# Cotton candy vending machine at a zoo or aquarium: who holds the food rights

> The zoo director rarely signs. In the public contracts, food rights sit with a concessionaire or a nonprofit society, so that is where the pitch belongs.

- Canonical URL: https://locationsforcottoncandy.com/cotton-candy-vending-zoo-aquarium/
- Publication: The Sweet Spot (https://locationsforcottoncandy.com/)
- By: The Sweet Spot Venue Desk
- Edited by: Kieran Kheller, Editor (https://locationsforcottoncandy.com/authors/kieran-kheller/)
- Published: 2026-10-05

A cotton candy vending machine gets into a zoo or aquarium through whoever holds the food rights: a concessionaire with an exclusive contract, or the nonprofit society that runs the zoo for its city or county. Pitch that party, not the zoo director, and time the pitch to the food contract's renewal, when the exceptions get written.

**At a glance**

| Factor | Zoos and aquariums |
|---|---|
| Typical traffic | Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo reported about 1.39 million guests in 2019; Milwaukee County Zoo projected 1,309,500 visitors for 2015 |
| Venue share | No zoo or aquarium appears among the 87 listings open on [PinPoint Vending's marketplace](https://pinpoint-vending.com/marketplace) on October 5, 2026; Milwaukee's proposed food contract would have paid the county 25% of gross food and vending receipts up to $2 million |
| Who signs | The food concessionaire, or the nonprofit that holds concession authority |
| Best spot inside | Under a roof on the exit path near the gift shop; an aquarium's lobby |
| Season | Zoos swell in warm months (Milwaukee's food plan staffed up to 200 seasonal workers); aquarium galleries are indoors |
| Verdict | A long-cycle pitch, worth making where you can reach the food concessionaire before its contract is rebid |

## Who decides whether a cotton candy machine goes into a zoo?

Whoever holds a zoo's food rights decides whether a cotton candy machine goes in, and at a city-owned zoo that may be neither the city nor the zoo director. Seattle owns Woodland Park Zoo, but its 2021 agreement gives the nonprofit Woodland Park Zoological Society "exclusive authority" to grant franchises or concessions there, and the agreement refers to a current concessionaire holding the zoo's concessions and catering operating agreement.

The society, a nonprofit organized in 1965, manages about 92 acres the city owns under an agreement that runs to December 31, 2041. The same document requires the zoo to stay accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), licensed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and by Public Health – Seattle & King County ([Ordinance 126511 and the operations agreement](https://legistar2.granicus.com/seattle/attachments/18976d14-29d7-420a-87ed-7aa2bc126815.pdf)).

Aquariums can run the same way. In 2023 Seattle authorized an amendment to its operations and management agreement with the Seattle Aquarium Society ([Council Bill 120626](https://seattle.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=6298138&GUID=3D1DBBCB-EA22-4F20-98D4-8B1615DC8D35)). So ask an aquarium what you would ask a zoo: who runs the place, and who runs its food?

| Who runs the zoo | Public example | Who holds the food rights | Whom you pitch |
|---|---|---|---|
| A nonprofit society on city land | Woodland Park Zoo, Seattle | The society, which may grant concessions; a concessionaire runs food and catering | The society's business office, then the concessionaire |
| A county department | Milwaukee County Zoo | The county, through a food contract it puts out to bid | The zoo director before the bid; the concessionaire after it |
| An operator that keeps food in-house | Seattle's agreement allows for the society running food itself | The zoo's own food and beverage department | The food and beverage director |

## What does a zoo food concession contract look like?

A zoo food concession contract trades exclusivity for money: one company gets the sole right to sell food, drinks and merchandise, and pays the zoo a commission on gross receipts, a guaranteed minimum and capital for new stands. Milwaukee County Zoo's 2015 proposal with Service Systems Associates (SSA) lays out the whole structure in public county documents, vending included.

The draft agreement granted SSA "the exclusive privilege and obligation to conduct the Food Service & Merchandising Business at the Zoo," a business defined to include vending concessions, retail vending, mobile units and "any newly conceived merchandising operations" ([draft agreement](https://legistar.granicus.com/MilwaukeeCounty/attachments/890764c4-cc88-49a8-aa7e-15c26221bf7b.pdf)). A cotton candy robot fits that definition.

| Category in the proposed contract | Sales | Commission to the county |
|---|---|---|
| Concession food, beverage and vending | First $2,000,000 a year | 25% of gross |
| Concession food, beverage and vending | Above $2,000,000 | 28% of gross |
| Retail gifts | All sales | 30% of gross |
| External catering | All sales | 15% of gross |

On top of the percentages, SSA guaranteed $1.45 million in commissions for 2015, rising to $1.8 million in 2019. It also promised $3 million of capital spending over five years "in exchange for concessions, catering and novelty exclusivity rights," according to the [zoo director's report](https://legistar.granicus.com/MilwaukeeCounty/attachments/01c13a32-a098-4beb-b2dc-fa208b936114.docx).

