Author: Phil Masters

Phil Masters has witnessed and shaped the convenience services industry for over five decades. Since earning his associate's degree in Marketing in 1970, Phil has played a pivotal role at Vending.com and The Wittern Group, Vending.com’s parent company. He’s been a key contributor and leader in evolving vending solutions. His impact surpasses the typical roles associated with sales. He has pushed boundaries and embraced change by spearheading new stylings for Vending.com’s vending equipment line and pioneering corporate partnerships and branding campaigns with iconic companies like Harley Davidson, John Deere, General Motors, Ford, and others. Phil is fortunate to be a part of driving the success of Vending.com and looks forward to celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2031. He’s thankful for the opportunities to introduce new programs and provide innovative and tailored solutions to help individuals and companies reach their vending goals and thrive in an ever-evolving market.
Posted on | by Phil Masters

Healthy, Local Snacks in Taste NY Vending Machine Program

laguardiaGovernor Andrew Cuomo of New York recently unveiled an exciting new type of snack vending machine that highlights healthy choices, supports local agriculture, and benefits the Food Bank of Central New York and the New York Commission for the Blind’s Enterprise Program. The Taste NY snack and drink vending machines debuted at the recent New York State Fair.

These exciting new vending machines break away from standard offerings to provide healthy vending machine choices from local New York producers. The vending machines are to be installed at select rest areas throughout the state of New York. Travelers will make their snack and drink choices among offerings from Chobani, Emmy’s Organics, Heluva Good Cheese curds and string cheese, Red Jacket Orchard juices, Barkeater Chocolates, Sweet Sam’s Cookies, and other local purveyors.

Governor Cuomo is hoping that in addition to promoting healthy New York vending machine snacking habits, the Taste NY program will support and broaden the audience from some of the state’s finest food producers. According to the Governor, “The Taste NY Program is continuing to raise the profile of many of our world-class brands, and I encourage all New Yorkers – whether at the State Fair this week or on a drive across the state this fall – to be on the lookout for these tremendous products.”

These vending machines will offer more than unique snacks to weary travelers. According to John Murn, Vice President of the New York State Vending Machine Association, “These state-of-the-art machines will feature a rotating selection of food and beverages that represent the diversity and creativity from producers across the State. Highlights from these machines will include video clips from New York-based companies as well as Taste NY videos.”

In addition to healthy fare, the Taste NY snack and drink vending machine program will benefit two-state charitable programs. The machines will be maintained by participants in the New York Commission for the Blind’s Enterprise Program. New York State Commission for the Blind Associate Commissioner Brian Daniels said, “The Commission for the Blind makes self-sufficiency for legally blind New Yorkers its top priority, and we are thrilled to… provide new jobs and provide more opportunities for individuals who are blind to achieve independence.”

Proceeds from the healthy vending machines will be used to support the efforts of the Food Bank of Central New York which provides food for over 11 million meals each year to the state’s residents.

The Taste NY snack vending machines will highlight a rotation of products from the larger Taste NY program. More information on the initiative is available at taste.ny.gov.

Source

https://www.vendingmarketwatch.com/management/news/11669212/governor-cuomo-announces-taste-ny-vending-machines-to-premiere-at-the-2014-great-new-york-state-fairhttp://www.vendingmarketwatch.com/news/11669212/governor-cuomo-announces-taste-ny-vending-machines-to-premiere-at-the-2014-great-new-york-state-fair

Posted on | by Phil Masters

Companies Who Make Employee Health a Priority Show Enormous ROI

Healthy-Vending-MachineFor many people who wish to live healthier lifestyles, one of the biggest obstacles has always been the workplace. Depending on how busy your days are, you may not necessarily have time to run to the nearest healthy source of food during your lunch hour. Fast food, which is among the least healthiest food possible, may be the best option. Worse yet, even companies that have traditionally said that they encourage healthy activities in their employees usually stock vending machines filled with high calorie, low quality items for those workers to consume. The snack vending machine has long been the bane of existence to everyone who just wants to watch what they eat and lose a little weight while on the job.

That is, until now. Research has indicated that companies that make an active effort to make employee health a priority are showing an enormous return on investment when these types of programs are initiated in conjunction with a Healthy Vending Machine.

Vending machines in general are notorious for dispensing foods that are high in trans fats, filled to the brim with synthetic ingredients and include other unhealthy qualities that make it difficult to eat right while at work. Many vending machine manufacturers have started offering nutritious alternatives that are designed only to vend low fat, low carbohydrate and low sugar products. These are not limited to snacks – these can include drinks and even full meals depending on the specifics of the program in question.

The return on investment that companies are seeing for making employee health a priority falls into a few different categories depending on the situation. The most obvious is that employer health insurance premiums are directly related to the health of their workers. If your employees are only making poor food decisions all day, premiums will eventually go up as a result. Studies have indicated that not only are these premiums not going up, but they’re actually being lowered in many cases. Many employers have created employee-driven health groups designed to manage these initiatives in the workplace.

Additionally, the vending machines themselves are becoming a viable source of income for many businesses. Employees who are already trying to live health conscious lifestyles are enthusiastically using these types of machines at a higher frequency than ever.

