Vending.com has learned that what makes a cup of coffee delicious might depend on more than just the beans used and the coffee and hot beverage vending machine it’s made in. According to an article by the Los Angeles Times, a research team ran an experiment in which participants were presented two cups of coffee, one that was “eco-friendly” and one that was just a regular cup of coffee. What the participants did not know was that both cups of coffee were made from the same beans and in the same standard coffee maker.
While the phrase “eco-friendly vending machine” might not make all coffee consumers crave more environmentally conscious coffee, participants were also surveyed on various issues before the study and the results showed that the majority of participants that were concerned about the environment preferred the eco-friendly brew. Those same participants were also willing to pay about 25 percent more for a coffee they believed shared their views on the environment.
When it comes to coffee or drink vending machines, you might not need to change your product offering to continue to be successful, but this is a good example of how knowing your customers and what their preferences are can help your vending machines, eco-friendly or otherwise, become even more profitable.