Popcorn is packaged against humidity: it pulls moisture from the air and goes stale and chewy, and caramel corn turns sticky. Cool it completely, so no steam is trapped, then seal it. A clear gusseted bag with a twist tie is the cheapest way to show it off, for corn sold at a market or event within days. A heat-sealed stand-up bag with a window keeps the crunch for weeks, which a shop shelf needs. A gift tin with dividers turns three flavors into the holiday product, and the tin is most of its cost. Weddings and offices buy 5 gallon bags to pour into bowls. Every retail package carries the label your license requires. In the example below, a Columbus popcorn shop prices four options: 13 cents to $3.60 a gallon. Below are the options, the label, the example, and a free cost calculator.
The short version
- Cool popcorn completely before bagging; trapped steam makes it chewy.
- Markets and events, sold within days: a clear bag with a twist tie.
- Shop shelves: a heat-sealed stand-up bag with a window.
- The holidays: a gift tin with dividers, priced as a gift.
- Weddings and offices: 5 gallon bags.
- Label with the required lines; caramel, cheddar and nut flavors bring allergens.
- Count the package in the cost; a tin is most of what a gift tin costs to make.
- TaroStack keeps each batch's lot and date, and the packaging in every batch's cost. More below.
The options
| Option | Keeps it crunchy | Shows the corn | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clear gusseted bag with a tie | For days | Yes | Markets, events |
| Heat-sealed kraft stand-up bag with window | For weeks | Through the window | Shop shelves |
| Gift tin with dividers | For weeks, lid on | When opened | The holidays, gifts |
| 5 gallon event bag | For the event | Yes | Weddings, offices |
The label
Packaged popcorn carries the label your license requires: the name, net weight, ingredients, allergens such as milk in caramel and cheddar corn and any nuts, and the name and place of business, plus Nutrition Facts unless an exemption applies. A tin with three flavors lists each one's ingredients. How the label works is in food labeling requirements for small business, and the exemption in nutrition label small business exemption.
An example: four options for a popcorn shop
Copper Kettle Popcorn, the made-up popcorn shop in Columbus, Ohio, I use in these examples, sells kettle corn, caramel corn and cheddar corn, about 300 gallons a week, and 2,400 gift tins in the first three weeks of December:
| Option | Parts | Per gallon | 300 a week |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clear gusseted bag with a tie | Bag 12¢, tie, label | $0.16 | $49.31 |
| Heat-sealed kraft stand-up bag | Bag 35¢, label | $0.39 | $118.12 |
| Gift tin, three flavors | Tin $3.50, label | $3.60 | $1,078.86 |
| 5 gallon event bag, per gallon | Bag 60¢, label, per gallon | $0.13 | $39.28 |
Markets get clear bags, shops get sealed kraft bags, events get 5 gallon bags, and the tins are December's product: 2,400 tins at $3.50 is $8,400 of tins to order by November. How the shop plans that rush is in takt time formula, and the business in popcorn business plan.
Get the calculator
Download the popcorn packaging calculator. Two sheets: components, each part of each option with its pack price, units, how many a gallon uses and waste; and compare, each option's cost per gallon and per week at your volume, with notes. It's an ordinary Excel file with no macros, and it works in Google Sheets, LibreOffice and Numbers.
Where this stops working
A December rush of 2,400 tins, three flavors to fill, and tins that have to be ordered weeks ahead: a cost sheet doesn't say how many tins are left after Tuesday, or which batch of caramel corn went into which tins.
How TaroStack does it
TaroStack keeps each batch's lot and date, and the packaging in every batch's cost.
Each batch dated. A batch of caramel corn gets a lot with its production and best-before dates, and lot labels print with it.
Tins in the recipe. The tin, dividers and label are items in the gift tin's recipe, so every batch uses them up at the price you paid, and the tins left are counted by every batch.
What each channel earns. Margins show by product and by customer, so a shop's sealed bag, an event bag and a gift tin are compared plainly.
| The job | Notebook | In TaroStack |
|---|---|---|
| Tins left after Tuesday | Counted in the back | Used by every batch |
| What a gift tin earns | A guess | Margin by product |
| Which batch is in a tin | Not recorded | The lot on its label |
Lots, batches, recipes and true cost are on every plan, from $49 a month. The first 30 days are free, with no credit card. If you'd like a hand setting up, ask, and we'll do it with you.