One great example of this type of program in action is Vending.com’s Healthy Vending program. Vending.com is a vending machine manufacturer that has been in operation since 1931. In addition to selling specially designed vending machines that dispense food, snacks, coffee and everything in between, they are also doing their part to promote healthy eating in the workplace by way of the Healthy Vending program.

Posted on | by Phil Masters

Metro Adds Bus-Ticket Vending Machine in Seattle

orca_tap1King County Metro Transit is taking a bold step into the 21st century – at least as far as passengers are concerned. To help ease some of the stress on existing infrastructure, KCMT is putting a bus ticket dispensing vending machine on Third Avenue located conveniently between Stewart and Pine street in Seattle, WA. The hope is that instead of pushing money into the farebox as traditionally accomplished, users will instead use the vending machine to accomplish the same thing.

By pairing with a vending machine manufacturer for this transit vending machine, King County Metro Transit hopes to accomplish a few different goals at the same time. For starters, it adds a supplementary source of bus tickets that will hopefully relieve some stress during already crowded transit times. Additionally, the farebox has long been seen as a major source of delays for travelers in a number of different situations. Fumbling to cram cash into the front slot of the farebox can add several seconds to the D Line or E Line, for example. When you multiply “several seconds” by the thousands of passengers that pass through those areas on a regular basis, serious delays can occur as a result.

Metro indicates that there are currently around one tenth of the total number of passengers that go through the stop that pay with cash. To put that into perspective, more than 42,000 passengers use that stop to take 2,500 bus trips each weekday. Even if the transit ticket vending machine is only accommodating one tenth of those customers, you’re still talking about 4,200 people every day.

A concern about the practice, however, has to do with whether or not the vending machine will undercut the sale of regional ORCA cards. These fare cards are designed to be purchased in advance and used in much the same way E-ZPass is for drivers. You pay in advance to “fill” the card, swipe the card when you arrive and go about your way. If the vending machine manufacturer’s solution is just as easy, it may harm that particular program.

The Metro program puts a twist on the traditional “vending machine for sale” process. Instead of purchasing the machines outright, the machine is being loaned for use completely free of charge. Additionally, the county will pay a $10,000 regular fee to cover maintenance and general operational costs directly to the vending machine manufacturer. Much of that cost will be taken care of by a federal grant, however.

Vending machines certainly aren’t just for potato chips anymore. With examples like recycling vending machines, super market vending machines, and the way that metro is putting bus ticket vending machines to excellent use on Third Avenue, it’s easy to see why more and more industries are embracing the technology on a large scale.

Posted on | by Phil Masters

Healthy Vending Options Brought to Schools

healthy vending optionsAs the Shelby County School (SCS) board prepares to vote on whether or not to bring vending machines into their schools, parents and students have mixed feelings; and for good reason.  Vending machines have traditionally been stocked with candy, chips, soda, and other junk foods high in fat, sugar, and carbs.

However, if the proposal is approved, the SCS plans to stock their vending machines with healthy choices for not just snacks, but for breakfast and lunch as well, something that is catching on across the country. These healthy vending machines in schools would be stocked daily by special education students. This means that while the food is guaranteed fresh, those students who stock the machines are learning job skills as well.

So why the idea of having a school vending machine in the first place?  According to Kevin Woods, a Shelby School board member,  “This is not to eliminate any possible positions, it’s just simply to allow more people to get through the process quicker and to have more options without having to wait in long lines”.

If the proposal goes through, the vending machines would be tested in White Station, Whitehaven, and Wood Dale schools by offering free lunches.  This could also ease the minds of some parents and students who are less than enthusiastic about getting school lunch from a vending machine.

However, some vending machine companies, such as Healthier Vending, do in fact offer healthy school breakfast, lunch, and snack programs that not only encourage healthier choices, but also encourage academic achievement all while meeting any school’s nutritional requirements.

For example, Iowa started the Healthy Kids Act to help eliminate childhood obesity by offering healthy vending machine in their elementary, middle and high schools. Healthy vending machines selling drinks, for example, offer nonfat and low fat milk, vegetable juice, and 100 percent fruit juice instead of sugary juices and sodas.

Although it is not known for sure exactly what items would go in the vending machine if they were approved, some of the more popular items we now see in snack vending machines throughout the country are healthy granola bars and Cliff bars as well as yogurt.  Healthy drink vending machines also see the V8 brand vegetable and fruit juices as well as water.  For lunch, options may include a fresh salad, freshly made sandwich, soup, and a variety of fruit.  For breakfast, options may include cereal, breakfast sandwiches and also a variety of fresh fruit.

While school vending machines may be something both parents and students will need to get use to, the fact remains that they save time, money, and in the end, offer more options and healthier choices. The future’s alternative to the traditional lunch line has become healthy vending machines in schools.

Schools are getting rid of the lunch line in favor of healthy vending machines.

Posted on | by Phil Masters

The Future of Vending Machines: Smart Tech, Latest Trends, and More

SAP-Connected-Retail-VIDEO-12-11-2014-2Vending machines are changing – and for the better. According to Forbes, you won’t even be able to recognize vending machines in just a few years. So what is expected to change?  The way we buy and how we buy items from vending machines.

