Tag: snack vending machine

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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.

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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.

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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.

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iHeartRadio Loves Instagram | Get Swag For Your Instagram Photo Via Vending Machine

instagram iheartradioEver thought of promoting a brand by offering merchandise in exchange for social media exposure? That’s exactly what’s happening on an iHeartRadio tour featuring a t-shirt vending company that accepts Instagram photos as payment for merchandise.

The marketing campaign is targeting college students by setting up these vending machines at the Universities they visit throughout the Midwest and South.

How does it work?

  • The consumer touches the screen
  • Retrieves a unique four-digit code
  • Takes an Instagram photo
  • Tags it with hashtag #iHeartRadio followed by the unique four-digit code
  • Retrieves their swag – either iHeartRadio t-shirts or iHeartRadio emblazoned sunglasses.
  • The Instagram photo can then be shared and re-shared all over social media, including Instragram, Twitter, and Facebook.

It’s that simple.

The days of setting up tables and tents and giving away pens and magnets to promote brands are over. Instead of trying to lure consumers to temporary tents and trying to unload free stuff, vending machine companies have really come up with a genius marketing campaign that attracts consumers directly to the vending machine like magnets and then gets them to interact and spread their message.

The idea of interacting with the vending machine using social media is truly novel. And although the merchandise is essentially free, the consumer has to put some effort in, but the effort is something fun, something he or she likes to do anyway, whether or not they get a free pair of sunglasses.

Social media vending machines can be rented or bought from vending machine manufacturers and companies, which are integrating this technology as an innovative new way to enhance a brand’s awareness and visibility. Additionally, social media vending machines for sale may also include a used vending machine, lowering the initial investment to get your brand or service out there.

This is a fun way for people to share photos, which is something they like to do anyway, and then receive something free in return. The benefit for brands that participate in this campaign is also quite significant. After all, who wouldn’t brag about getting a t-shirt, sunglasses or keychain just for sharing a photo? This creates an interactive buzz about products and brands that will reach much further than any type of traditional advertisement or television commercial.

So are vending machines that exchange swag for Instagram photos the wave of the future? Time will tell, but there are few who would turn down this easy way to score some free stuff!

Source:

http://www.adweek.com/digital/iheartradios-vending-machine-turns-instagram-photos-swag-160986/