That draft never passed. The board's finance committee voted against recommending it on April 16, 2015, and it was placed on file at the end of the term ([File 15-81](https://milwaukeecounty.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=2122607&GUID=3C513CAA-C4E5-4810-AC4D-F1802F7CB9E4)). The full board then rejected a revised version, with catering made non-exclusive, on May 21, 2015 ([File 15-333 action history](https://milwaukeecounty.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=2272144&GUID=D876C744-5A7C-47AB-B1E3-6C4A50B34CFE)).

SSA got the zoo anyway. The county executive announced that it would run concessions, merchandising and catering from Memorial Day weekend 2017, with $3 million in capital investment and as one of 25 approved caterers ([announcement, via Urban Milwaukee](https://urbanmilwaukee.com/pressrelease/county-executive-chris-abele-announces-bear-garden-coming-to-milwaukee-county-zoo/)). A board committee took up a report on that plan the same year ([File 17-418](https://milwaukeecounty.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=3043585&GUID=01F3A807-9620-4148-BAAB-007DB105DF25)).

Two other public records show the same shape.

| Zoo and record | Who runs food | What the zoo is paid | Vending in the deal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Milwaukee County Zoo, WI: 2015 proposal | Service Systems Associates, 10 years | 25% of gross food, beverage and vending to $2 million, 28% above; 30% of gifts; 15% of catering | Yes: vending concessions and retail vending |
| Louisville Zoo, KY: 2008–2018 agreement | Sodexo, 10 years | 20% of concession sales to $750,000, then 23%, 31% and 34% above $1.5 million; 12% of catering | Yes: vending machines count as concession sales |
| Riverbanks Zoo and Garden, SC: 2025 request for information | One vendor runs 12 concession stands, two shops and catering | Respondents asked for a sample commission table and a five-year capital plan | Not named; seasonal carts are |

Louisville's terms come from a 2013 review by the city's [Office of Internal Audit](https://louisvilleky.gov/sites/default/files/migration/missing-files/2013_-_audit_reports/2013-07zoofoodserviceuseagreement.pdf), and Riverbanks' from its [RFI 2025-03-01](https://rbz-zeus.riverbanks.org/procurement/downloads/solicitations/rfi_2025-03-01_food_&_beverage-admissions_final.pdf), which also makes the vendor responsible for the permits. Read all three as individual zoos' terms, not a market rate.

## How does a cotton candy machine get past an exclusive food contract?

A cotton candy machine gets past an exclusive food contract in one of three ways. The concessionaire can bring you in under its own contract; the zoo can write an exception into the next contract; or the machine can enter as an attraction, if the contract's definitions leave room. The concessionaire route is open today, while the other two wait on the contract calendar.

The concessionaire route stacks two cuts. A concessionaire that owes the zoo 25% of gross on food and vending owes $2.00 on every $8 serving your machine sells, before it takes anything for itself.

**The Math** (illustration, not a forecast)

Assumptions: $8 a serving; the zoo's commission is 25% of gross, the first-tier food and vending rate in Milwaukee's proposed contract; the concessionaire's own cut is shown at three illustrative levels; your own costs are about $0.50 a serving in sugar and sticks plus $0.48 in card processing (5.95%). For comparison, a family venue taking the usual [cotton candy machine revenue share](https://locationsforcottoncandy.com/cotton-candy-machine-revenue-share/) of 40% of net sales, after the $1.80 cost-of-goods deduction used in the marketplace listings, takes $2.48 a serving and leaves you about $4.54.

| Concessionaire's own cut of gross | Zoo's 25% commission | Concessionaire's cut | Left for you after sugar and card fees |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0% | $2.00 | $0.00 | $5.02 |
| 10% | $2.00 | $0.80 | $4.22 |
| 20% | $2.00 | $1.60 | $3.42 |

The zoo deal matches a 40%-of-net family venue when the concessionaire's own cut is 6% of gross. Above that, you trade margin for the zoo's crowd, and at 20% you keep less than at a 50%-of-net venue, where about $3.92 is left.

The zoo has its own arithmetic, and it belongs in your pitch. Milwaukee's projected 2015 commissions of $1,740,623 on a projected 1,309,500 visitors work out to about $1.33 a visitor across food, gifts and catering. One $8 serving that pays the zoo $2.00 earns it more than the projected commission on an average guest's whole visit.

Our [venue pitch guide](https://locationsforcottoncandy.com/pitch-cotton-candy-machine-venue/) covers how to present numbers like these.

