Tag: vending machine manufacturer

Posted on | by pmasters@wittern.com

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 pmasters@wittern.com

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.

Posted on | by pmasters@wittern.com

Fresh & Blended: A Fresh 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 pmasters@wittern.com

Smart Vending Machines | The Latest Tech Trends

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 pmasters@wittern.com

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 pmasters@wittern.com

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 pmasters@wittern.com

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 pmasters@wittern.com

Keep Your Employees Happy, While Saving Money

A company that keeps its employees happy is more productive overall and can more effectively meet the demands of the marketplace.

While benefits and other significant perks are a main focus for most businesses, smaller areas, such as an employee break room that offers nutritious foods, can also be perceived as important.

Employees usually need a nice, convenient working environment in order to concentrate on work, and spend less energy on decisions that support their general well-being. This is the reason that parking and other basic needs are usually important features of a positive work culture.

In the case of an employee break room, having a positive environment that offers nice decor, ample seating, and a comfortable space for either sitting alone or gathering with a colleague or two over a beverage or a quick meal, is important.

A break between work that recharges energy, gives an employee social support and offers a source of pride is a great gift for your workforce that can establish trust, reduce employee sick days and turnover, and increase your bottom line.

Vending Machine

A vending machine in a company break room is a primary source for snacks and even meals for many employees. While foods are also often purchased elsewhere, the convenience of on-site vending snacks and meal-friendly foods frequently becomes a staple for those working hard and requiring nutritious support to bring them to the next meal. In some cases, selections in a vending machine can actually offer meal replacements, which is a great time save that need to remain on the company grounds between meals.

Your employees may be eagerly anticipating the next vending machine selections that you choose.

Selecting snacks that provide nutrition, such as yogurt, cheese, pita chips, and sugar-free or low-sugar beverages, such as Vitamin Water, can support a healthier culture and extend productivity. If you instead stock a vending machine with mostly sugary snacks and offer fewer healthy options, it could affect the attention span of employees, and even their health.

A vending machine is traditionally considered a source of junk food, but the image and available food options is changing. Stocking an employee break room drink vending machines with tea, water and seltzer water, and a snack vending machine with fruit, and savory healthy foods will help show that the company is supporting their well-being and is aware of the leading health trends.

Purchasing a vending machine for sale and its products through Vending.com, which has been manufacturing vending machines since 1931, will give you the necessary tools to deliver a superior break room environment to your prized employees. It is crucial to work with a trusted and reliable company that knows the industry. From a coffee vending machine to one that includes mostly food products, Vending.com has you covered.

Posted on | by pmasters@wittern.com

The Benefits of Buying a Used Vending Machine

New vs Used Vending Machines

When you invest in your vending business, every penny counts. One way to make your money go further is to choose used vending machines instead of new ones. Used vending machines are of benefit because they can cost a fraction of what new ones cost. And, when you focus your search on used machines that are certified by the vending machine manufacturer, you can rest easy that you are buying reliable equipment.

When looking at used machines, ask the following questions:

  • What sort of warranty is offered? Vending.com offers a 90 day warranty on bill acceptors, coin acceptors and control boards, so, you know that your investment is secure.
  • What is the condition of the machine? When we offer a used vending machine for sale, it is only after the machine has been factory remanufactured and certified by our trained and caring staff.
  • What will you pay for delivery? Our company delivers our certified used machines for free. Other companies can charge hundreds of dollars, running up your costs significantly.
  • What sort of financing is available? Our low monthly payments and 100% financing mean that you can get your machines placed quickly and start earning.

There are a number of sizes and styles of drink and snack vending machines in our inventory. And, new machines come in all the time, so, we are always able to get exactly what you need to fit your available spaces. Ready to explore your options? Call us at 1-855-595-1839 to learn about our inspected and certified used vending machines for sale. We can answer your questions and help you find the perfect machine to open your vending business or expand an existing route.

Posted on | by pmasters@wittern.com

Know Your Options – Vending Machine Financing

Vending Machine Financing Options

When you start looking at vending machines for sale, one thing that is a major hurdle in purchasing a machine you need or want is the cost. Luckily, there are a number of financing options available. This is especially good since snack and drink vending machines can be a great investment opportunity for many businesses—paying for themselves several times over in just a short amount of time.

Credit Card

If you have a credit card with a high limit, this can be a great option for paying for your machine. This is simple and will allow you to pay your normal credit card bill each month with no extra bills. However, the interest rates can sometimes be higher than other options.

Manufacturer Financing

Check with the vending machine manufacturer. It could be that they offer private financing or perhaps they work with another financing firm to give you options. Quite often, you can get a lower interest rate than you would pay with your credit card and there are flexible payment terms.

Concerns

Before you jump in and finance one machine or several, it is important that you look through your current financial situation and make sure you are not getting in over your head. Do you anticipate that your machines will bring in enough each month to pay your loan? If not, do you have a backup plan? Talk to someone who knows the vending machine industry in your area and get a better idea of what you can expect.

As you can see, finding financing for your vending machine investment may not be that difficult. Make certain you do your research and find a finance and payment plan that will serve you well now and in the future.