Would this upset you?

[fluffsmom]

We have a son and two daughters in scouts. Popcorn is not a good seller although cookies are. $18 vs. $4

 

[Tralliam]

It wouldn't upset me.

Nobody expects a claim like "a trending flavor on the west coast" to be backed up with market research that shows an 80% or greater increase in popularity in the last year. It would be sufficient that the one person who bought this flavor from them said, "oh, I'm from the West Coast, this would sell like mad out there."

Nobody in their right mind actually cares whether the popcorn they buy is trendy. It's just something to help the kids engage with the customers.

The kids could just say, "our supplier says this is a trending flavor on the west coast" or "someone told me this is the latest thing on the west coast." Just as effective in starting the conversation with customers, and completely accurate.

Thank you all for the replies. I agree the pricing on this is crazy. But That wasn't really the point of my question. I'm totally fine with giving the kids a icebreaker. It's pretty scary as a kid to try and start a conversation with a strange adult walking out of a store. And if the supplier said this is a huge seller in California, great we'll use the "pitch".

I may be a bit biased in sales and marketing techniques as I am a sales/marketing professional and to me false/inaccurate statements to generate demand, for any product or service, is a huge ethical issue.

That said ..... anybody want some popcorn?

 

[Hrhpd]

It's Boy/Cub Scout popcorn season. This last weekend was the beginning of show & sell where the boys sit in front of stores and try to sell. I received an e-mail from our "Popcorn Kernel" talking about how well the weekend went. Then I get to this paragraph.

The Double Caramel Crunch is a harder sell since it is a new flavor and costs $30 a bag. Tonight XXX and XXX sold our first bag to someone that wanted to try it. Thank goodness he came along! A cute suggestion was to sell it as "a trending flavor on the west coast." A lot of people here are from the west coast. It may just be that we need to push it or just introduce it to customers.

This really rubs me the wrong way. I asked if it was test marketed there last year and haven't gotten a response. I've spent some time on Google to see if I could find out if it was introduced somewhere last year, but it doesn't seem to be. The way I read this, I was just told to tell my 9 yo son to lie to an adult to sell a $30 bag of popcorn.

Would this be an issue for you?

Yes it would bother me. Teaching a child to lie under any circumstance is deplorable. Especially for an organization that is supposed to be all about trust and morality.

And $30.00 a bag adds to my list of yet another reason not to support the Boy Scouts of America, trending flavor or not..

 

[newt2]

I can't buy into Boy Scout fundraisers any more because of this popcorn. It's asking way too much of people to pay 20 (and now 30?!?!?!?!) dollars for a bag of popcorn.

They need to think about this and sell something less expensive. They'll make more money in volume selling something that goes for $5 than they will selling things for $20.

I feel bad for the kids trying to sell this stuff. It's not like Girl Scout cookies which basically sell themselves (like a good product should).

 

[sbell111]

It wouldn't bother me and here is why: I don't know that it isn't 'a trending flavor on the west coast'. I don't even know what that means, nor do I care. This amounts to a 'somebody said' statement that no one expects to be backed up with actual market research.

 

[sbell111]

I can't buy into Boy Scout fundraisers any more because of this popcorn. It's asking way too much of people to pay 20 (and now 30?!?!?!?!) dollars for a bag of popcorn.

They need to think about this and sell something less expensive. They'll make more money in volume selling something that goes for $5 than they will selling things for $20.

I feel bad for the kids trying to sell this stuff. It's not like Girl Scout cookies which basically sell themselves (like a good product should).

I'm not sure that the bolded bit is correct. Certainly, BSA has done some research on this issue and believes that this is the best fundraiser for them. After all, they did formerly have 'candy bar' fundraisers so they are familiar with how low dollar/increased volume fundraisers do for them, yet they choose to go with the high profit/lower volume approach.

 

[DISvirgin1]

I can't get past $30 for a bag of popcorn. Sorry, trending flavor or not, this is nuts.

Yeah, we bought one off a neighbor last year and the cheapest one was $20...for popcorn...
I really hope they don't try to hit us up this year.

ETA: To answer the question I think telling people it's a trend on the west coast would be odd. But I'm in NY

 

[mdsoccermom]

I don't care if it were $5 - if someone says the word trending to me, I'm out of there.

Are people supposed to be impressed that something is "trendy" on the West Coast? Are people that impressed by what's going on out there that they'd pay $30 for popcorm?

