Opening Popcorn Bags without hands

[Darin Steffl]

Quick question. Are there any tools out there to open popcorn bags without sticking your hand into the bag to unfold it? I hate using our hands and putting on gloves for every purchase isn't feasible.

Please tell me some cool gizmo exists to open our bags quickly and easily.

[Frank Cox]

1066-popcorn-bucket-large-85-oz-000.jpg
This is my solution. I've never used bags here.

Even though they are more expensive, popcorn containers like this are much better than any bags because you can fill them easily, the container doesn't tip over, the butter stays in the container without leaking out, and customers like the way they look.

When you consider the amount people pay for the popcorn, the few extra cents of input cost for a popcorn bucket over a bag is insignificant.

[Marcel Birgelen]

I think I could come up with a 3D printed gizmo that fits into the bag and could unfold it, while you push it in. Maybe you could even use the other end as a kind of scoop, to scoop up the popcorn, a bit like the contraption McDonald's and other fast food shacks use to fill their little baggies of fries.

[Darin Steffl]

1066-popcorn-bucket-large-85-oz-000.jpg
This is my solution. I've never used bags here.

Even though they are more expensive, popcorn containers like this are much better than any bags because you can fill them easily, the container doesn't tip over, the butter stays in the container without leaking out, and customers like the way they look.

When you consider the amount people pay for the popcorn, the few extra cents of input cost for a popcorn bucket over a bag is insignificant.

I like buckets but they are 2.7x higher cost per unit compared to bags which would mean we need to raise concessions cost. I prefer to be cheaper than the big city multiplexes we have 15 miles away. They also use bags for the most part except maybe their largest size is a bucket. Buckets also take up way more garbage space which means more frequent bag changes and increased disposal costs.

[Darin Steffl]

I think I could come up with a 3D printed gizmo that fits into the bag and could unfold it, while you push it in. Maybe you could even use the other end as a kind of scoop, to scoop up the popcorn, a bit like the contraption McDonald's and other fast food shacks use to fill their little baggies of fries.

I feel like there has to be something out there that we can put a bag over some machine, then it blows air in the bag to pop it open for us.

[Frank Cox]

The buckets don't have to take up more room in the garbage. Just dump the residue into the garbage bag and restack them as you pick them up off of the floor.

I have three sizes so I make three stacks while I'm doing the pick-up. Shove the whole works into the bag when I get to the end of the auditorium and that's all there is to it.

[Darin Steffl]

The buckets don't have to take up more room in the garbage. Just dump the residue into the garbage bag and restack them as you pick them up off of the floor.

I have three sizes so I make three stacks while I'm doing the pick-up. Shove the whole works into the bag when I get to the end of the auditorium and that's all there is to it.

Your customers don't throw away their garbage? We expect people to throw away their own concessions and 90% of them do. We only have a box or two of empty candy and maybe a couple bags or soda cups left in the theatre after a big show. So we wouldn't be able to stack popcorn buckets neatly unless we went threw our garbage bins which we're not going to do.

[Marcel Birgelen]

I feel like there has to be something out there that we can put a bag over some machine, then it blows air in the bag to pop it open for us.

That will be a pretty expensive machine, because a simple fan will probably not do it, but you'll probably need some kind of compressed air. What sizes are those bags you're using?

I'm pretty sure you could slide some contraption down the inside of the bag to unfold it without touching the inside with your hands.

[Frank Cox]

Some bring their garbage out, some don't. Those that do will usually stack their containers in the bin. Sometimes I'll say, "Thanks for coming to the movie, I'll take that for you" and put it in the bin myself since I'm standing there anyway.

It's never been any kind of an issue, actually.

[Mike Blakesley]

Buckets are a thousand times better and they’re worth the cost. Big chains typically charge 8 to 14 dollars for a bag. We sell a 170 ounce bucket for $7.75 and make plenty of money on it and it has become our most popular size. We sell many of them for takeout. Some takeout customers buy two or three.

- Doesn’t leak butter
- Easier to handle
- Doesn't spill as easily
- Customers perceive a higher value
- Much faster to fill
- Quieter in the auditorium
- More sanitary (no need to stick your hand in)

[James Wyrembelski]

I had bags in the beginning due to the cheaper cost. Eventually made the switch partly due to the handling issue. I didn't like sticking my hands into bags and opening them quickly was a challenge. After switching I found that everything Mike has said is absolutely true.

I think the best thing of all the reasons was the quick fill. It sped up our concession lines dramatically. At the time we switched to tubs, I kept the price the same.

I just raised the price of our popcorn about a month ago by 1.00 across all sizes. Our large is a 130oz for 6.00 (tax included). I'm not even sure anyone noticed.

[Mark Lane]

We use the square tubs.. it is faster to fill and less issues.
A large percentage of our regulars bring their own plastic reusable buckets. We sell them for a buck which is a break even but if you can get people to pay for the plastic containers, it saves you money. We get the buckets that promote a movie.. It becomes a sense of pride to some customers to have one we issued years ago. We will even fill people's ice cream buckets... it saves us money, and reduces our trash.

We can also run specials to increase to-go orders. For example: "Bring in your Black Widow reusable popcorn bucket and get it filled for...... "
We use to purchase the buckets for a dollar, they have gone up a little but we still only change a dollar for the buckets, we might need to raise the price but we do get our investment back and when people bring them back, we save money.

[Carsten Kurz]

It's a different kind of bag, but, since the beginning of the pandemic, we switched from our usual paper bags to very thin transparent PVC bags (with a logo printing on it). We just whip them through the air and they open wide enough to allow filling. We close them with wire-clips. It is certainly not as fast as a bucket/container, but is has other advantages as well.

I haven't tried it with our paper bags, it might work as well.

[Darin Steffl]

Does anyone offer annual bucket deals like this? $25 for the bucket purchase then $4.50 refills through 2022. This way they're trying to lock you in to coming back to their theater. We could obviously tweak pricing to like $20 purchase, $4 or 5 fills. Just curious of thoughts on this.

https://www.marcustheatres.com/marcus-specials/food-beverage/ultimate-popcorn-tub-2022

[Mark Lane]

Does anyone offer annual bucket deals like this? $25 for the bucket purchase then $4.50 refills through 2022. This way they're trying to lock you in to coming back to their theater. We could obviously tweak pricing to like $20 purchase, $4 or 5 fills. Just curious of thoughts on this.

https://www.marcustheatres.com/marcu...pcorn-tub-2022

It is not an annual bucket but we have the same promotion. Other theater's overpriced annual buckets only help us sell ours.
We only charge a dollar for the bucket. If they bring the bucket back, they save a dollar on popcorn. We charge $3.00 if a bucket is returned.. any bucket. We will even take other theater's buckets. We even take people's ice cream buckets.. any bucket that hold about the same amount is charged $3.00, larger buckets are charged more, smaller buckets are charged less. We try and get the buckets that are discounted or feature a movie we are playing. We pay a dollar for the bucket and charge the customer a dollar. First time purchase is $5.00, bring it back and we will fill it again for $3.00.

People like to collect the different ones. They tend to take pride in owning an older bucket.. all scratched up and looking bad, but they still use them. We currently have the round DC Superheroes. Before that we used the square Black Widow buckets.. people prefer the round ones with a handle.