Well I’m here to wipe the silly look of confusion off of everyone’s face, because healthy vending machines DO exist.  But I can definitely see why the phrase would seem contradictory, after all: vending machines are traditionally unhealthy in more ways than one…

Let’s step back in time to the first vending machines that dispensed food products: In 1888 the Thomas Adams Gum Company introduced machines that dispensed gum balls for coins on New York City subway platforms.  A revolutionary concept: create miniature automatic retailers that required no supervision and that conveniently placed products that people wanted where they happen to be walking by! Brilliant!

The vending machine evolved through the late 1800s and early 1900s to offer everything from cigars to stamps.  Did you know that there was even a completely coin operated restaurant called Horn and Hadart in Philadelphia from 1902 to 1962??? Customers would come in and place coins in slots below windows that displayed cold food, then they’d turn a chrome knob and the food would be revealed through technological magic (ok, not that magic, a slot opened up).

By the 1920s vending machines evolved into just soda and candy dispensers.  This is where I think the industry flat-lined in terms of its product offering. Sure, the machines themselves advanced along with the breakthroughs in related technology (lights, compressors, etc.), but the food and drink type basically stayed the same….why?

I think its because vending machine operators bought into a model that worked. And like my pappy used to say “if it ain’t broke, then get a beer from the fridge and hide in the garage from your mother so that she thinks you’re busy fixing it when you’re actually trying to get out of helping make dinner!”  Or something like that. Anyway, what I’m trying to say is that people were provided with what they thought they wanted when they’re on the go and don’t have time to sit down and eat: sugary foods that “give them energy”.

So since 1920 the vending machine industry has been about as innovative as my brother, who just the other day decided to start wearing pants in public. Doesn’t that baffle you? Not about my brother’s daily indecent exposure, but that for 90 years vending machines have almost exclusively offered candy, soda, and cigarettes? Through all the health revolutions and nutrition awareness campaigns….these big brown boxes sat there displaying “tasty” crap for all the world to eat?

Well, thankfully its 2010 and there are healthy vending machines that dispense ONLY 100% healthy food and beverages.  No, they don’t dispense healthy cigarettes. There’s no such thing.

Do you know any funny oxymorons? I’d love to hear about them!

Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy only when others are fearful. – Warren Buffett

I JUST DROPPED A WARREN BUFFETT QUOTE ON  YOU.  That means things are about to get heavy.  If you are looking into starting up your own business or buying into a franchise model, the choices are endless.  The demands for initial investment vary from a few thousand dollars to millions.  The time, expertise, and knowledge capital requirements vary equally as much.  An often overlooked option is a vending machine business.

PROS: Vending operators who are successful often revel in how sweet of a set-up this business is for a variety of reasons:

1. Low Cost of Labor: The machines do all the work.  No clerk is required to execute each transaction. Filling the machines and handling maintenance are the main human-required components once the machine is placed.  This is a business you can do in your spare time which keeping the stable income of your day job.
2. Customer Accessibility: Your business is open for as long as people have access to the machine. In many locations, such as hospitals, this can be 24 hours a day.
3. Mobility: Location starts to get low traffic? Sales are suffering? Pop that baby on a dolly and wheel it on across the street to a better one!
4. Relatively low initial investment: Compared to other franchises, these machines are a minimal investment.  $10k for a premium high-tech vending machine, and a little as $2k for a plain ugly brown box traditional vending machine.

CONS: If something sounds too good to be true, it usually is. I’m sure this is no surprise to you. Just like any business, there are risks involved:

1. Location, location, location. Location is obviously important in ANY business.  With vending machines it is THE most important factor (assuming your machines work and have product in them).  Just buying a machine and trying to find a location on your own is difficult.  Turnkey-model vending businesses exist that will help you acquire premium locations, though, but you must be sure to use an established and reputable one.
2. The traditional vending industry is in a decline. The industry that everyone knows best, traditional junk food and soda vending, has become stagnant.  Sales have flat-lined for soda, candy, and chips.  However: Certain niches within the vending industry are exploding.  Healthy vending is poised to become a long lasting trend with legislation emerging from the Obama administration demanding healthier food and snack options in schools.  Wellness programs at office buildings and hospitals are also becoming increasingly interested in provided premium amenities for their employees and customers rather than the typical junk.
3. You could be contributing to the declining health of Americans. If you are interested in being as socially responsible as you are financially successful, then you need to consider the real effects that investing in a traditional vending machine company will have.  Over 33% of Americans are now obese, and obesity costs our country $150 billion per year in health care costs. Childhood obesity is on the rise at an alarming pace as well.  You should consider how your business will fit in to this mess. Will it make the problem worse by providing junk food and soda to people? Or will it provide healthier choices for people?

So do your homework.  Warren Buffett would agree, and I’ll verify this with him if he ever returns my phone calls.  The Oracle of Omaha says DON’T BE SCARED of taking a risk…but do your homework first.

Vending machines are generally overlooked as something detrimental to a workplace,  school, or gym.  After all, the store is too far away and these people need to snack! Heck, we’ll just plug it in, sign the contract, and everyone will be happy! This is the kind of short-sighted thinking that can have negative long term effects.