To start with, expect to see healthier food items, especially in snack vending machines and drink vending machines. People want healthier food options and are more willing to eat or drink something from a healthy snack vending machine that will make them feel good, while giving them the energy boost they need to get on with their day. In fact, many vending machines have begun to post calorie labels on their food and drink items.

So what else can these vending machines do?

According to Forbes, the future of vending is so smart, that these machines will be able to use facial recognition. In fact, the machine will be able to greet customers, remember their preferences, and even refuse to sell an item to a customer based on age or medical records.

In addition, vending machines are taking hold of the cashless trend as many people prefer to purchase items with a credit card or debit card. To take it a step further, customers won’t even need to have a credit or debit card to purchase items from snack and drink vending machines in the future. All you need is an iPhone 6. And if your phone’s battery is nearly dead, don’t worry, most smart vending machines come equipped with an iPhone charging station – so you can snack while your charge your phone. Also, all payment information is never stored, protecting customers from fraud.

With the customer taken care of, that just leaves the vending machine operators. Long gone will be the days when operators had to physically check every snack vending machine at each different location.  Instead, smart vending machines use technology that allow inventory data to be stored and tracked.  This means that the operator will know exactly when to refill their machines and with what products.

But what makes these vending machines even more unique is their level of interaction. By offering loyalty cards, cell phone charging stations, apps that help customers locate vending machines, and social media sharing options, vending machines are becoming a trendy way to quickly get healthy food and drink, particularly in schools.

While technology is constantly changing the way we interact with our world, with each other, and even with our food and drink, it’s no surprise then that vending technology is also transforming to suit our smart, modern lives.

The future of vending machines is transforming to offer healthy options, cashless purchasing, and can even recognize your face.

Posted on | by Phil Masters

Fresh & Blended: A Fresh Fruit Smoothie Drink Vending Machine Idea

smoothieToday’s vending machines are more versatile than ever. One Kansas City teen has his eye on building a new type of machine.  Marshall Green started an IndieGogo campaign to fund the development of a unique smoothie vending machine that would provide custom made smoothies from fresh ingredients stored within the machine.

Green noticed a need for fresh, nutritious choices as a wrestler in high school. He realized that in the long hours spent at school and practice, normal vending machine snacks and drinks offered at his school weren’t sufficient to sustain him throughout the afternoon. On his IndieGogo page, Green wrote, “But like most kids going from 7am to 5pm, I need real, substantial snacks and meals to get me through the day. Unfortunately, chips from the vending machine aren’t nutritious enough, and granola bars just aren’t substantial enough.”  His idea came about from the realization that his fellow students and athletes were in the same predicament. They needed readily accessible healthy snack options later in the day.

Green loves the taste of smoothies but notes that they are messy to make at home and impossible to make so far ahead of time. He is planning to work with a vending machine manufacturer to develop a vending machine that will store frozen smoothie ingredients, such as fruit, juice, and milk, and allow customers to create their own custom smoothies. He calls his concept Fresh&Blended and believes it will be a success in academic, library, fitness center, and office settings where customers seek healthier alternatives.

His Fresh&Blended design would allow customers to actually see the fresh fruit they have selected before the drink vending machine blends it for them delivering a cold, healthy drink.  According to Green, customers can see that “there is no added sugar like other smoothie products. Fruit, vegetables, and juice or milk-plain and simple.”  Green believes that delivering excellent nutrition to people on the go will help them achieve their best at school, home, and work.

According to Green, the fact that he is a teenager is irrelevant. He describes his concept as an “idea that I’m all in on, and when I get behind something it really drives and pushes me forward.” If he can secure the funding, his plan is to have fresh fruit smoothie vending machines in locations throughout Kansas City in seven to eight months.

If you are interested in supplying your school or public area with healthier snack options, check out this selection of healthy vending machines. 

Sources:

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/a-new-and-unique-smoothie-vending-machine–2
http://fox4kc.com/2015/01/16/teen-entrepreneur-developing-smoothie-vending-machine/

Posted on | by Phil Masters

Apple Pay Will ‘Change’ The Way You Purchase From Vending Machines

apple-pay-vendingThough there are a few different mobile payment services that are available on the market today, Apple Pay is undoubtedly the most widely used and the one with the highest potential. This is thanks to the fact that it is built into the hundreds of millions of iPhones that are sold in the United States alone each year. For those unfamiliar, mobile payment is a relatively new type of technology that allows you to pay for goods and services not using cash or even a credit or debit card, but through information stored on your smartphone, tablet or similar type of device.

In theory, mobile payment and traditional plastic credit and debit cards really aren’t all that different. Account information is stored on a magnetic strip on the back of your credit card, which is then read by a card reader at the register when you check out. Necessary information about the payment is sent to your bank, at which point the associated account is debited. Mobile payment operates almost identically, only instead of storing information on a card it’s stored digitally on your phone. Instead of being transmitted through magnetic tape, it is sent to the point of sale via near field communication, or NFC. This is also much more secure as a phone can be used with certain biometric sensors, passwords and other features that cards can’t utilize. Additionally, mobile payment systems on your phone often provide instant notifications, allowing you to track purchases in real-time for better financial management.

