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Sony boss asks theater owners for healthier snacks

3/15/2010, 4:22 p.m. CDT
The Associated Press
(AP) — LAS VEGAS - The head of Sony Pictures suggested Monday that movie theaters offer healthier snacks to help fight obesity and give audiences a broader range of food choices.

Michael Lynton, chairman and chief executive officer for Sony, told theater owners at their annual ShoWest convention that a survey by the studio at 26 U.S. theaters found that two-thirds of movie-goers said they would be likely to buy healthy concessions if available.

The survey also found that 60 percent of parents thought that healthier concessions would enhance the moviegoing experience and that 42 percent of parents would buy concessions at theaters more often if healthier choices were offered, Lynton said.

"I don't mean close the window for popcorn, soda and candy. Audiences love them and should always be able to buy them at your theaters," Lynton said in the keynote address as the four-day convention opened. "I can almost imagine the Romans eating popcorn and drinking Coke at the Coliseum 2,000 years ago. Or the Greeks munching on Sno-Caps at the Theatre of Dionysus in Athens."

But "by bringing healthier snacks into your concession stands, you would be helping our country meet an urgent public health need," Lynton said.

According to Lynton, healthier food selections suggested by those surveyed include fruit cups, vegetables with dip, yogurt, granola bars, baked chips and unbuttered, air-popped popcorn.

Lynton said the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, launched by former President Bill Clinton and the American Heart Association to fight childhood obesity, has offered to help advise theaters on healthier concession items.

© 2010 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

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quote: David Stambaugh

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During one of the big movie popcorn scares (OMG! Coconut oil!) Act III Theaters started offering air-popped unbuttered popcorn here. It was in sealed bags like potato chips come in. I tried it, once. It was horrible.

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And the "OMG Coconut Oil!" crowd all ignored that the research indicating coconut oil to be bad only looked at hydrogenated coconut oil. Natural coconut oil is actually quite healthy.
 

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Posted by Caleb Johnstone-Cowan (Member # 3710) on 03-15-2010, 08:19 PM:
 
No-one going to a Sony tentpole release wants to buy a healthy snack. I couldn't have dealt with 2012 unless I'd got the packet of candy to go with my large popcorn and drink. People forget that for lots of people the food is a part of the escape from reality which is what people want from the Cinema.

There was a terrible piece of journalism in (our) The Times and a couple of other outlets recently about calories and portion sizes. It completely missed the more interesting issues (for me waste and profit margins), just went on with the usual scare tactics and 'we should warn people' rubbish.
 

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Posted by Adam Martin (Member # 641) on 03-15-2010, 09:12 PM:
 
Aside from juice boxes and fruit snacks for the kiddies, customers have proven time and time again that "healthy snacks" do not sell at movie theaters.
 

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Posted by Bill Enos (Member # 440) on 03-16-2010, 10:16 AM:
 
Fresh fruit and veggies have a shelf life of less than over night. Where does Sony expect that shit to be stored and kept fresh? We sell the healthiest beverage there is---bottled water and it goes very fast, even though we offer a free cup and ice for use with the water fountains if they ask.
 

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Posted by Martin McCaffery (Member # 37) on 03-16-2010, 01:55 PM:
 
Let's say a theatre starts selling oranges. In season they are about 3 for $1 at the grocery store. With the usual theatre markup, they would be about $3 each. Does anyone really think the average movie going person off the street will pay $3 for an orange?

Even with my older art film crowd, we tried selling "healthy snacks" and they sat there for a very long time. The main consumers of the junk food we sell are the under-30's, who would be the least interested in "healthy" food.

Do you think Mr Lynton recently acquired a health freak trophy bride?
 

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Posted by Caleb Johnstone-Cowan (Member # 3710) on 03-16-2010, 07:48 PM:
 
If he has he is doing better for himself than those of us who consume far too many cinema snacks It's almost impossible for me to watch something, even if it's artsy and/or serious, without at least a large Coke and some candy now.
 

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Posted by Louis Bornwasser (Member # 3063) on 03-17-2010, 08:39 PM:
 
Puullllleeeze!!! Do these people just wake up with a new brain fart one day?

