What I tried
I tried opening a short-term snack market pop-up in the Bamboo Grand Rapids lobby during Grand Rapids Tech Week. I had 2 shelves and a small fridge with products and sold items Tuesday - Friday during regular business hours. I wanted to see if this concept could work in the lobby of a busy coworking center, and I chose Tech Week due to the number of events and density of people in the building.
What happened
I didn't really make a profit, but people bought things! There were even repeat customers! I didn't end up selling all of my inventory, but a lot of it is shelf-stable and can potentially be sold at a later date. I think my experiment proved that the concept can work, but it needs more awareness and visibility. Since it was only open for a few days, word about the store wasn't able to spread too far. I think what DID work was the curation of the products. Many people commented that they appreciated the variety and options of the products for sale. EXPENSES: Inventory/COGS - $240.12 Packaging & Branding - $56.86 Equipment - $124.95 Permits & Fees - $115.00 Payment Processing Fees - $12.13 Net Sales: $242.49 It was fun to do, but now I'm wondering if it's something that I can turn into a longer-term endeavor. Perhaps a vending machine? Or some kind of self-serve mini market. Bamboo feels like the perfect location since it's a place people spend lots of time in and doesn't currently have any kind of vending machine.
Comments · 1
you already know I loved this and that you should keep this going!! $250 for three days like this is awesome