It is NFC that will allow snack vending machine kiosks and other smart vending machine providers around the country to begin accepting Apple Pay and other types of mobile payment in the near future. USA Technology is an industry leading provider of vending machines to companies all around the country. They’re committed to not only adding near field communication capabilities to vending machines in the future, but also to devices like parking meters, washing machines, kiosks and more.

This move will allow users all over the United States to use Apple Pay at over 200,000 different self serve locations. This is a huge benefit for Apple Pay in particular, as it is facing steep competition from other mobile payment services like the Google Wallet. CurrentC is another competing technology that is just on the horizon that already has the support of some of the biggest companies on Earth, like Walmart. The addition of near field communication and Apple Pay compatible to vending machines in particular benefits nobody more than consumers, however, as they now have one less reason to carry cash, coins or even credit around with them if they don’t want to.

If you are interested in updating your machines, but would prefer a more concrete payment method, consider installing our Greenlite vending machine card readers.

Posted on | by Phil Masters

Cashless Vending, More Than Just a Trend

Organizations all over the world have long been looking for new and unique ways to innovate with regards to the types of vending machine products that they rely heavily on daily. When these types of machines are available in many public places wherever you go, it can be difficult for a vending machine manufacturer to really stand out in a crowd. One of the major innovations of the last decade was a machine that accepted credit and debit cards in addition to cash. Now, many companies are moving towards the idea of completely cashless vending for the benefit of consumers everywhere.

What is Cashless Vending?

Thought it may be logical to assume that cashless vending is “just” a vending machine that also takes credit or debit cards, this isn’t entirely accurate. A true cashless vending solution will also accept the types of mobile payment systems that customers are embracing today, like Apple Pay and similar services. Users can swipe their smartphone near an NFC reader located on the machine itself to automatically deduct money from an associated account. This makes the entire vending process easier and more secure than it has ever been.

Greenlite by Vending.com

greeliteOne bold example of this type of technology at work is the new Greenlite system by Vending.com. It’s a turn-key cashless solution that relies instead on the latest card and mobile payment systems, along with the type of web-based reporting and management tools that allow businesses to increase their return on investment in a very significant way.

One of the biggest advantages of the Greenlite system has to do with the type of machine sales tracking that it offers businesses. In the “old days” of vending machines, you essentially had to use your best judgment regarding which types of products you should be ordering and in what quantities. With machine sales tracking, you now have actionable, real-time information regarding trends, likes and dislikes that are all derived from actual consumer behavior. You can not only tell what products are selling but how quickly and at what times of the day. Businesses no longer have to rely solely on “instinct’ when it comes to making purchasing decisions – they now have actual hard data that they can use instead.

Greenlite also allows businesses to integrate two-tier pricing depending on location. A business might offer a discount on certain items for people who choose to pay with cash, for example. The system also includes helpful alerts that will provide constant updates on the health and status of the machine in question, making it easier to identify when repairs are necessary and when replacement parts need to be ordered.

Posted on | by Phil Masters

The Healthiest Vending Machine, Ever


farmersfridgeMid-afternoon hunger pains? Mid-morning snack attack? Forgot your lunch? Imagine walking up to a vending machine during a quick work break, swiping your credit card, and getting a fresh salad for lunch.  For those seeking healthy vending machine options, the wait may be over. Chicago’s Farmer’s Fridge vending machine is hoping to make fresh food a reality throughout the Windy City.

Don’t think of Farmer’s Fridge vending machine as an ordinary snack vending machine. You won’t find any packaged snacks here. According to its website, it’s really a veggie and fresh salads vending machine. Founder Luke Sanders stresses the importance of freshness in his machine’s products.

Starting with salads and products that are made by hand each morning after the daily 5 AM delivery of vegetables and packaged in special glass jars, the salads are taken to Farmer’s Fridge vending machines where they will be offered for sale. At 6 PM each evening, the products at Farmer’s Fridge are discounted by $1.00. When the next day’s delivery arrives, employees remove unsold products from the previous day, stocking the machine entirely with new product. Unsold product from the fresh salad vending machines are donated to area homeless shelters.

These incredible products include a menu worthy of your favorite neighborhood eatery with salads, breakfast items, and protein pick me ups. For example,

  • Antioxidant Salad featuring mixed greens, goat cheese, mixed berries, almonds, carrot, sprouts and flaxseed with a balsamic vinaigrette
  • Detox Salad with organic kale, organic quinoa, sprouts, fennel, pineapple, blueberries, white beans and cider vinegar lemon dressing.
  • Greek Yogurt and Berries
  • Sliced apples with local honey and almond butter
  • Vegetable strips with hummus
  • Cauliflower Fried Rice with cauliflower, local peas, carrot, garlic and egg whites

Even the appearance of the Farmer’s Fridge vending machine is out of the ordinary. Saunders worked with a vending machine manufacturer to make his unique vision a reality. He envisioned a kiosk with sustainably sourced salads, environmentally responsible containers, and all at a reasonable cost. His machines are made from reclaimed wood, accepts all major credit cards, can email receipts, and features power consumption of less than $25 per month.

