Vending Machines

The Demand for Healthy Vending Machines is Growing

Vending machines just keep getting better and better. This is evident when you look at how far the vending machine business has come since the days of inserting wrinkly notes or dirty coins into a dodgy slot and then waiting with bated breath until you saw your selection drop into the dispenser tray.

But just look how much things have changed! Now you even get machines that accept credit and debit cards.  The choice of what they offer to customers is continually growing and improving. The food and beverage choices consumers must choose from have been upgraded too. Vending machines have become a lot smarter. They’ve recognised the need to provide food and drink choices based on new emerging trends in the market.

An interesting movement we’ve seen is a growing demand for healthier options. People are expecting to see fresh and nutritious snacks available in vending machines, in addition to traditional snacks.

Far from the usual offerings of sugary, salty, carb-loaded, and carbonated options, vending machines are catering for food and beverage preferences like paleo, gluten-free, vegan, and sugar-free options too.

With the rise of obesity, cancer and other serious illnesses, consumers are far more aware of what food they’re consuming. While the demand for the convenience of vending machines and their traditional snacks remains high, consumers are expecting to find healthy options in the vending machines too, alongside crisps and chocolates.

This includes still water and non-flavoured sparkling water (in addition to sugary cokes and fruit juices), and unsalted nuts and dried fruit (as a substitute to crisps).

There’s also a big rage when it comes to ‘Banting’ (High Fat, Low Carb diets) and many consumers hope to find items like protein bars and protein shakes in vending machines. A perfect place to have this is at Gym where you have a captured audience.

Consumers head to vending machines for a variety of reasons. Most vending solutions exist to satisfy hunger or cravings for snacks and beverages. This normally occurs when customers are working long hours or they work in an area where they don’t have access to many shops, or in a hospital where they can’t leave the premises for long, to name a few examples.  Vending machines offer consumers a quick convenient fix for hunger pangs or sluggish activity by offering energy-boosting refreshments. The scope of the use and demand for vending machines is widening as advancements in machine technology improves.

Vending machine rentals and sales offer an extremely viable business opportunity and if they are stocked with the right items in the right locations, you can’t really go wrong.