Food and Beverage Vending Machines

Aseed Co., Ltd. Azkoyen, S.a.

Glacier Water Services, Inc. NIPPON CONLUX CO., LTD.

Guide to Food and Beverage Vending Machines

A place to grab a quick drink or treat will be appreciated by hungry workers
By Meagan Francis

The water cooler may be a popular place to congregate, but sometimes it takes more than water to stave off mid-afternoon hunger and thirst. Though your employees will appreciate convenient snacks – and it could make your business some extra cash each month – the kind of vending machine and arrangement you should choose depends on your goals for the machine. Businesses wanting to offer food and beverage vending machines have three basic choices:

1. A full-service vendor,
2. Working cooperatively with a vendor,
3. Doing it themselves.

Action Steps

The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Choose a vending service to take care of the details A full-service company will provide the machine, handle repairs and re-stocking, and provide a customer service number for lost money and other problems. The vendor will set the prices and, in some cases, pay you a commission on the sales. However, many full-service vendors won't put a machine in small offices, and you may not earn much money in commissions.

I recommend:  US Vending offers nationwide full vending service for Coke products and snacks, while Vending Solutions offers full service on Coke and Pepsi products, snacks, and more to workplaces with more than 40 employees.

Operate a machine in cooperation with a vendor If you pick one major company - like Coke or Pepsi - to work with, you can contact them to see about leasing or renting a machine directly from the vendor. Your product choices will be limited and you'll do most of the maintenance and re-stocking work, but you'll get to set your own prices and keep more of the profits.

I recommend:  Visit I Want To Serve Pepsi or Hershey's Vending for information about vending products from these major companies.

Do it yourself. Purchasing a new or used machine outright offers you freedom in both pricing and product selection. You'll get to keep all the profits, but you'll also have to deal with re-stocking and maintenance yourself.

I recommend:  Usedvending.com sells new and used vending machines of all types.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• Ask employees what kind of snacks and drinks they'd like to see in the vending machine and keep that in mind when choosing a service.
• Consider offering healthy fare instead of just soda, chips and candy. Workers will appreciate more nutritious fare, and it can help boost productivity as well.
• Machines that use energy efficiently can save your organization a significant amount of money over their lifetime.