Saunders credits improvements in technology such as touch screens and less expensive credit card processing to his success. His company makes use of free technology like Google Docs to track recipes and inventory. Saunders also credits the city of Chicago for less expensive startup costs compared to other cities. For example the cost of the shared kitchen space his employees use daily to prepare product is about one-fifth of what it would be in New York City.

The ability to offer his products in an automated kiosk appealed to Saunders. While he estimates that his labor costs are very similar to those of a brick and mortar restaurants, the flexibility offered by a vending machine played a key factor in his decision. Given that vending machines are everywhere, having healthy options is a must for new players with ideas for a snack or drink vending machine.  Having expanded from three to 14 machines throughout Chicago in a single year, Saunders is proof that fresh sells.

Posted on | by Phil Masters

A Unique Sell, Gun Ammunition From a Vending Machine

ammo-vending-machineGun rights’ activists and gun lobbyists never dreamed of anything as unique as what Beaver Valley Rifle & Pistol Club is currently offering. A vending machine within the club is selling non-jacketed ammunition for both rifles and handguns. However, many people have voiced concerns over how the machine operates and the ethics behind the use of the machine.

Reasoning Behind the Vending Machine

The Beaver Valley Rifle & Pistol Club decided to employ the use of the vending machine as a solution for obtaining non-jacketed ammunition for use in the club’s pistols. In most markets, ammunition is sold within sleeves, or jackets, for use in automatic rifles. According to Sam Piccinini, owner of Master Ammo Company and Republican Candidate for Sheriff, the vending machine helps prevent two key issues with the use of jacketed ammunition. Since the lead in jacketed ammunition can separate from the jacket upon hitting the range’s backstops, it causes premature wear on the range’s backstops. Furthermore, the jacket could rebound off the backstop and potentially hurt users of the gun range.

Limited Access to the Gun Ammunition Vending Machine

According to the Beaver Valley Rifle & Pistol Club, the machine is only available to members of the club.  Individuals of at least 18 years-old are able to apply for  junior membership. Junior members are supervised by an adult sponsor at the club at all times. Each adult club member is given a digital swipe card, which grants access to the club’s indoor shooting ranges in 24 hour periods, but the machine only sells ammunition to members above age 21. Now, some people may be concerned about if the installation of the vending machine is legal and if club members actually want to use it.

Legal Vending Machine for Sale of Ammo

Piccinini maintains a Type 6 Federal Firearms License, which grants him the authority to manufacture and sell ammunition. Club members were having a difficult time finding a permanent supplier of non-jacketed ammunition, so Piccinini created the vending machine for this express purpose. Businesses traditionally receive some sort of financial gain from allowing a vending machine manufacturer to sell products on-site, which may be through rent, commissions, or other fees. However,  the Beaver Valley Rifle & Pistol Club does not have any financial investment in the vending machine, so the club is exempted from any potential liability arising from use of the machine.

Businesses are always looking for ways to increase revenue and provide an enjoyable, useful environment for customers. Vending machines for sale of goods, even ammo, are driven by the decisions and needs of both business owners and customers. In this case, members of the Beaver Valley Rifle & Pistol Club approved the installation of the vending machine, and it’s operation has improved the safety of patrons while providing a service. Vending machine manufacturers are no longer resigned to the typical beverage and food items of the past.

Posted on | by Phil Masters

There’s No Stopping The Social Vending Revolution by Retailers

Social media reaches into the homes, smartphones, tablets, and thoughts of every person daily. However, people do not usually equate social media with vending machines, yet that is exactly what is happening. Vending machine manufacturers have seen the uptick in use of social media as a vending machine campaign to expand their current market. The social vending industry requires users to perform a given task on social media in the hopes of winning a prize. Finding a vending machine for sale doesn’t quite describe how the masses have responded to the use of social media vending machine campaigns.

All-Star Prizes and the Cincinnati Reds

With baseball season officially in full swing, the Cincinnati Reds want to show appreciation to their fans, and a social media vending machine campaign was an excellent option. Users would line up at the vending machine, and the machine would generate a unique Twitter hashtag for @AllStarGame. The vending machine provider would then randomly select All-Star Prizes for different people using the corresponding unique hashtag.

Fans won a variety of prizes, which included autographed baseballs by players in the Hall of Fame, former All-Stars, and current Reds players. In fact, at least one person won tickets to the iconic All-Star Game in July 2015.

red

New Balance’s Free T-Shirt Promotion

Another social media vending machine is spitting out free t-shirts as a promotional product for a coming New Balance store.  However, some people were skeptical as to if the machine even had any t-shirts at all. Upon reading the Instagram post of one concerned follower, New Balance Philly advised people to try to get to the machine early since it is refilled every morning.

In addition to a free shirt, the Philly New Balance vending machine campaign promises to send out a gift card, valued between $10 and $500, to anyone who happens to score one of the free shirts. The shirts boast white lettering among a red background, and #LoveNBPhilly sends out the message of hitting up the vending machine.

new-balance

More businesses are looking to increase their profits, and the vast inter-connectedness of social media offers an excellent outlet for combining vending machines and social media. By promoting events, products or services, a vending machine manufacturer can enhance an organization’s image without expensive marketing campaigns. Candy bars and sodas won’t be the only things in a vending machine for sale anymore; the selections will be amazing prizes, free gifts, and opportunities for once-in-a-lifetime events.

