Snack foods are popular because they taste good and are relatively cheap. They also travel well, making them ideal for coolers and lunch boxes, so families regularly stock up on sweet and healthy food snacks. These facts make using snack foods as a business, or as an add-on to a current business, a wise decision.

There are a variety of mediums through which you can sell snack foods. Vending machines are a popular option, but the vending business is highly competitive. Lunch trucks, concession stands, day cares, small businesses aimed at families and natural health stores are all good options for a snack food business. The following are some options for using snack foods in your business:

1. Start a lunch truck business or concession stand at a popular civic ballpark.

2. Add diet snack foods to a natural health store, a gym or a deli.

3. Offer snack foods at your small business, if your business caters to families or children.

Action Steps
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Find snack food distributors for a vending business

Some snack food companies cater strictly to the vending machine business, while others work with any food related business. Using different snack food suppliers lets you offer customers a variety of snack foods. The more variety in a vending machine the more popular it becomes, thus increasing profits.

I recommend: Find everything from potato chips to pork skins at Conn's Potato Chips. Conn's prices according to region and sells in cases for vending machines. Get vending machine meat sticks from Trail's Best Meat Snacks and offer customers a lower fat option with no MSG.

Stock diet food snacks

Diets are all the rage, and people constantly look for diet food snacks that taste good but won't ruin their diet. The best place to sell diet food snacks is a health food store, but a lunch truck or concession stand can profit from selling healthy snacks too. While some snack companies stock traditional and healthy snack foods, your best bet is a snack food distributor that specializes in health foods.

I recommend: Get started as a wholesaler with the Healthy Snack Store, and get great pricing on healthy snack foods. Find healthy food snacks like soy protein bars, flax and soy bars and organic snack bars from Eatwell.net.

Start a business that showcases snack food recipes

A snack foods business doesn't have to consist of reselling popular snack foods. Showing people tasty snack food recipes is a great side business. Places like grocery stores, day cares and schools, nursing homes and conventions can all benefit from cooking lessons. Contact your local places and inquire about setting up a snack foods cooking class.

I recommend: Kraft Foods offers snack recipes for kids using classic snacks like pretzels and popcorn. Throw together some snack food recipes from General Mills, and show families and kids how to use common snack foods in recipes.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  One way to increase funds for a church or other private organization is to sell snack foods. If your church has a large juvenile population, selling snacks during church activities and after a service will help increase church funds.

Snack foods by definition have changed tremendously. The term snack food used to be synonymous with junk food, but that is no longer the case. Manufacturers are conscious of the fact that Americans are overweight and the overweight conditions relate to the amount of food intake during non-meal periods. The manufacturers rose to the occasion by providing diet food snacks that taste good but are not bad for you.

Choose alternatives to potato chips, cookies and candy by making wise food choices during your meals and during your snacks. Look at the following when making decisions about which snack foods to eat:

1. Choose healthy snack recipes for the afternoon treat.

2. Locate diet snack foods that taste great.

3. Pick snack food companies that make diabetic and sugar free snacks.

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Eat healthy food snacks when the stomach grumbles

Keep healthy snacks on hand and you are more likely to eat them instead of grabbing the candy bar from the vending machine. Buy the snacks when you go grocery shopping and keep them in your office drawer for better snacking. Check into loading these healthy snacks into the company vending machines for all employees to enjoy.

I recommend: Ocean Spray makes a line of healthy snack foods called Craisins. Eat these sweet tasting cranberries as they are or add them to salad or cereal. Healthy Snack Store provides a line of healthy snacks including pretzels and potato chips.

Find snack food distributors that sell great tasting diet snacks

Do you cringe when someone says diet? Today, you never know you are eating diet snacks because they come in all flavors, including chocolate. They taste delicious.

I recommend: Snackwells by Nabisco offers a line of diet snack cookies and cakes that taste great. Eat these snacks in place of traditional snacks to lose weight without deprivation. Slim-Fast offers a line of snack food bars that sell in local grocery stores and vending machines. These delicious snacks come in a wide range of flavors including chocolate, chocolate chip and granola.

Select snack food manufacturers of diabetic and sugar free snacks

When you have a medical condition such as diabetes or high blood pressure, the snack foods you eat can make a world of difference in how you feel and how well you cope with your illness. Today, many companies prepare foods just for people with medical conditions that you can find right on the grocery shelf or vending machine.

I recommend: Murray sells a complete line of sugar free cookies including chocolate and vanilla sandwiches, fudge striped, peanut butter and shortbread cookies. ExtendBar comes in several mouth-watering flavors. They help control hunger without raising blood sugar since they only have one gm of sugar and 150 calories per bar.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Read the ingredients in snack food recipes before you purchase and eat them. Low sugar and sugar free are not the same thing. Make sure when it says sugar free it means no sugar and not just no added sugar. Take the time to read the label and snack better.