Sales, all sales, is "find a need and fill it! This is no different. (Not only that, but from the Beta/SDDS people as well.) Louis
 

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Posted by Tony Bandiera Jr (Member # 2365) on 03-17-2010, 09:13 PM:
 

quote: Louis Bornwasser

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Sales, all sales, is "find a need and fill it! This is no different. (Not only that, but from the Beta/SDDS people as well.) Louis

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Thank you Louis for the perfect lead-in for my post.

This gem of brilliance comes from the same people who brought Beta and SDDS!! Get the picture?
 

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Posted by Manny Montes (Member # 5639) on 03-17-2010, 11:51 PM:
 
I could never see a theater selling fruit, and I don't think that is what he is calling for.

To be honest, while I think it will fail, it's not a bad gesture to try at least. My theater sells juices (actual ones, not the sugared stuff) and what's wrong with trying to sell some granola bars or maybe yogurt?

I don't feel we should baby people and "WARN THEM" though, but providing healthier options is never a bad thing.
 

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Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 03-18-2010, 12:09 AM:
 
I still predict that if some of the big chains try this out it will end up being "sell them something that appears to be healthy and isn't." For instance, most granola bars sold at the grocery store aren't all that healthy.
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 03-18-2010, 01:37 AM:
 
We sell a surprising amount of bottled water, but really don't get many calls for other "healthy" options.

The truth is, for about 90% of moviegoers, that movie outing is the one time they don't give a hoot about their health. They're out to have a good time, and it includes joyously eating something that's bad for them.
 

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Posted by Ron Curran (Member # 3631) on 03-18-2010, 03:10 AM:
 
There aren't too many fat exhibitors.
 

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Posted by Christopher Crouch (Member # 3784) on 03-20-2010, 11:37 AM:
 
If there was a significant interest in healthy snacks, I'd surely be encountering more people trying to sneak in veggie platters and fruit juice. While I see the occassional orange or juice box, there isn't a great deal of fruit smuggling going on at my theatre.

I've worked at a few theatres that tried healthy alternatives (air popped corn, trail mix, raisins, etc.). Aside from some moderate succes with offering the raisins as part of the kid pack, all of these attempts were complete failures. I've found that most "health concious" patrons aren't interested in eating at the theatre, no matter what you offer.

If there was a demand for healthy alternatives at the concession stand, the industry would have jumped on that market long ago.
 

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Posted by Bill Enos (Member # 440) on 03-20-2010, 12:56 PM:
 
Yeah, most of the left overs from sneaked in food indicate McDonalds, fried chicken, Cheesesteak sandwiches, and pizza. Favorite beverages: beer leads the way followed by bottled soft drinks, wine and liquor. Extremely rare to find wrappers from anything remotely healthy.
 

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Posted by Martin McCaffery (Member # 37) on 03-20-2010, 02:53 PM:
 
As close as we get to healthy trash is sunflower seed shells and peanut shells. I really don't care about them bringing them in, but what kind of animal thinks it is ok to leave the shells all over the floor?
 

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Posted by John Hawkinson (Member # 1135) on 03-20-2010, 06:05 PM:
 
He should probably let Amy Pascal take the lead on these kinds of communications...

--jhawk
 

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Posted by Geena Phillips (Member # 3726) on 04-06-2010, 11:40 PM:
 
Isn't this the same company that released 2012? They've got some nerve, lecturing exhibitors on endangering people's health.
 

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Posted by Justin Hamaker (Member # 2165) on 04-08-2010, 09:22 PM:
 
Every time we've tried a "health" option, it's been met with a collective yawn.

We offer CapriSun 100% pouches as a drink choice on the kids fun pack, but only about 2% of parents choose the CapriSun. We also sell the pouches individually and they amount to just over 1% of Child Soda sales (which are our slowest selling soda size).

We offered fruit snacks as a candy option and had to discontinue them because the didn't sell fast enough to stock a fresh product. Yes, I know that fruit snacks are generally not much better than candy, but they often have the perception of being healthy.

We've also tried sugar free candy, salsa cups (for chips and salsa), and a few other "healthy" options. None of these sold well enough to maintain a fresh product.

Maybe in high volume theatres it might be practical to offer things like fruit cups. But in my location it just wouldn't be practical.
 

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