## When should you pitch a zoo or aquarium?

Pitch a zoo or aquarium before its food contract is rebid, because the request for proposals fixes who may sell what for years. Milwaukee's proposed food agreement ran 10 years, with five-year extensions possible, and the zoo released its request on July 18, 2014 and took proposals by August 15, 2014, a four-week window that is easy to miss unless you watch the county's procurement site.

The window is still that short. Riverbanks Zoo and Garden in South Carolina gave vendors from April 24 to May 22, 2025 to answer its food and beverage request for information.

The bidding is not built for a one-machine operator. Of the 11 companies that responded to Milwaukee's request, 10 toured the site, six submitted proposals and two were interviewed. Your realistic seat is beside a bidder: offer a concession company a novelty line it can include in its proposal, then work under its contract.

Attractions can run on shorter, separate deals. In 2016 Milwaukee County authorized a three-year concession agreement, with a two-year renewal option, for a zip line and ropes course at the zoo ([File 16-52](https://milwaukeecounty.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=2550258&GUID=159874D7-4B84-490F-8A0C-B2A017B0D300)).

Whether a cotton candy robot counts as an attraction, a novelty or food depends on the contract's definitions; Milwaukee's proposal bundled novelty with concessions and catering, leaving a robot little room outside it. A zoo that runs food in-house has no rebid to wait for: ask for the food and beverage director and offer a one-season pilot.

## What do membership and school crowds mean for a cotton candy machine?

Membership and school crowds make a zoo's traffic more repeat and more scheduled than its attendance figure suggests. Woodland Park Zoo reported about 33,000 member households in 2019, and 820,000 students, teachers and chaperones over 10 years, more than a third of those visits from low-income schools through free-admission programs. We would not count either group the way you count weekend families.

School traffic at that rate averages about 82,000 visits a year, roughly 6% of the 2019 guest count, and it arrives in supervised groups on a timetable; see our [seasonal sales calendar](https://locationsforcottoncandy.com/cotton-candy-machine-seasonality/). Price and place the machine for families, and treat field trips as a bonus.

Members come back, so the same children pass the machine many times a year. A treat priced for a once-a-year outing has to survive a family's tenth visit, which argues for keeping the price at or below what the zoo's own stands charge for a snack.

Nonprofit operators also answer for prices: Seattle's agreement lets the society set food and drink prices, and states that the city and the society intend the zoo to remain affordable "particularly, to families with children," so expect questions about an $8 serving.

## Where should a cotton candy machine stand at a zoo or aquarium?

A cotton candy machine should stand under a roof on the main exit path at a zoo, or in the lobby or gift-shop corridor at an aquarium, where families pass at the end of the visit. Keep it out of animal buildings and off open plazas in summer, because rain and humid air work against floss sugar, and leave room for the children who stop to watch the spin.

The contract can also move you. For up to 10 zoo-run events a year, such as fundraisers, the sample event exhibit in Milwaukee's draft let the zoo set food locations by product, power needs and event aesthetics "in its sole discretion." It also called for moving vending machines, carts and kiosks that got in the way of event tents, sponsors or vendors, so ask how often that happens and where the machine goes when it does.

An outdoor spot needs the conditions in our [outdoor cotton candy vending machine guide](https://locationsforcottoncandy.com/cotton-candy-machine-water-park/), and the science of damp air is in our [cotton candy machine humidity guide](https://locationsforcottoncandy.com/cotton-candy-machine-humidity/). A ballpark's food contract works much like a zoo's, as our [cotton candy vending machine stadium guide](https://locationsforcottoncandy.com/cotton-candy-robot-stadium/) explains, and a resort next door may be the easier host; see our guide to a [cotton candy machine at a family resort](https://locationsforcottoncandy.com/cotton-candy-machine-hotel/). Check any spot against [the 11 location requirements](https://locationsforcottoncandy.com/cotton-candy-machine-location-requirements/).

**Field Notes: before the zoo meeting**

1. Ask who holds the food rights and when that contract ends.
2. Read the operating agreement if the zoo sits on public land; Seattle's and Milwaukee County's are in their legislative records.
3. Ask what the concessionaire pays the zoo on food and vending, so you know the floor under its ask.
4. Bring a price plan, your permit status and an insurance certificate that can name both the zoo and the concessionaire; our [permit guide](https://locationsforcottoncandy.com/cotton-candy-vending-machine-permit/) covers the health side.
5. Offer a one-season pilot in one covered spot, with monthly sales reports to both parties.

## Frequently asked questions

### Can you put a vending machine in a zoo?

Yes, but the yes comes from whoever holds the zoo's food rights. In the public contracts cited in this article, that is a food concessionaire with an exclusive agreement or the nonprofit society that runs the zoo for its city, not the zoo director.

