The different types of snack vending machines available for the commercial market are almost as varied as snacks themselves. Vending machines now take in about $40 billion a year in the United States alone, and even the most conservative of estimates suggest that number is going to do nothing but increase in the years and decades to come. Snack food sales make up the lion’s share of that figure, too, so if you’re looking to get involved in the lucrative snack vending machine market, you’ll need to know what to do to maximize the returns on your investment.

Places Where Snack Vending Machines Perform Well

The first thing you’ll need to think about is where to position your vending machine to reach people with the munchies. Generally speaking, the only outdoor locations where snack vending machines are viable are on commercial properties such as strip malls, outdoor shopping centers and areas where no food stores are available–think campground check-in centers and rest stops. Otherwise, operators usually seek out indoor locations with a high volume of pedestrian traffic.

Be creative in your approach. Conventional wisdom rightly suggests that cafeterias and lobbies of multi-purpose buildings make good choices. But what about spots like workplace lunch rooms and hospital waiting areas? Sit down and make a list of places–any and all places–that you can think of where people gather or pass through in large numbers. Check them out, and take notice of how many of them are already serviced by snack vending machines. If vending machines are already present, consider yourself on the right track; if not, you may have identified a need in the marketplace which you can then act to fill.

Know the Types of Snack Vending Machines Produced for the Commercial Market

Broadly speaking, snack vending machines are manufactured in two different styles: those designed solely to sell snacks, and snack food/soda combination machines.

Units designed simply for snacks usually have lower operating costs, since, unlike combination machines, they don’t have to increase power consumption to run a refrigeration system. The largest snack vending machines normally stock about 48 different products, with at least a couple of rows dedicated to different product types. Since chips, candy bars, nuts, licorice and candies all come in different-sized packaging, the best-designed vending machines offer dedicated chambers to use the machine’s interior space most efficiently. Thus, while one row of chambers may be designed to carry five different brands of potato chips, a row dedicated to candy may be able to offer a dozen or more different treats. Smart vendors know that machines that offer varied choices tend to outperform machines with narrower selections, even when the additional costs of supplying the machine with various products is taken into account.

For this reason, combination machines are often worth the extra investment because they generate greater sales volumes. After all, nothing washes down a bag of chips like an ice-cold soda, and if a consumer can get both from the same machine, it’s the operator who profits. However, the initial cost of a unit like this usually runs into the range of several thousand dollars; on the other hand, the simplest snack-only machines might only cost a few hundred dollars. Also, keep in mind that you can save some money by purchasing a used unit, though it won’t come with a warranty. It depends whether you’re looking to supplement your income by operating a snack vending machine or two, or whether you want to get into a whole new line of work. If you’re in the latter category, a good financing plan will work wonders to help you get your new business off the ground.

Prior to improvements in heating technology, hot food vending machines simply weren’t feasible due to concerns over food spoilage. However, vending machines with coin- or card-activated individual slots or carousel-style hot food vending machines are becoming increasingly common. The monetary and time investment demanded of an operator tends to be higher with hot food vending machines; however, because these machines stock higher-priced items, they also have the potential to bring in bigger profits.

Typical Offerings from Hot Food Vending Machines

Though the types of foods available from hot food vending machines will vary significantly, depending on the design of the specific machine you’re using, they generally include:

• hamburgers
• hot dogs
• panini sandwiches
• mini pizzas
• macaroni & cheese
• grilled cheese sandwiches
• chicken fingers
• french fries

Prepared Hot Food and Heat-It-Yourself Vending Machines

Typically, vending machines which contain ready-to-eat hot food items are found in stores where the facilities to prepare the food ahead of time are easily accessible, with convenience stores and gas station food marts being two of the most common locations. Operation of these vending machines can be more costly, not only because of the higher price of the sophisticated heating units that the food is sold from, but also due to the additional personnel required to maintain them. Typically, hot food vending machine operators are expected to at least subsidize the cost of the employee whose job it is to ensure the machine is properly stocked with the right items.

