Office Vending Machines

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.