The snack foods business is extremely profitable and is a business full of different sales opportunities. Snack companies sell foods for vending machines, convenience stores, small businesses, schools and grocery retailers. A snack foods industry overview reveals a few reputable snack food distributors, along with a snack food association and popular snack foods tradeshow.

When working within the snack foods industry, dealing with reputable snack food suppliers is important. Research any company before investing in a large supply of snack foods. When ordering snack foods for your food service business consider the following:

1. Become familiar with well-known snack foods distributors and companies. Those with over 50 years in the business have good reputations and solid snack products.

2. Check into membership with the Snack Food Association, also known as the SFA, and take advantage of the membership rewards.

3. Know the FDA regulations on snack food labeling, especially those for diet snack foods.

Action Steps
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Contact well-known snack food manufacturers when ordering products

Well-known snack food manufacturers are those with a proven track record of providing stellar service and a delicious, popular product. If you have a product in mind that you want for your business, look up the name of the brand to find the manufacturer. Many snack food distributors offer generic company brands, but also offer common brands familiar to the average consumer.

I recommend: Get information on ordering products such as Chef Boyardee, Swiss Miss and Slim Jim from ConAgra Foods, a leading food distributor. Order products for schools or retail from a Forbes rated top snack company, J&J Snack Foods.

Become a member of the Snack Food Association

If you work on the distribution side of the snack foods business, then you should consider a membership in the Snack Food Association. This is the place that will help you with government food regulations, promote snack foods to the media and compile statistical and financial data about snack food distribution. You can also order publications, technical manuals and DVDs with or without membership.

I recommend: Get more information about joining the Snack Food Association. Sign up for the Snack Food Association sponsored tradeshow, Snaxpo, and get on the ground floor of new and veteran snack foods.

Know the governmental regulations for snack foods

The FDA is constantly adding new governing laws for snack foods, especially those considered healthy food snacks. Knowing the laws helps you ensure that your snack food offerings meet all government regulations, and you won't have to pull products off the shelf that failed to follow the rules for labeling or product description. It's also important that any foods marked 'organic' meet the standards set by the USDA.

I recommend: Get all your questions about trans fat labeling on diet snack foods answered from the FDA Center for Food Safety & Applied Nutrition. The United States Department of Agriculture provides a list of allowed substances and disallowed substances in foods marked "organic."

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  The snack foods industry has an allotted month for celebrating snack food. National Snack Food Month is in February, and the Snack Food Association hosts contests and consumer awareness campaigns during this time.

Snacks are intended to put off a person's hunger between meals and may be a source of energy. With the growing concern about good health and appropriate weight control, many people are making a healthy choice when it comes to snacking. These people choose vegetables, fruits, cereal grains and nuts instead of snacks that are high-calorie and low nutrient. Here are some important words regarding snack foods.

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Healthy snacks

Healthy snacks should offer a variety of healthier choices to promote a person's overall health. These snacks usually have an increased amount of nutritional benefits and include snacks such as granola bars, trail mix and fruit.

I recommend: Convenience Store News has a huge amount of information regarding healthy snacks.

Diet snacks

If you are dieting, snacking is fine as long as the snack is low calorie. Home made snacks such as walnuts, raisins and mini chocolate chips are a great choice if the portion is controlled. Instead of waiting long periods of time between meals when dieting, this type of snacking can tide the person over until their next meal.

I recommend: Fitness Magazine has a lot of recipes for homemade diet snacks as well as other useful diet snack suggestions.

Sugar-free chocolate snacks

Sugar free chocolate snacks, bars and candy have great health benefits. They contain greater amounts of antioxidants than green tea or red wine, and they contain flavonoids, which are great for the heart and prevention of certain types of cancer.

I recommend: FoodEditorials Snacks Guide gives a detailed overview of the many benefits of sugar free chocolate snacks and how they are a great addition to a weight reduction program.

Travel snack foods

Traveling can lead to eating unhealthy snacks and meals that are consumed on the road. Travel snacks can be both satisfying and healthy when you plan ahead.

I recommend: Travel snack food suggestions and hints can be found at BellaOnline.

Sweet snacks

Popcorn and peanuts were mixed to create the first commercially successful sweet confection. With the addition of molasses, Cracker Jacks were made. Sweet snack production has steadily increased and can be divided into four categories: baked snacks, frozen sweets, chocolate candy and hard candy.

I recommend: Answers.com has a great outline of sweet snacks including types and examples to help you understand what these types of snacks are.

Dried fruit snacks

Dried fruit, whether dried using a food dehydrator or naturally, are a great snack food. The most common types of dried fruits are apples, bananas, figs, kiwi, strawberries and pears.

I recommend: At FruitFromWashington.com, there is a great deal of wonderful information and recipes using dried fruit and fruit puree.