Vending Machine Product Trends

Candy, Snack & Confections

After an unprofitable year in 2003, candy, snack, and confection vending machine sales made a recovery in 2004. However, despite the recovery in sales, vending machine operators continued to remove snack vending machines, albeit at a slower pace in 2004 than in previous years. The gain in sales can be attributed to price increases in vending machine candy bars, which is the largest revenue generator for this vending machine product category. Candy bar vending machine sales increased for a third consecutive year and major chocolate companies introduced large-size versions of their top selling products. Large size candy bars allowed vending machine operators to sell candy for $1.00 and maintain traditional profit margins. To read more about whether vending machine operators should upgrade to large-size candy bars, click here.

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Frozen Foods

Frozen food vending machines made a 12.4 point gain in 2004 at the expense of refrigerated vending machines. In 2004, the proportion of frozen food sold in relation to all food products was the biggest one-year increase ever. Due to its popularity and long shelf life, vending machine frozen food now represents the majority of food sold in vending machines. There was also an increase in integrated food vending machine systems which heat and serve food from a frozen state. However, application of these vending machines was limited because they are more costly than simple frozen food vending machines. Other shelf stable vending machine food items also made a big gain, capturing 16% of all vending machine food sales. The increase in sales of these vending machine products reflects vending machine operators' focus on minimizing food waste.

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Hot Beverages

Hot beverages suffered a slight dip in 2004 because of the minimization of industrial accounts, which provide the main customer base for vending machine hot beverages. However, coffee vending machine sales continued to do well as a result of consumer demand. The biggest share improvement in 2004 was a 7.7 point gain in freeze-dried regular coffee. Regular coffee vending machine sales made a 4.35 point increase and fresh brew specialty coffee vending machine sales had a huge 16 point price gain even though these sales only account for 12.1% of all hot beverage vending machine sales. Despite the growing consumer demand for specialty coffee, vending machine operators minimized investment in the product because of the higher costs of vending machines equipped to dispense fresh brew specialty coffee. Extra-large vending machine operators sold the most fresh-brew specialty coffee because they are better able to offset the investment in the new products and more expensive equipment for fresh-brew specialty coffee vending machines. Meanwhile, smaller vending machine operators had to increase coffee prices in order to maintain reasonable profits. Other vending machine operators opted to replace hot beverage vending machines with single-cup brewers. This move reduces investment and increases product variety, but it also cuts down on vending machine capacity.

For more information, please contact Peter LeVine or any one of his talented colleagues at (800) 223-4101, (650) 493-2258, or contact us through our Info Request form

All vending machines are priced lower than the identical machines from Selectivend, USI, Fawn, or Federal.

Plus we offer:

• Zero Down Financing
• Lower Interest Rates

Questions? (800) 223-4101 or contact us through our Info Request form