Posted on | by Phil Masters

Battery Recycling Vending Machine a Great ‘Eco’ Idea

Concerns over protecting the environment and conservation efforts have grown remarkably in the past few years, and the topic of batteries remains high on this list. Unfortunately, society’s rapid reward and disposal mindset has led to a major problem concerning batteries. Batteries have the potential to decimate entire ecosystems, points out Emma Hutchings, since one tossed battery could contaminate up to 20-square-meters of soil. Fortunately, Hutchings revealed how Russia is partnering with local businesses and vending machine revolutionaries to address this problem.

Battery Recycling Vending Machine

In Moscow, a typical battery recycling center gathers about 1,000 batteries in a single month. Once the battery recycling vending machine, which allowed users to pay for items with used batteries, had been installed, the total number of batteries collected in this area soared to more than 8,000. This equates to 160,000-square-meters of ground space protected by simply installing this Think Blue Machine.

Items in the Machine

Now, many might argue that batteries are not a viable way to pay for goods, such as foods or drinks, due to the potential for cross-contamination. However, the battery recycling vending machine isn’t primarily for these items. For example, users could pay two batteries to get a stress ball, four batteries to get a bottle of water, or six batteries for an eco-friendly t-shirt. All of the items within the Think Blue Machine are selected for their ability to encourage more people to protect the environment and stay healthy, i.e. water instead of soda.

Future of Battery Recycling

Russia is responsible for the disposal of up to 15 million batteries annually, which equates to millions of cubic miles of toxic soil in dumping grounds. Volkswagen is no stranger to the battery industry; each vehicle uses a battery for starting the engine, except in electric vehicles. While society becomes more aware of the potential hazards for not properly disposing of batteries, eco vending machines like the Think Blue Machine could be the solution to much more than recycling single batteries. The machine could work like an exchange; providing new batteries in exchange for 10 used batteries. Ultimately, the battery manufacturer and the recycling organization make money in this way.

Although the Think Blue Machine was designed expressly for recycling batteries and encouraging eco-friendly thoughts among industrial cities, this could prove to be a venture to use across many other landscapes. The applications for a recycling vending machine could include aluminum cans, glass, plastics, and more. The only real question that remains is how will future generations want to pay for the things they want?

Sources:

https://www.psfk.com/2015/04/volkswagen-vending-machine-batteries-money-think-blue-campaign.html

Posted on | by Phil Masters

Would Your Purchase a Drink From an Alcohol Vending Machine?

Vending MachineTexas has a standing reputation for promoting and starting some of the biggest ideas in the nation. Texan ideals often have roots in business and encouraging the growth of society; however, a recent proposal to introduce alcohol vending machines, as told by Eleanor Dearman, is causing a controversy in the Lone Star State. The idea of a drink vending machine is not uncommon, but an alcohol vending machine sounds difficult to control. To fully grasp how this would work and affect Texans, you must understand how the vending machines would function and how concerns over it would be addressed.

The Alcohol Vending Machine Functionality

Currently, clubs and bars check photo IDs at the door or when purchasing alcoholic beverages. In many cases, patrons are given a bracelet, which identifies minors from those above the alcohol-consuming age of 21-years-old. An alcohol vending machine would function on the premise of these bracelets. Those of legal drinking age would be given a bracelet by facility staff, which would allow them to obtain drinks from the vending machine. This ensures underage minors do not obtain alcohol from the machine. Furthermore, the machine would limit the number of drinks a person may obtain. For example, two drinks of liquor, 30-ounces of beer, or 10-ounces of wine. However, alcohol vending machines face much more criticism.

Potential Problems With an Alcohol Vending Machine

Although the facility staff will be responsible for issuing the bands allowing access to the alcohol vending machine, the problem of bracelet changing becomes an issue. What is to stop someone from obtaining a bracelet, which he or she then passes along to a minor? Immediately, this sounds like it will prevent alcohol vending machines from ever being installed. However, something similar occurs every day in alcohol-providing entities on the planet. Someone of legal drinking age could purchase a drink and provide it to a minor.

Additionally, bartenders and servers are expressing concern over the introduction of alcohol vending machines. These staff members make the majority of their living through tips, which the alcohol vending machine would essentially eliminate. Although the vending machine could not provide all of the drinks for an evening, it would cut down on the number of drinks poured by staff. Businesses face another challenge with the introduction of vending machines.

Some drinks may contain on a combination of five or more ingredients, and the alcohol vending machines do not currently have this capacity to produce such mixed drinks. Mixed drinks are extremely popular among college students, and the lack of mixed drinks could adversely affect a business’s profits for a single night of use.

As society has grown more comfortable with the idea of vending machine use across many industries, the alcohol industry stands on the edge of a new frontier. Only time will tell how the public responds to alcohol vending machines, and they may be an instant hit for those wanting a simple drink quickly. Will ordering drinks be as simple as pushing a button each time you go out in the future?

