic or aluminum scoop, customers can get as much candy as they want without contaminating any of the rest of it.
• Gravity Bin Dry Food Dispensers: These kinds of plastic containers often hold dry goods like cereal and coffee grinds or beans; however, they’re also ideal for storing and displaying bulk unwrapped candies. These bins generally feature a handle that will start the flow of candy when a customer spins it one way, and stop the flow when the customers spins it the other way – perfect!
  

Why Should Convenience Stores Buy in Bulk?

Convenience stores and the majority of other retail businesses benefit greatly from ordering bulk wholesale merchandise.

Bulk wholesale prices are generally less expensive than any other ordering method. Storeowners can order nearly any kind of merchandise they need in bulk, and this option also allows them to make sure their stores stay well stocked with their customers’ favorite items. Plus, ordering merchandise in bulk at wholesale prices also minimizes the amount of packaging the storeowners – and the environment – has to deal with.

Bulk Items Wholesale Are Perfect for Convenience Stores

There are so many different kinds of items you can order in bulk at wholesale prices, but especially of interest for convenience stores and other retail settings is bulk candy.

Retail businesses can order bulk wrapped candies and showcase them in countertop displays with clear plastic containers or colored acrylic bins, or put them in containers on convenience store racks or wooden basket displays designed to situate anywhere throughout the store. They can also order bulk unwrapped candies, such as gumballs and other small kinds of candies, to display in places like gumball machines.

Bulk Wholesale Prices Are Ideal for Retail Businesses

Simply put, you save money when you order your store’s wholesale items in bulk. Bulk wholesale prices are generally set to offer the storeowner a bargain. Plus, when you order bulk merchandise, you’re ordering a large quantity but you’re also order fewer times than you would be if you ordered in small quantities. This means you’re spending money at fewer intervals.

Ordering in Bulk Ensures Your Store Is Well Stocked

Retail settings – especially convenience stores – are generally pretty busy, and sometimes it’s difficult to find the time to set aside a time to take stock of what merchandise you need to replace – not to mention find the time to sit down and order it!

When you order bulk wholesale merchandise, you’re making sure of two things:

• Your store is always well stocked with best-selling items. In other words, your store is always packed with your customers’ favorite merchandise, and you never have to leave them disappointed!
• Your ordering dates will become fewer and farther between. Because you will have plenty of your customers’ favorite items, you won’t have to order as often as you would if you originally ordered small quantities.
  

Buy Bulk Wholesale Products Minimizes Packaging

When you buy candy wholesale in bulk, you have less plastic wrappers, bags, and containers to deal with. This is a big timesaver for you because you have less trash to worry about disposing or trying to figure out how to reuse. Of course, Mother Nature is happy anytime you can cut down on the amount of trash you’re creating.

And, remember: If you do find yourself with extra packaging, try to find a way to reuse it. For example, if your bulk products arrive in plastic containers, you can use those as storage containers in your store’s stockroom. If the containers are in good shape, you can use them to create countertop displays near your store’s register!