Vending machines represent a $40 billion a year industry in the United States, and current trends suggest that this figure is only going to grow. In our consumer-driven culture, vending machine manufacturers have developed innovative new ways of attracting business, while providing machine owners and operators with enhanced security features that protect their investments. As that technology continues to improve, the range of products that can viably be sold in vending machines also continues to grow, now including items such as disposable cameras, books, body care products and just about anything else that will fit in a coin-operated slot.

Vending Machines Can Now Be Used to Sell an Incredible Range of Products

One of the key technological advancements that’s led to the resurgence of the vending machine industry is temperature control. Not only do advanced cooling systems allow frozen foods such as ice cream to be sold from vending machines, less obviously temperature-sensitive items such as camera film can now also be securely stocked for longer periods of time. There’s also a flip side to the coin: it is now viable to vend items that need to be kept warm or hot, such as prepared food, coffee and tea.

In fact, coffee and tea vending machines represent one of the strongest growth sectors in the vending machine industry. These can make an excellent investment wherever large groups of people in need of a pick-me-up are likely to gather, such as cafeterias, university lecture halls, dormitories, and office buildings. A key factor in their ongoing success is the way these vending machines manage to anticipate and appeal to the everday needs of the people circulating nearby.

Vending Machine Marketing on a Whole New Level

Enticing customers to make vending machine purchases by stocking the machine with tried-and-true top-selling brands is an essential strategy. While the clearest examples of this have been demonstrated in the soft drink vending machine industry, dominated by the world’s two top soft drinks, Coke and Pepsi, the principle holds true no matter what type of products are being sold. Offering brand-name products enables vending machine owners to lure in business using the brand’s name and logo on the vending machine, a low-cost marketing tool when applied to products that already hold a substantial market share. Think Kodak for film, Johnson + Johnson for band-aids and Vaseline for skin care, for a few concrete examples.

Vending machine manufacturers themselves have begun to respond to customer demand for more designs oriented toward brand recognition. Advances in the manufacture of high-performance, sculptable plastics, stylized lighting and transparent materials allow vending machine operators to purchase a model that speaks to the preferences of their target market. Young people, for example, are known not only for brand loyalty but also for preferring sleeker, flashier displays that convey a contemporary, hip and “young” feel. Form should also match function: if you’re selling laundry soap, a classic, clean look can appeal to customers on a subliminal level.

In addition, vending machine operators are the latest in the bandwagon-jumpers who have realized they can translate nutrition trends into profits. Vending machines that offer products for people swept up in the low-carb craze, for example, are performing very well when placed in areas with high volumes of health-conscious people. With contemporary technology, the uses for vending machines is really limited only by the imagination of the people operating them, and significant profits await those who can discover a winning combination of marketing and product placement.

Soft drink vending machines combine pre-existing brand recognition with convenience. This powerful combination can, in turn, translate into low-maintenance, reliable revenue streams. The most successful soft drink vending machines use a combination of branding, selection and placement to achieve a high sales volume.

Soft Drink Vending Machine Placement: Things to Consider

Figuring out where thirsty people gather is only part of the equation, since soft drink vending machines also attract impulse buyers. While conventional wisdom suggests placing machines in areas where people go to eat and drink, such as inside or near cafeterias and food courts in schools, on college campuses and in malls and office buildings, the convenience of vending machines opens up many other possibilities.

Remember that the key advantage of soft drink vending machines is that they allow people to purchase drinks where they would otherwise not be able to. Thus, they can be profitable in any high-traffic area that isn’t serviced by nearby food and beverage outlets. For example, some of the more progressive public and college libraries permit patrons to enjoy food and drink while reading or studying, but very few of them offer on-site libations. The same logic applies to hotel and motel lobbies, office units, public and government buildings and high-traffic stores and businesses that lack their own food services. Soft drink vending machines placed in these areas enjoy a monopoly, of sorts, over thirsty shoppers and passersby.

Use Branding to Your Advantage With Soft Drink Vending Machines

While it may appear, on the surface, to be cheaper to stock a soft drink vending machine with generic brands of sodas and juices, machines that offer brand-name products tend to be more profitable over the long run. Vendors can even lease machines directly from major soft drink manufacturers (such as Coke and Pepsi). While the up-front costs associated with this option are usually higher, keep in mind that your vending machine unit will come with built-in advertising.