Posted on | by Phil Masters

Soda Struggles in Recent Sales, as Water, Energy and Sports Drinks Thrive

soda declineIncreasingly, consumers are turning away from carbonated beverages and sodas, leading to a soda sales decline. According to a recent report from Cowen and Company that analyzed Nielsen xAOC sales data, sales of carbonated drinks marked a tenth straight year of declining sales in 2014.

The report explains that even though soft drink giants Coca-Cola and PepsiCo are struggling in sales, they are still posting increases in overall profits. The companies have done so by increasing prices to offset the accompanying decline in sales. This strategy resulted in a 2.5 percent increase in dollar sales for Coca-Cola amid a 3.2 percent decrease in volume. In particular, the decline in sales for Diet Coke was particularly steep with a 6.6 percent drop. During the same period, PepsiCo witnessed a 0.8 percent increase in dollar sales with declining volume.

Such a strategy is not feasible forever and the soda sales decline is not likely to disappear anytime soon. According to a 2014 Bloomberg Business article, even Coca-Cola CEO Sandy Douglas limits himself to one sugary Coke per day. The article entitled “Coke Confronts Its Big Fat Problem,” details how sales of the beverage are declining due to “the general explosion in health consciousness that has lately put Coke on the wrong side of just about every consumer lifestyle trend.”

What are consumers turning to instead of soda? Beverages that they view as healthy such as bottled water, sports drinks, and energy drinks. These drinks have seen excellent sales and increased revenues:

  • Sales of energy drinks such as Monster and Red Bull increased an average of 11.2 percent.
  • Bottled water sales increased in volume by 6.3 percent with revenues up 7 percent.
  • Sports drinks increased volume sales by 6.5 percent.
  • Ready-to-drink teas increased overall dollar sales by 9.6 percent.

These positive numbers are particularly impressive when compared to the steady long-term decline in soda sales overall.

What does this mean for vending machine owners? You may want to assess your inventory choices based on the recent sales data. Do you stock enough healthy choices in your drink vending machines? Could a few changes here and there lead to increased sales and revenues? To make the most of the trend toward health consciousness in America offering plenty of choices that include options like energy drinks, bottled water and sports drinks alongside a few soda choices might be the best blend of products to maximize your revenues.

Sources:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-07-31/coca-cola-sales-decline-health-concerns-spur-relaunch

http://fortune.com/2015/03/26/soda-sales-drop-2014/

Posted on | by Phil Masters

Vending Wallet & Greenlite Mobile Payment System  

greenlite2If recent trends are to be believed, the concept of paying for goods and services in cash may be a thing of the past – at least as far as millennials are concerned. More and more young people are increasingly paying with Apple Pay and similar types of mobile payment systems that rely more on technology and less on good, old-fashioned currency.

What is Mobile Payment?

Mobile payment uses credit, debit card or bank account information tied to a user’s smartphone to allow them to use technology like near field communication to pay for goods and services at many stores. Apple Pay is perhaps the most famous mobile payment system currently in existence, which allows users to pay for items using their iPhone 6 or similar iOS 8-powered devices. It launched in October of 2014, though it has long since been joined by similar services from many leading providers.

Mobile Payment and Vending Machines

Mobile payment vending machines are gaining a great deal of traction. Vending machines are already designed to offer quick, convenient experiences. This experience has only been made even faster and more efficient thanks to the fact that users can pay for items in seconds using their smartphones, smart watches and similar types of devices. These types of situations also have the benefit of being safer and more secure than a vending machine with a credit card reader.

GreenLite

One example of a mobile payment vending option is the GreenLite Credit Card Reader by Vending.com. It’s a turn-key, cashless technology that is totally secure and offers management 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Built into GreenLite are a number of features that make it incredibly attractive to providers like machine sales tracking, integrated cash versus cashless reporting, alerts for the health and status of a particular machine and more.

In addition to making the vending experience more pleasing for consumers, it’s also making it easier for the vendors themselves to manage their machines and make sure that they’re performing to peak efficiency than ever before.

Keeping up with the breakneck pace of technology has long been seen as a cost of doing business in the modern world. Thanks to mobile payment technology and services like the GreenLite system from Vending.com, however, technology is actually encouraging the investment for vending machine operators and providers all over the world. In addition to turning vending machines into a more customer-centric experience, they also bring with them a host of benefits that would have been thought to be impossible just a few short years ago.

Posted on | by Phil Masters

Could Free Samples From a Vending Machine Lead to a Full-Size Product Purchase?

freeosk

If you’ve ever been to a grocery store on the weekend, you’re probably familiar with the concept of free samples. Grocery store employees stand by a table, offering small sample servings of a particular product. The goal is to get you to try something you may not have in the past and to also entice you to purchase a product that was previously not on your radar. Can the same free sample concept yield the same benefits for vending machines across the country and increase sales? One Chicago-based startup recently attempted to find out and discovered something pretty incredible as a result.