 

[newt2]

I'm not sure that the bolded bit is correct. Certainly, BSA has done some research on this issue and believes that this is the best fundraiser for them. After all, they did formerly have 'candy bar' fundraisers so they are familiar with how low dollar/increased volume fundraisers do for them, yet they choose to go with the high profit/lower volume approach.

You may be right. Time will tell I suppose.

They've certainly priced me out of the market though. And I thought movie theater popcorn was expensive!!

 

[chamonix]

Well, I agree that you (we) don't have enough information to know if the statement is true. However, if it's not, then I would have no problem reminding the troop that they are to be "Trustworthy".

It's fine to give them an "ice breaker" and it's fine to teach them about "marketing" and putting the product in the best possible position to sell....but it is not OK to tell them (teach them) to outright lie about the product. If the statement is true, then no problem, of course!

 

[FlightlessDuck]

Boy Scout popcorn prices are insane, in general.

 

[RF536]

Yes, it would bother me, not only as a parent but as a cub scout den leader. Scouts are to be trustworthy, so it is no appropriate to teach them to lie to sell a product. In the past we have been provided samples of the product and we let the boys sample them and pick thier favorite. Then when we were selling product, they could be honest with people and let them know which one they like. This provided the boys a easy and honest sales pitch.

As for the popcorn, we are being forced to go back to selling Trails End popcorn this year. The popcorn we had been selling came in tins and was a little cheaper than Trails End. My pack has decided to not sell popcorn this year,Trails End is a inferior product for the price and comes in bags not tins.

 

[mhsjax]

No it wouldn't bother me. It's for a good cause and if a little boy told me it was a trending flavor on the west coast I would laugh and probably buy more. I think what the people were trying to say was west and east coasts set the new trends for the rest of the world. It's a little joke saying "hey don't you wanna be cool?".

I guess you just didn't get the joke.

I am so with you on this one, but for me it would cause me to not buy the popcorn. I hate the term "trending" and I have alway said that you could market horse poop, call it trendy , put a high price on it, and some idiot would buy it.

 

[sbell111]

Well, I agree that you (we) don't have enough information to know if the statement is true. However, if it's not, then I would have no problem reminding the troop that they are to be "Trustworthy".

It's fine to give them an "ice breaker" and it's fine to teach them about "marketing" and putting the product in the best possible position to sell....but it is not OK to tell them (teach them) to outright lie about the product. If the statement is true, then no problem, of course!

The OP is making an assumption that it is a lie, as are you. Based solely on what was suggested to the OP, you cannot say that it is a lie. You could certainly assume that it is a truthful statement. A person who assumes that this marketing advice is correct and follows the advice is not lying.

 

[sbell111]

Many people seem to be missing the thread's issue.

The issue, as I understand it, is not whether BSA popcorn is too expensive or if stating that something is 'trending' will increase sales. The issue is whether the OP's assumption that the marketing suggestion is untruthful would be an issue for us if we were trying to sell the popcorn.

 

[Swan4Me]

$30 for popcorn?

ridiculous

 

[leebee]

You have no idea how relieved I am that the boy at school from whom I always felt compelled to purchase popcorn has moved on to high school! I have several years' worth of the "cheapest" overpriced popcorn still in my cabinet. Not only is it expensive, it's tasteless (yes, even when fresh)!

I think your Popcorn Kernal is only passing on to you a script which he was given. My response to "trending in CA" would be something along the lines ov, "Well, glad we are just hicks here!" and I'd walk away. MAYBE if they put out samples of this grossly overpriced product, sales might improve, but to think that folks are going to pay $30 for popcorn (with or without the insulting "trending" tagline) is crazy!

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Let's face it, having a BOY or CUB SCOUT call anything "a trending flavor" is just wrong on so many levels.

How about marketing it as brand new cool flavor or something like that?

I am not against "marketing" because that is something you need to learn if you are going to sell $30 dollar popcorn.

 

[violetrose]

I am so happy my boys are all grown up because I sold a lot of popcorn over the years. And yes I thought the prices were outandish. I would not lie though, and think you are right in refusing to ask your 9 year old to do it!

 

[DISvirgin1]

Many people seem to be missing the thread's issue.

The issue, as I understand it, is not whether BSA popcorn is too expensive or if stating that something is 'trending' will increase sales. The issue is whether the OP's assumption that the marketing suggestion is untruthful would be an issue for us if we were trying to sell the popcorn.

No, we understood. Just pointing out that at that price point, it probably won't matter what the kids say to get a sale.