Since teens and young adults comprise a very significant demographic in the soft drink industry, it’s also essential to appeal to this market to maximize profit potential. It’s a well-known fact in the marketing world that young people, who generally have a higher ratio of disposable income than adults, are willing to spend more to get the products they want. Most youths, when given the choice between spending 80 cents for a can of generic cola or a dollar for a can of Coke, will choose the latter.

Purchase the Right Soft Drink Vending Machine

New technologies allowing for credit and debit card purchases and purchases that don’t require exact change work to help soft drink vending machine operators attract business through convenience. To choose the right machine, it’s essential to consider the needs of your target market. Are they likely to be carrying credit or debit cards? If not (and many students, for example, don’t), then you can save yourself some money by opting for a less expensive unit that simply accepts paper money and makes change. However, it is important to bear in mind that operators can charge a premium on their products if card sales are permitted. Most shoppers don’t mind spending a few extra cents if it means they don’t have to dig for change or find a place to get cash.

Finally, if you’re wondering how to finance the purchase of a soft drink vending machine, you should be aware that many manufacturers offer low-cost financing plans, which include small or no down payments, low interest rates and low monthly payment schedules. Thanks to the surging vending machine industry, manufacturers want to ship units quickly and are more than willing to offer competitive financing arrangements to facilitate the sale.

Thanks to emerging technologies, a wider range of snacks, drinks and products are available through office vending machines than ever before. Not only are machines offering quick pick-me-ups, like soft drink and snack machines, more secure and compact than ever, but advances in temperature control now permit office buildings to include highly profitable coffee vending machines as part of a complete range of products.

Consider the following facts:

• Coffee is the world’s second-best selling commodity.
• Approximately 70 percent of the U.S. adult population drinks coffee.
• Half of all coffee drinkers consume three or more cups per day.
• Office vending machines that retail coffee are becoming ever less expensive.

It’s easy to see how a well-placed coffee machine could quickly rack up significant profits in an office environment, where workers frequently turn to caffeine to beat the fatigue that comes with the daily grind.

Specialized Office Vending Machines Can Create Large Income Streams

As people are becoming more and more health-conscious, vending machine operators are finding ways to parlay nutrition into profits. Recent statistical analysis showed, for example, that milk is far outperforming soft drinks in terms of market share growth, with an annual dollar-volume increase of about 350 percent better. Soft drinks and packaged cold beverages, such as juices and water, enjoyed an annual dollar volume increase of 7.3 percent over the duration of the study. This was by far the most significant percentage increase among the snack, ice cream and cold beverage categories–except, of course, for milk, which posted a whopping 25.6 percent increase in sales, in terms of dollar volume, during the same period.

Diversifying the range of snacks and items offered for sale in an office vending machine is also crucial to maximizing returns on your initial investment. While there will always be a place for chips, candy bars and nuts in snack vending machines, today’s larger units promote a larger selection of products without adding a lot to your start-up costs. Top-end office vending machine units designed solely to vend snacks typically permit at least 12, but as many as 24 different product slots. Owners can use the extra space to offer specialized products. In addition to the not-so-healthy but nonetheless popular snack items, vendors can include granola and cereal bars, crackers, dried fruit snacks and other low-calorie, low-fat alternatives. The result is an all-in-one vending machine that manages to strike an immediate appeal with a large segment of its target market.

What to Look For in an Office Vending Machine

Selecting the right office vending machine from the many available on the market can be a daunting task. Here are a few things to keep in mind:

1. Machines that don’t require exact change tend to attract more sales.
2. Customers prefer the convenience of office vending machines that accept credit and debit card payments. They’re also willing to pay higher prices for products for the convenience.
3. Office vending machines that can read bill denominations are attractive to operators because those machines allow for more expensive product offerings.
4. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Combination-item machines are not only the most versatile, they also tend to attract the most business. Offer soft drinks, snacks and convenience products together in a single machine; purchase a specialty hot beverage unit that vends not only coffee but also tea, cappuccino and espresso.

By combining planning with some marketing savvy and due diligence, it’s not all that complicated to operate a profitable vending machine. Place fast-selling items in high-traffic areas, and you’ll soon be enjoying a positive cash flow.