Popcorn 2011

How were your 2011 Popcorn Sales?

I was helping unload the Manitoba and NW Ontario shipments the other day and wondered how the rest of the country did this year.

My own Group did really well. We like the fundraiser. (Knowing this thread will open up the rants from the haters).

I dont know how we did compared to last year but it was another good year. its our best anual fundraiser. I dont understand not liking it.

worked well for us, though participation was low. Those who sold generated $1000 for our section. A good fundraiser indeed.

Our entire Area was down by a lot from last year. Lots of talk about the loss of the collector tins affecting sales.

While it is a pretty good fundraiser for our group, due to mainly one Scout that sells a ton each year, I don't like it, we had really low participation this year. I find the product very overpriced. Sure 60% stays in scouting, but I think we would sell a lot more if the product was cheaper and a smaller percentage went to scouting. That small $20 bag of very delicious pretzels was eaten in one night in our family. And I only managed to sell some to two people myself.

Sales were down in my group and, from the scuttlebutt at the popcorn pickup, in the area as well. Main issues:

1) Loss of tins. I was at the kickoff and heard the Trail's End rep tout market research (people didn't like the tins) as a reason for dropping them. According to the people I talked to, people like the tins. Who's right?

2) Cost. Again, the major selling point at the kickoff was that "better flavour, better for you" would trump price. Methinks the customer is right, again.

3) Prizes. Despite "market research" the youth prefer the trinkets to the gift cards, which will probably end up in Mom's or Dad's and be used for clothes or something other that what the youth would consider a "prize."

4) Groups don't get 60% of the profits. Scouting does. If you can access it, your group popcorn coordinator has a breakdown of the profit points for each item, which ranges from 35.91% to 47% at the group level. The rest, to make up the 60%, goes to Council.

5) The economy. Let's face it, most people have less to spend this year and sales show it. I can buy a $5 pack of microwave popcorn at Wal-Mart and use the other $13 for other needs instead of blowing the whole $18 on what I'd considered an overpriced product, no matter who it benefits.

BTW - did anybody sell any of the miltary donations? We had one $50 and one $30 sale.

BTW - did anybody sell any of the miltary donations? We had one $50 and one $30 sale.

I had one, but it turns out that the guy did it by mistake. He was a little cheesed when I was passing out popcorn (it was at a business networking meeting (yes, I sell popcorn on my kids' behalf)), and he didn't get any. I then showed him the order sheet, and he realized his mistake. I told him that there is still some available, but he didn't want any.

Sour grapes?

Down in our area as well. I think Robert D. summed it up perfectly for our area. I think we made more on apple day. I think the kids had more fun at apple day since most of the popcorn was generally sold by the parents. For me, popcorn sales are second only to sell magazine subs. in the 'pain in the...." category.

One new, and eager, Beaver Scout parent sold $600+ to friends/coworkers on the military base. A few didn't want popcorn, but he reminded them how much they liked care packages when on deployment. He sold a couple.

Other than that, no military donations sold.

Easy: "Would you like to buy these Girl Guide cookies?"
Easy, but difficult to explain: "Would you like to donate to Scouting? Have an apple. No, there is no set price... we aren't selling apples. Here's an apple. Can I have some money?"
Harder: "Would you like to enter into a contract wherein I will deliver you popcorn in a month and half?"
Very hard: "Would you like to donate a popcorn product an active military service person, where most of the money supports Scouts Canada? Here's a thank you card. No you can't use it a charitable donation for tax purposes."

I don't want to complain, but it is a challenge. Many Groups (including mine, this year) undergo restructuring in Sept./Oct. and have a difficult time getting these fund raisers going. I envy the Girl Guides, who sell one type of cookie in the fall and another in the spring. No orders, just sales.

Anything we can do to simplify the fund raisers for youth, parents, volunteers, and the supporting public would be appreciated.

Wow... negative rant... sorry folks. We try to keep the fund-raising as positive as possible. (... but it is a PITA)

guide cookies are easier. the one type in fall and one type in spring is a pain though. I keep telling my daughters that I want to keep a log of everyone who says, oh I like the other ones, and go back next season. but its simple to get $4 from someone. find a house with a plant with "spikey leaves" by the door, guaranteed sale. take a case to work, send out an email at 3 pm, sell the case that afternoon.

guide cookies are easier. the one type in fall and one type in spring is a pain though. I keep telling my daughters that I want to keep a log of everyone who says, oh I like the other ones, and go back next season. but its simple to get $4 from someone. find a house with a plant with "spikey leaves" by the door, guaranteed sale. take a case to work, send out an email at 3 pm, sell the case that afternoon.

