When I was ordering a mystery box from Bussin Snacks, I came across the Rap Snacks brand of chips. After a quick google, I found that not only are there chips, but also Rap Snacks noodles and Rap Snacks drinks.
There’s definitely some interesting flavors like the Rick Ross Sweet Chili Lemmon Pepper, and the Lil Baby All In (which is kind of like an Everything flavor) and I love that they’re all associated with rappers. In my high school days I played on the basketball team and played many pick up games at the park, and there is definitely a close association with rap/hip-hop and basketball, so I grew up (I’m a millennial) listening to the likes of Rick Ross, Jay-Z, Kanye, Snoop Dog, Dr. Dre, Drake and many other icons of rap.
But now my knees are bad and I haven’t balled in several years, and I’m more into snacks than I’m into basketball or current rap music. However, if I saw rap snacks and drinks in the vending machine at my park, I would have definitely spent a bit more money to try the unique flavors and get a bag with a rapper on it to show to my friends.
Give Rap Snacks a Shot
Just like I mentioned in the Bussin Snacks post, a row or two of Rap Snacks in a vending machine that already has all the normal stuff will definitely draw attention to the machine, especially if it is in a high foot traffic area where teenagers, or 20-somethings tend to hang out- especially if it’s for an activity like basketball where many of the players likely also listen to rap music.
Though it would be cool to have a machine totally filled with Rap Snacks and Drinks, the price point might be a little to high to justify not having the standard, lower cost chip and drink options. This way you test to see if the higher cost of the rap snacks is a barrier to people buying them, or if there’s enough demand to justify the higher cost. Luckily, your vending machine will produce all the sales data you need to make that determination.
Marketing Comes in Many Forms
Honestly, even if you don’t sell a single bag of Rap Chips, just the fact that you have some in your vending machine is going to draw attention to the machine. Think about it like you think about top shelf drinks at a bar – very few people buy a drink from one since it just doesn’t make sense for most people, but the margins are so high that it’s worth it for the bar to offer the drink. Certainly there’s less room in a vending machine, but the price point for chips is also a lot lower than for alcohol.
This can also be accomplished with other snacks that are also kind of unique, whether they’re international (like Pims and Le Petit Ecolier from Belgium) and have packaging with different languages on them, or are a limited time variety of a known brand, like Oreo Cakesters. Also, new brands like Chubby Snacks PB&J are healthy (at least vs. their competition – Uncrustables) and likely to get a lot of press, so people might buy them from your ice cream vending machine if they’re curious about the new brand.