### Who runs food concessions at zoos?

Some zoos run food in-house; others hire a concession company on a multiyear contract. Louisville Zoo's 2008–2018 food agreement was with Sodexo, and Milwaukee County Zoo chose Service Systems Associates, which its director's report described as serving 31 zoo partners in 16 states.

### How much commission do zoos take on food sales?

Two public examples put the zoo's share between 20% and 34% of gross concession sales. Louisville Zoo's 2008–2018 agreement with Sodexo paid 20%, rising to 34% at higher yearly sales, on concessions including vending machines, plus 12% of catering. Milwaukee County's 2015 proposal set 25% to 28% on food, beverage and vending, but that version was never approved.

### Is an aquarium a good place for a cotton candy machine?

An aquarium's lobby and galleries are indoors, which shields floss sugar from rain and summer humidity. The contract question is the same as at a zoo: find out whether the aquarium runs food itself or through a concessionaire before you pitch.

### How do I find out who holds a zoo's food contract?

Ask the zoo's business office, and if the zoo sits on city or county land, read the operating agreement. Those agreements often pass through a city council or county board, and Seattle's agreement for Woodland Park Zoo is public in the council's legislative records.

## Next step

Before you call, find the zoo's operating agreement or the city or county record behind it, and look for two things: who may grant food concessions, and when the current food contract ends. Then call that party with the per-serving math above. If you would rather have someone else make the calls, [PinPoint Vending's locator service](https://pinpoint-vending.com/vending-locator-service) is one option: its scouts call and visit venues, sign host agreements and license the space to operators.

## Sources

- [Ordinance 126511 and the Woodland Park Zoo Operations and Management Agreement, City of Seattle (2021)](https://legistar2.granicus.com/seattle/attachments/18976d14-29d7-420a-87ed-7aa2bc126815.pdf)
- [Seattle Council Bill 120626, amendment to the operations and management agreement with the Seattle Aquarium Society (2023), Legistar](https://seattle.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=6298138&GUID=3D1DBBCB-EA22-4F20-98D4-8B1615DC8D35)
- [Zoo director's report on a concessions, catering and novelty contract with Service Systems Associates, Milwaukee County (January 12, 2015)](https://legistar.granicus.com/MilwaukeeCounty/attachments/01c13a32-a098-4beb-b2dc-fa208b936114.docx)
- [Draft concessionaire agreement with Service Systems Associates (March 30, 2015), Milwaukee County Board File 15-81](https://legistar.granicus.com/MilwaukeeCounty/attachments/890764c4-cc88-49a8-aa7e-15c26221bf7b.pdf)
- [Milwaukee County Board File 15-81, action history (placed on file, April 2016), Legistar](https://milwaukeecounty.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=2122607&GUID=3C513CAA-C4E5-4810-AC4D-F1802F7CB9E4)
- [Milwaukee County Board File 15-333, action history (rejected May 21, 2015), Legistar](https://milwaukeecounty.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=2272144&GUID=D876C744-5A7C-47AB-B1E3-6C4A50B34CFE)
- [Milwaukee County Board File 17-418, report on Zoo concessions with SSA (2017), Legistar](https://milwaukeecounty.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=3043585&GUID=01F3A807-9620-4148-BAAB-007DB105DF25)
- [Milwaukee County Board File 16-52, zip line and ropes course concession agreement (2016), Legistar](https://milwaukeecounty.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=2550258&GUID=159874D7-4B84-490F-8A0C-B2A017B0D300)
- [County Executive Chris Abele announces "Bear Garden" coming to Milwaukee County Zoo (May 10, 2017), press release via Urban Milwaukee](https://urbanmilwaukee.com/pressrelease/county-executive-chris-abele-announces-bear-garden-coming-to-milwaukee-county-zoo/)
- [Louisville Zoo Food Service Use Agreement, audit report (July 2013), Louisville Metro Office of Internal Audit](https://louisvilleky.gov/sites/default/files/migration/missing-files/2013_-_audit_reports/2013-07zoofoodserviceuseagreement.pdf)
- [Request for Information 2025-03-01, Food and Beverage/Admission Services (April 24, 2025), Riverbanks Zoo and Garden](https://rbz-zeus.riverbanks.org/procurement/downloads/solicitations/rfi_2025-03-01_food_&_beverage-admissions_final.pdf)

## Corrections

- Correction, October 5, 2026: An earlier version said the Milwaukee County Board rejected the proposed Service Systems Associates agreement described here. The finance committee voted against that draft in April 2015 and it was later placed on file; the board rejected a revised version with non-exclusive catering on May 21, 2015, and SSA began running the zoo’s concessions in 2017 (Milwaukee County files 15-81 and 15-333; county executive announcement, May 10, 2017).