Healthy Vending Machines

As Americans become more health-conscious, market demand for health food grows. Demand means money.

Some feel the need to blame vending machines directly. There is a specific focus on children and vending machines. Candy, soda, and chips -- once treats -- are become a staple item of our diets. Trends may be changing and the junk food machine is slowly being replaced by healthy vending machines.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest recently stated "..all foods sold out of vending machines, school stores, and other venues outside of the official school lunch program should make positive contributions to children’s diets and health." while claiming that "75 Percent of Drinks and 85 Percent of Snacks Unhealthful." We aren't exactly sure what "unhealthful" means. If you eat too much of anything it is bad for you. The CSPI has been known for making outrageous statements about food. Regardless of what they see healthy vending machines may actually be a good business decisions.

If people want healthy food - vending machine operators need to provide it. High-demand lifestyles leave little time for planning a healthy diet. Unintentional eating habits leave people feeling unhealthy and out of shape.

Healthy vending machine food does not have to be a poor seller. The recent Atkins diet fad as well as the success of restaurants such as Subway and the decline of McDonalds seem to indicate that healthy vending machines have a profitable future. The popularity of bottled water in recent years proves just how health conscious consumers are becoming -- and how profitable healthy vending machines and innovative new health food products can be.

It may be worth your while to look into servicing healthy vending machines. New regulations passed both in the UK and US have required healthy vending machines in schools. There are opportunities now to meet both market and government demands. There are already businesses doing just this -- but it isn't too late to jump onto the healthy vending machine trend. We believe that healthy vending machines are more than just a fad but rather they are a long term trend.

Marketing is an important part of healthy vending machines. "Health food" sometimes is looked down upon as an inferior product -- it doesn't have to be. As kids we may have hated broccoli. Most of us still hate brussel sprouts. For a certain segment of the vending machine audience healthy = gross. As a marketer you need to send the message that healthy = cool. The multi-billion dollar marketing budgets of major food companies may seem like a unbeatable force, but sometimes being small has its advantages. There is a future in healthy vending machines.

Update: 3-06-05

Gov Arnold Schwarzenegger recently announced that he is pushing for legislation that would ban the sale of "junk food" in California schools. This and other political views seem to indicate a driving force behind healthy vending machines in the future.

©2004