Anonymous wrote:People were pissed at ours when we said we had popcorn but it was SkinnyPop in bags instead of fresh. Like they were borderline rude!

I mean, I wouldn't be rude about it but hot fresh popcorn is the standard. Also way more lucrative.

We go to a restaurant supply store and buy cans of chili and queso in bulk and do chili nachos. It's one of our most popular items during football season.

People were pissed at ours when we said we had popcorn but it was SkinnyPop in bags instead of fresh. Like they were borderline rude!

I would tear up an anitas breakfast burrito at any time of day. and they are premade and no work

we sell a ton of pretzels and breakfast burritos from anitas (even though its at night)

Anonymous wrote:This sounds like a lot of work. You are sticking it, but who’s running it? Do you force volunteer? I understand that’s necessary and I will do my fair share when I’m assigned but please keep it simple. Don’t make me make anything. Stick to the big sellers.

Sour candy
Water bottles- more than you can imagine
Sodas and Gatorade
Pizza and chic fila

+1 to all this. At my DC's FCPS HS, we also have lots of hot water (we use those huge coffee pots) bc Cup of Noodles and Hot Chocolate are big sellers once the sun sets.
And we have a hot dog roller, and they always sell. Especially during times we are waiting on the next pizza/Chick Fil A deliveries.

This sounds like a lot of work. You are sticking it, but who’s running it? Do you force volunteer? I understand that’s necessary and I will do my fair share when I’m assigned but please keep it simple. Don’t make me make anything. Stick to the big sellers.

Sour candy
Water bottles- more than you can imagine
Sodas and Gatorade
Pizza and chic fila

Totally agree with the Skittles and sour candy. If you have a warmer, hot dogs are a quick seller and they're easy to prepare in large batches.

Walking tacos, MASSIVE hit. Parents provided crockpots full of taco beef. Individual Fritos packets from Sams Club. Our team mom is a little extra, so we also had beans, multiple salsas, lettuce, etc. You can make them with just meat and cheese, though.

I would NOT do popcorn. It's so popular that it's honestly very hard to keep up with demand.

Fruit has done surprisingly well at our games.

Soft pretzels if you have a good provider near you.

Anonymous wrote:What size school? Private or public? Our large public used to have standing orders with a local pizza place and chick-fil-a, lots of skittles and sour candy sold well.

Yes, this.

Chik-fil-a
Pizza
sour candy
chips
any sodas- especially Crush and Coke
taffy taffy

I helped run our concession stand at a large public for the past 3 years.

Top sellers:
Sour candy
Spicy chips, like Flaming Hot Cheetos or Takis
Cup o noodles, especially when the weather turns cool
Pizza (we bought from Costco or a local chain that gave us a discount in exchange for advertising as a sponsor)
Hot dogs
Gatorade
More bottled water than you can imagine on hot days
Dr Pepper, orange soda, Sprite
Hot chocolate ... even on warm nights, but then especially so as it gets colder in the fall.
If you have a way to keep ice cream bars frozen, those can be a good seller on hot nights.
Cheap penny candies that we keep right by the register, like individual airheads or jolly ranchers. People will add a handful to just about any purchase, and the markup can be huge without giving them sticker shock so the profit really adds up.

Low sellers:
Chocolate candy - it melts when it's hot out, so it's a pain to keep fresh. We only buy a few chocolate things and keep them in the fridge.
Diet soda - we keep a few on hand, but sell about 1 diet soda for every 50 regular cans

Popcorn is ok. We don't sell a ton, and it is a pain to run and clean the machine... but once you have the machine, the popcorn is so cheap that anything we sell is basically pure profit. So we keep making it even though it's not our top money-maker.

Walking tacos are popular but a lot of work. Tbd whether we're going to do them again this year.

Pickles are really popular at ours.

Large public. I plan to continue those relationships with chick fil a and pizza for sure but looking beyond those. Would love to buy one of those popcorn machines but have heard they're a bear to clean. I guess I am looking for ideas that were a surprise success.

What size school? Private or public? Our large public used to have standing orders with a local pizza place and chick-fil-a, lots of skittles and sour candy sold well.

I am in charge of stocking our HS concession stand. Any tips on what sells and what doesn't?