3 Tips for Selling Snacks on a College Campus

School is back in session! Which means snacking is back in session! College students are busy—and hungry—and they tend to snack more than any other demographic. They reportedly grab a small snack up to five times a day. They’re up early to get to class or practice, and they’re staying up late to study, to attend a club meeting, and of course, to party. And they’re looking for something to eat that’s close, quick, and easy. Can you adapt your business to accommodate their demands?

Here are three tips for selling snacks on a college campus.

Keep your store open late

College students have the reputation for sleeping late and partying and studying into the late hours. Which means it helps if you’re open late at night as they look to energize their late night activities. Not only that, but college students tend to pay more for snacks later in the day. They expect to pay $1 to $3 for a snack in the morning, but $1 to $5 in the afternoon and evening. So stay open later, so you can satiate those late-day hunger pangs and rake in that revenue.

Make things easy to grab

Students need things that are quick and easy as they dart around campus, so it helps if you can stock foods that are non-perishable and easy to grab off the shelf on their way to class. Non-perishables mean that they can buy two or three snacks at once—something for right now and something to nosh on later when they’re cramming for an exam in the library.

Improve your snack offerings

Even college students value health foods. They’ve heard enough throughout their childhoods and adolescence about the obesity epidemic in America and have prioritized exercise and healthy lifestyles. So they’ve learned to crave healthy snacks, like fruit and nuts, which are also pretty filling and full of fiber. But they also still enjoy a sweet indulgence or some salty munchies from time to time. In fact, studies show that the type of snack you choose changes throughout the day. Fruit and yogurt are most popular in the morning, mini sandwiches and wraps in the afternoon, chips and salty snacks in the afternoon, and something sweet after dinner. So make sure you’re prepared with a variety of snacks to appeal to all types of snackers and all types of cravings.

Looking to send a care package?

If you know a hungry college student who’d appreciate an assortment of snacks, check out our Snack Care Packages. There’s a wide variety of sweet, crunchy and salty, and healthy—gummi bears, almonds, peanut butter pretzels, Strawberry Honey crunch, and Pepper and Cheese Mix. For more information on how to make sure you know how to have the best snacks to offer your customers, contact our team today.