Having a Guider in our household , The one thing she consistently says to me is that the price point on the Girl Guide Cookies is that they have to sell a lot more cookies to get anywhere near the fundraising we make in our group... Scouting is generating more fundraising Dollars per unit sale than Girl Guide Cookies... something to bear in mind.

Any way you slice it, Fundraising is a pain.

(For context, this is my 1st year as a Scouter, I fully expect my opinion to change over time)

Sure, it's easier to convince someone to buy a $4 box of cookies, but as someone else already noted, the margins are _way_ lower, and you have to sell a _lot_ of boxes to get the same $ of funds raised (Can anyone who knows the math share it for the group?)

Popcorn, on the other hand, is definitely a harder sell, and it's not an "impulse" sale. It requires followup, which makes it a more challenging sales cycle. That said, 41% of the money came directly to our section, plus the remainder of the 60% funds the other parts of the organization. All-in-all, I would say that it's a pretty decent fundraiser.

Some parents have asked: Can I just give you an extra $20? Well, actually, the number raised is closer to $30 per Beaver, plus there's an extra $5-8 you'd have to give to fund the other areas, so it's closer to $40. Would some parents be willing to shell out $40 to avoid having to sell popcorn? Yeah, sure. Would all of them? Definitely not. If all families had high incomes, it would be a non-issue, but that's not reality. A fundraiser helps equalize things for those who couldn't afford it. I don't think that's a bad thing at all.

All that said, are there ways to improve the popcorn programme? I think so. The current programme certainly generates lots of complaints, and if we could somehow harness those into positive changes, we could probably make the programme better. Case in point regarding the tins: I don't believe for a second that "market research" indicated people didn't like the tins. I think that's a load of hooey. "In God I trust. All others bring data." I suspect the tins added to the cost of those items, and rather than increase the cost (because people universally complain about price), they decided to lower the quality. This isn't Walmart, it's Scouts. We should be trying to find ways to make our fundraiser represent what we are, rather than let some "corporate marketing guy" make it the most profitable business model.

One of the common threads that seems to run through discussions like this lately is how we're straying from the values of Scouting, in order to change with the times. The changes to Popcorn, the changes to the uniforms, etc. I joined Scouts this year because I wanted my son to experience life, the outdoors and connect with nature. I want him to be "well rounded", self confident, and be able to make "big decisions", not narrow-minded ones. I feel at conflict with some of the very same things that others seem to be in conflict over. Eg: Why is Scouts Canada popcorn sourced from the US? I'm not anti-American, but I do believe it's always better to buy products made closer to home, even if theres a slight premium. Why are our uniforms made off-shore? "Wise in the use of all resources" doesn't mean get the cheapest price. And I'm pretty sure that using low-wage labour then shipping product overseas is not a wise use of resources.

Sorry. I'm going to wrap up this diatribe, now. I didn't mean to hijack this thread (though I have a tendency of doing this, sorry).

Regards,
Patrick

I think we could do better with the Military donations if the amount was lower, say $5.00 ? I think we did a few hundred dollars as it was but would do better if they changed the amount.

Tins sell! Tin foil bags don't! (Unless someone is just making a donation!) I think the marketing experts asked "would you pay $20 for a tin of popcorn?" People probably thought "no, a bag would be cheaper, so do it that way!"

FD

guide cookies are easier. the one type in fall and one type in spring is a pain though. I keep telling my daughters that I want to keep a log of everyone who says, oh I like the other ones, and go back next season. but its simple to get $4 from someone. find a house with a plant with "spikey leaves" by the door, guaranteed sale. take a case to work, send out an email at 3 pm, sell the case that afternoon.

Having a Guider in our household , The one thing she consistently says to me is that the price point on the Girl Guide Cookies is that they have to sell a lot more cookies to get anywhere near the fundraising we make in our group... Scouting is generating more fundraising Dollars per unit sale than Girl Guide Cookies... something to bear in mind.

for sure. and I believe the margin is better in popcorn. its not a bad fundraiser at all, it just isnt simple.

I would like to see Data on the tins though.