More common are refrigerated units that stock food items for sale coupled with a microwave oven provided so customers can heat their own food on site. These vending machines are usually comprised of a selector plate mounted on an axle or other mobile mechanism which responds to customer input when a selection is made. After the correct amount of money is inserted in the machine, the purchased items is sent down a chute and delivered to the customer, who then heats it using easy-to-follow instructions on the accompanying oven.

While that might seem to be a complex operation to maintain, the fact is that most locations that can support a hot food vending machine can support heat-your-own machines as well. Normally, both the vending machine and the microwave oven can be run off a single power outlet. Operators are simply responsible for ensuring that the refrigerated storage area beneath the unit is stocked, and that new products are rotated into the display case once current supplies have sold out.

The same payment technology which breathed new life into the vending machine industry as a whole is also available with hot food vending machines. Operators who wish to offer their customers the convenient option of paying using a bank or credit card can do so, and can offset the higher cost of electronic payment by padding the prices of their products. However, as with any business, location, location, location is the key to success. Most hot food vending machine operators have enjoyed the greatest success by cooperating and sharing revenues with store owners who want the ability to offer their customers access to hot food without installing the cumbersome facilities needed to prepare it on site. Finding a partnership is, in fact, often the first step to success in the hot food vending machine business.

Even though the number of smokers worldwide is in decline, cigarette vending machines continue to rake in significant profits for their owners, and not only because the tobacco habit is so overpoweringly addictive. Vending machines are a way to score impulse purchases; smokers usually don’t wait until they’ve run out before buying their next pack.

However, legal concerns are particularly applicable to owners of cigarette vending machines. Eight recent, independently conducted studies showed that, within the United States, minors were successfully able to purchase tobacco products from cigarette vending machines 82 percent of the time or more–in several studies, they were able to get away with their illegal purchase 100 percent of the time. The law may hold the proprietor of the cigarette vending machine responsible, not the owner or lessee of the property where the machine is located. Hefty fines can result. If you’d prefer to be safe rather than sorry, consider locating your cigarette vending machines in environments where external age controls are already enforced, with bars and nightclubs being the most obvious examples.

Stock Cigarette Vending Machines With Specialized Products

One technique that vendors use to draw more business to their cigarette vending machines is to offer tobacco products that are difficult to find in conventional corner stores. Imported cigarettes, for example, can lend an exotic, refined air to your cigarette vending machine, and coax curious customers into spending some extra dollars for the specialty product. If you’re going to go that route, always ensure you’re stocking products that are legal in your jurisdiction, and that all applicable duty fees have been paid. Also be sure to offer specialty tobacco products in tandem with recognized domestic brands to ensure you cover the spread.

Depending on where you live, cigarette manufacturers may also make specially packaged cigarettes available to vending machine operators. Some tobacco companies box special packs specifically for sale in vending machines, which contain an odd number of cigarettes (usually 17 cigarettes in a box manufactured to hold 20). This is done to increase both the tobacco company and the vending machine operator’s profit margins, though you should be wary that this ploy is unlikely to attract repeat business. It’s best used in locations where smokers are willing to pay more to get their fix–again, bars and nightclubs are the best examples.

What to Look For In a Cigarette Vending Machine

You’ll want to purchase a cigarette vending machine that allows you customized control over the pricing and dispensing of the individual product chambers, and shop knowing that even the most basic units have a capacity of at least 100 packs. Most units produced nowadays come standard with bill validators, electronic money changers and the ability to accept bank notes of most any denomination. More and more cigarette vending machine operators are finding it worth their while to invest in a unit that permits payment by card, since it also allows them to charge additional premiums on top of the already inflated vending machine cost of a pack of cigarettes. It’s also worth spending the extra money on a machine that offers more security: cigarette vending machines tend to suffer from theft and vandalism more than other vending machines, simply because they offer a product that has an inherent street value.

While cigarette vending machines come in many shapes and sizes, they usually weigh 200 to 300 pounds and stand three feet high or less. If you’re looking to invest in one, you should consider buying a new unit directly from the manufacturer, since financing plans are often available and comprehensive warranties are usually offered so that you can protect your investment.