Food and Beverage Vending

Food and beverage vending machines can be a convenient and profitable business add-on
By Marianne Cotter, Freelance writer On-site food vending machines and beverage vending machines offers employees an inexpensive alternative to leaving the worksite in search of lunch and snacks. Having vending machines available also tells your customers that you are sensitive to the time they may spend waiting at your location while services are being rendered. Best of all, vending machines can yield an additional revenue source for your business.

When bringing snack vending machines and soda vending machines into your business, consider the following:

1. Choosing the right vending equipment.
2. Initial investment and ongoing expenses associated with vending machines.
3. Generating revenue with your vending machine business.
4. Sourcing foods and beverages for your vending machines.

Choose the right vending equipment

Are your vending machine needs restricted to soft drinks and snacks or do you want to offer a range of meals options? Snacks and beverages can be dispensed with separate soda vending machines and snack vending machines or with a combo unit. If you want to offers meals, you may need a vending machine that can manage sandwiches, fruit, and frozen and microwavable food.
Try:  To save time researching vendors, Vending Assistance offers free recommendations of vending equipment companies and services it has screened. Vending Solutions offers a full service vending machine management program and is particularly useful for businesses with multiple locations.  Vencoa sells vending machines that can handle fresh and frozen foods. Business.com's food and beverage vending machines page lists a wide range of resources to help you get started.

Expenses for food and beverage vending machines

Beverage and food vending machines can be bought, rented or supplied as part of a complete vending service. Your initial investment depends on which way you decide to go. Used vending machines can minimize your start-up costs. Ongoing expenses associated with vending equipment include maintenance, repairs and electricity. And don't forget the time commitment - it takes time to reorder and restock the vending machines as well as to collect the money.
Try:  USEDVending.com sells refurbished and used vending machines from a database that can be searched by state. Triple A Services offers a complete vending machine service with a service plan for easy outsourcing.

Generating revenue with your vending machine business

Some of the major soft drink distributors like Coca-Cola will install soda vending machines, stock them and service them at no charge and then pay you a commission on the drinks sold. Starting a vending machine business in which you place and maintain vending equipment in other people's businesses is another way to go.
Try:  US Vending places soda vending machines for the Coca-Cola bottling system in small and medium sized businesses. Products range from soda and diet soda to iced tea, fruit drinks and water. No contract is required, just 30-days notice to remove the beverage vending machines. Hershey's Vending has a category management methodology to help assure that snack vending machines have the right product mix to yield optimal profits.

Sourcing foods for your food vending machines

Options for your food vending machines go beyond the standard chips, candy and gum. In fact, you can fill food vending machines with microwavable meals, fresh sandwiches, individual pizzas and other healthy food choices.
Try:  The Vending Yellow pages has links to suppliers of fresh deli foods as well as healthy food choices for food vending machines. Aramarks' Just4U offers snacks for snack vending machines that have been approved by the American Diabetic Association.

• Query employees to find out what snacks, foods and beverages they want in a vending machine.
• Track which items are selling well in your snack vending machines and add new items until you achieve the mix that best appeals to your customers.
• Monitor expiration dates on fresh food items in food vending machines and replace as necessary.
• Appoint a staffer and a backup person to be responsible for maintaining the vending machines, reordering food and restocking the machines.
• Have a maintenance program in place to respond quickly to vending machines that are not operating properly.
• Have a maintenance program in place to respond quickly to vending machines that are not operating properly.