The startup in question is called Freeosk and is run by a man named Matt Eichorn. Freeosk vending machines provide both food items and personal care products and currently have vending machines in roughly 650 Sam’s Club locations across the country. The vending machines dispense free samples of certain featured products to customers that they can then buy from Sam’s Club should they so choose. The experiment is already a success and has seen the sales of those featured products increase significantly soon after the free vending machine samples are given.

As a concept, Freeosk and its free samples are creating a bit of a “win win” situation for everyone involved. In order for a brand’s product to make it into a Freeosk as one of its “featured items,” that company must pay Freeosk for the privilege. The retailer partner (in this case Sam’s Club) also benefits, because if customers like the free samples they can then go elsewhere in the store and buy more of those products in bulk.

Even the brands themselves benefit, as free vending machine samples are a great way to increase brand engagement in a very controlled environment.

According to Sam’s Club, the customers themselves are also benefiting. Not only do they get the chance to try out products that they may not have otherwise, but Sam’s Club indicates that its members love to sample new products in general. They consider it an easy and fun way to discover new items.

If you’re a vending machine owner and are looking for a way to increase full-size product sales across the board, Freeosk and Sam’s Club have recently revealed that free vending machine samples are the way to go. With the advancements that have been made in vending machine technology in the last several years, free samples may just end up being one of the most cost-effective ways to boost revenue to come along in quite some time. Get started on this idea by checking out our selection of affordable vending machines here at Vending.com.

Posted on | by Phil Masters

A Tiny Grocery Store That Fits in a Vending Machine

tinygrocery

Vending machines have long been considered quick, cost efficient and effective at ways to get a few small items when you need them the most. If you’re thirsty or a bit hungry during the day, a vending machine is a great way to get a quick snack in between classes, or on a short break at work. However, what if you needed larger products in the same quick fashion? What if you were trying to pull the ingredients together for a full meal and still maintain a healthy diet at the same time? One Washington DC-based company is aiming to solve all of these issues and more by using the latest and greatest that vending machine technology has to offer.

scratchDC is a company that originally became known in the Washington DC area for its meal delivery services. Owned by Ryan Hansan, the scratchDC team has made a name for itself over the last several years by dropping off pre-measured ingredients to the homes of customers in the area – allowing them to quickly get together everything they need to have a gourmet meal without leaving their home. Now, scratchDC is taking those benefits to their logical next step by way of their TinyGrocery vending machines.

As its name suggests, the TinyGrocery vending machine is a way for scratchDC to quickly get both ready-to-eat meals and dinner meal kits out to customers in the most efficient way possible. As of June 2015, there are currently 10 TinyGrocery machines located throughout Washington, DC that allow users to purchase meal kits for breakfast, lunch and dinner at a moment’s notice. scratchDC has strategically placed these supermarket vending machines in apartment complexes, office buildings and even gyms – allowing customers to both go about their normal daily obligations and still enjoy the benefits that the company is offering at the same time.

These mini grocery store vending machine units have a built-in tablet computer that allows users to find out the price, allergens and even nutritional information for each item. All a user has to do is swipe his or her credit card to unlock the door after a purchase is made to gain access to the items they need.

One thing for sure – companies like scratchDC are pushing the envelope regarding what is expected from a traditional vending machine and exactly how you can take advantage of the format for the benefit of consumers everywhere. When you consider just how far vending machine technology has come in the last several years, it’s incredible to think about how advanced they will be five, ten or even fifteen years from now.

Posted on | by Phil Masters

Vending Machines and Social Media for Making Purchases  

Companies of all types have long been looking for ways to use the marketing power of social media to their advantage. After all, sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and more all come with active user bases in the hundreds of millions of people – who wouldn’t want to tap into that? In the 21st century, companies are using social media marketing techniques to do a whole lot more than just send out the occasional clever tweet. Many companies are leveraging the power of social media with the benefits of the common vending machine to create a situation so enticing that people everywhere can’t help but notice.

Free Promotions

One of the best recent examples of using social media vending machine equipment takes the form of a promotion executed by the Boston Red Sox. The Boston Red Sox rented a vending machine that was connected to the social media network Twitter. If a user was in the vicinity of the machine and tweeted using a specific hashtag, the machine would dispense certain products.

The real crux of the idea, however, was that a signed jersey from one of the Red Sox’s star players was inside the machine. One lucky Twitter user could use the right hashtag to win the jersey, creating a situation that fans came from all over to participate in.

Old Navy

old navy vending machine

Another example of a company putting vending machines to good use is Old Navy. Every year, Old Navy has a sale where they discount a huge number of different pairs of flip-flops to just $1. One year, Old Navy took the promotion to the next level with the involvement of 36 different social media powered vending machines in New York City and Los Angeles. If a customer came across the machine, all they had to do was log into Twitter from a tablet that was attached to the machine itself and answer a few questions in a survey.

Once the survey was completed, they could then specify their shoe size and take home a pair of flip-flops to call their own. One user also won a $5,000 vacation package, generating buzz for the campaign that was impossible to ignore.

These are just a few of the many ways that companies are using social media enabled vending machine units to their advantage. As you can see, vending machines are no longer just for selling snacks in between shifts at work or for picking up the occasional soft drink in between classes. They’re a full fledged marketing channel that can generate millions of dollars a year in revenue if utilized effectively.