What a Full-Service Exotic Snacks Distributor Actually Puts in Your Store
Giving up four square feet of floor is a real decision. You already know what that space earns today. The question is whether a freezer full of imported snacks and ice cream beats it, and what you're agreeing to in order to find out.
This is the equipment side of the WSI program: what gets installed, who pays for it, who fixes it, and what keeps it there.
The equipment, and who pays for it
WSI places a commercial freezer in your store at no upfront cost. The freezer remains the property of WSI and is provided for your use under the agreement.
That second sentence is the one people skim, so it's worth saying plainly: you're not buying the equipment and you're not renting it. WSI owns it and puts it on your floor.
What that ownership buys you is the service side. WSI covers placement, servicing, repairs and replacement of the equipment at no charge. A compressor that dies on a Friday is WSI's cost, not a line on your books.
That's the working difference between a distributor that sells you cases and a full-service exotic snacks distributor. One drops product at the door. The other owns the box it sits in and keeps it running.
Not every store wants a freezer. If a refrigerator or a display unit is the better fit for your floor, ask your rep — inquire for details.
Start with 30 days, free
The exact terms, because they're the reason the trial is worth taking:
- The first 30 days after the freezer is installed are a free trial. It runs from installation, not from the day you sign.
- There is no purchase requirement during the trial, and no charge for the freezer, its delivery, or its placement.
- At the end of the trial you can keep the freezer and continue, or decide not to continue — for any reason.
- If you don't continue, WSI removes the freezer at no cost to you: no equipment charge, no pickup or restocking fee, and no penalty. You make it available for pickup within 14 days.
One thing the trial doesn't cover: product bought during the trial is billed normally — the trial covers the equipment, not the product. The free part is the freezer. The cases inside it are cases you bought, and those invoices are due like any others.
So the test costs you the product you would have bought anyway, and gives you 30 days of real sell-through data from your own shelf, with the equipment risk carried by someone else.
Ready to start? Send us a note and we'll get a freezer scheduled.
What keeps the freezer there
Keeping it there is tied to an ongoing purchasing commitment with WSI — and that commitment can be met with any mix of WSI products: snacks, drinks, candy or ice cream, not just frozen. Plans are set per account. Inquire for details.
The "any product counts" part does more work than it looks like it does. WSI carries America's most viral snacks, drinks, candies and ice cream, so the freezer isn't a separate business you have to feed on its own. A slow month on frozen is carried by a good month on chips.
Continue after the trial and your account moves onto a plan sized to your store. Want the plan details for your store? Get in touch and a rep will walk you through it.
The clauses worth reading before you sign
Free placement is funded by exclusivity, so these terms aren't decorative. Better to know them now than to find them in a dispute.
The freezer holds WSI products only. If a WSI rep finds non-WSI product in it, WSI may remove the equipment immediately. That's not a trap — it's the mechanism that pays for putting a commercial freezer in your store for nothing.
Either party can cancel at any time, without penalty. There's no term length, no lock-in and no early-termination fee anywhere in this agreement. Two obligations survive cancellation: you make the freezer available for pickup within 14 days, and any outstanding product invoices remain due.
Equipment failures cost you nothing. Negligence isn't capped. Equipment failures are repaired or replaced by WSI at no charge. Separately, if you request a different freezer for size, placement, power, fit or cosmetic reasons, a $100 replacement fee applies per exchange — that's a swap fee, not a damage cap. Loss or damage caused by the customer's negligence may be billed at repair or replacement cost.
Day to day, the ask is small. Keep the freezer plugged in, clean and on-premises, and tell WSI promptly if anything malfunctions.
You can buy it whenever you want. You can purchase the freezer outright at any time. Buyout pricing is set by freezer size — ask your rep for current figures.
The floor space math
The case for the space is velocity, not signage.
A freezer you didn't buy, stocked with product that turns, pays for its footprint in turns rather than in margin per case. Viral snacks are an impulse category with unusually low decision friction — the customer walks in already knowing what they want, because they saw it on a phone that week. Short shelf time, fast reorder, and a reason for that customer to come to you rather than the store that doesn't carry it.
The honest version of the trade: you're giving up known, average revenue per square foot for a category that turns faster but needs restocking attention and a rep relationship. Thirty days on your own floor tells you which of those your store actually is, and costs you nothing but the product.
On case cost
Found a lower price on a product we carry? Send it over — we'll match it, and we'll do our best to beat it.
The conditions travel with that, because a price-match promise with unstated rules is worth less than no promise:
- It applies to identical, in-stock products from authorized US distributors.
- Verification is required. WSI confirms the price before matching.
- It excludes clearance, closeouts, marketplace third-party listings and pricing errors.
- The competitor invoice or quote upload is required — the form will not submit without it.
- Every request is reviewed, with a reply within one business day.
Found it cheaper? Send us the invoice: https://info.worldwidesnacksinc.com/price-match.html
What goes in the freezer
Snacks and candy don't need the equipment. Ice cream does, and for most stores it's the reason the freezer goes in at all.
Imported ice cream moves differently from dry goods: WSI ships it nationwide by the pallet, with a 50-case minimum per order and free shipping at 100+ cases — build your pallet to see it priced out for your store. That's a separate piece of operational detail with its own rules, so we wrote it up separately: how viral ice cream ships nationwide, by the pallet.
Talk to a rep
Talk to a rep about a freezer for your store — tell us about your location and we'll take it from there.
FAQ
Does the freezer ever become mine?
Not automatically. Ownership only transfers if you purchase the equipment outright, which you can do at any time — buyout pricing is set by freezer size, so ask your rep for current figures. Short of a purchase, the freezer stays WSI's property, and WSI keeps covering placement, servicing, repairs and replacement for as long as your account stays active on its plan.
What happens if I decide not to keep it after the trial?
At the end of the 30-day trial you can keep the freezer and continue, or decide not to continue, for any reason — including not reaching the plan level. If you don't continue, WSI removes the freezer at no cost to you: no equipment charge, no pickup or restocking fee, and no penalty. You just make it available for pickup within 14 days.
Do I have to keep ordering a set amount to keep the freezer in my store?
Keeping it in place is tied to an ongoing purchasing commitment with WSI, and that commitment can be met with any mix of products — snacks, drinks, candy or ice cream, not just what's in the freezer. Plans are set per account. Inquire for details and a rep will walk you through what fits your store.
What if the freezer gets damaged?
If you ask for a different freezer for size, placement, power, fit or cosmetic reasons, a $100 replacement fee applies per exchange — that's a swap fee, not a damage cap. Equipment failures are fixed by WSI at no charge. Loss or damage caused by the customer's negligence may be billed at repair or replacement cost.
Can I stock other brands in the freezer?
No. The freezer holds WSI products only. If a WSI rep finds non-WSI product in it, WSI may remove the equipment immediately. That exclusivity is how free placement gets funded, so it's worth knowing going in rather than finding out later.
Can I cancel the agreement?
Either party can cancel at any time, without penalty. On cancellation you make the freezer available for pickup within 14 days, and any outstanding product invoices remain due.