Let’s take a look at some of the negative impacts the traditional junk food vending machines have:

• Energy consumption: A refrigerated vending machine can consume between 2,500 and 4,000 kilowatt-hours  per year.  To give you some perspective, in 2008 the average home consumed around 11,000 kilowatt-hours.  So if those 3-4 vending machines at work could power your home for a year! The good news: new eco-friendly vending machines now use 50% less electricity!
• Product mix: traditional vending machines contain nothing but junk food.  Its no news flash to anyone that the U.S. and the world as a whole is struggling with the rise of obesity and its associated negative health impact.  28 out of 50 states have reported an increase in the percentage of obese people, and childhood obesity is one of the greatest threats to the next generation. The good news: healthy vending machines are steadily being placed in schools, gyms, and office buildings worldwide!
• Education: traditional vending machines give no indication as to the nutritional content of their foods.  You can’t bust the glass and read the label! Consumers then rely on what tastes good, which to the average person is unfortunately some type of sugary or salty snack with little to no nutritional value.  The good news: New, high-tech vending machines with large LCD displays and on-board personal computers power an interactive snack buying experience for the consumer.  Nutritional content is now at the touch of a button!

Maybe that’s what the Cubs need: healthy vending machines in their training facility! It would explain a lot…Don’t hate on me, Chicago, I’m just trying to help.

Setting an example is not the main means of influencing others; it is the only means.
Albert Einstein

I don’t bust out Albert Einstein quotes lightly.  I only use them when I really need to drive a point home, and that point is this: everything you do as a company, down to the smallest choices you make, has an impact.  Its often the little things that get overlooked, too.  For example, how many companies out there claim to be socially responsible and yet still only provide their employees with unhealthy snack and drink options from vending machines that also have a huge carbon footprint?  While these companies may be socially responsible on a large scale, what about the health of its employees and the health of the planet?

I know what you’re thinking: “Is this guy serious? Vending machines? We have bigger fish to fry!” Well, what I’m saying is how are you going to expect your employees to perform at their peak when they are putting crap in their bodies throughout the workday? And how can you really say you’re a “green” company when you won’t replace your traditional, energy-sucking vending machines with modern eco-friendly vending machines stocked with health food?

Let me hit you with hard numbers if you’re still not convinced:

A study led by University of Cincinnati on obesity’s effects on productivity on 341 manufacturing workers indicated that health-related losses in productivity were 4.2% for moderate to obese workers, costing the company $1,800 per year in absenteeism related costs!

So let’s say your company is made up of the average distribution of people in the U.S. (30% obese).  If you have 1,000 employees then 300 are obese.  300 x $1,800 = $540,000 per year.

That’s half a million greenbacks!

While you can’t be responsible for the lifestyle decisions your employees make, the least you could do is provide them with healthy snack options while they work.

Some may argue the need for face-to-face interaction is becoming less of a necessity. With limitless Internet access and easy-to-use search engines, like Google, consumers are becoming educated on products in a short period of time. This has allowed online retail stores to see unprecedented profits. The one problem with ordering products online, is not being able to see the item. This is a turn off for some buyers as these people would likely feel more comfortable going into a store.  Retailers, both online and in store fronts, are noticing a gap in the marketplace. What about 100% Automation?

The vending industry is being shaken up by different initiatives put forth by a few major brands.With the advancement in technology, companies like Best Buy, Apple, and Sony are breaking into the world of automated retailing. Vending machines are no longer your standard black box machines with unhealthy snacks and drinks. They are becoming mini automated retailers with interesting, eye-catching graphics that can sell anything and everything. These interactive “stores” require little servicing, no employee supervision, and can be open 24/7. What a business!

From the start, H.U.M.A.N. Healthy Vending has been pushing the limits in automated retailing. Not only do we have a great product catalog with over 1000 healthy snacks and drinks, but also, our machines are capable of vending just about anything that fits. Our custom, healthy vending machines are being used in locations across the country to serve customers what they want! In our gym locations, for example, we offer our nutritious snacks but also incorporate tanning goggles, lotions, head phones, workout towels, gym clothes, and much more into our location-friendly planograms!

The problem with these “quick fix” food/drink options is that they are usually unhealthy. An even bigger problem is that a large percentage of these fast and convenient options are being purchased from vending machines in schools. This sets the precedent at an early age for children to develop unhealthy eating habits. The federal and state governments are taking action to stop this trend.

Massachusetts is the most state to pass a school nutrition bill that requires public schools to serve healthier meals to students, and to overhaul vending options. A Massachusetts news articles reads, “The measure would ban candy and sodas from vending machines on school property and encourage the sale of non-fried fruits or vegetables, whole grains, nonfat and low-fat dairy products.”

What a coincidence! H.U.M.A.N. Healthy Vending will customize a machines planogram, or product mix, to meet any nutritional requirements put in place by state and local governments. With a product list of over 1,000 healthy snacks and drinks, H.U.M.A.N. has the necessary products to meet your specific dietary requirements. We can create a plan that is 100% Organic, SB-19 compliant, Gluten-Free, Allergen-Free, Low-Fat, Low-Carb, or No Sugar-Added!

According to the Chicago Tribune, President Obama has asked for an additional $1 billion in funding for school lunches. This is a valuable addition to the battle against childhood obesity. I suggest President Obama allocates a portion of this billion dollars to a healthy vending initiative! Most kids who bypass the cafeteria altogether and head straight to a vending machine end up with a bag of chips and a can of soda for their lunch meal. H.U.M.A.N. can and wants to help. Making school lunches healthier, will not help these rebellious students who spend their lunch money on honey-buns and a soft drinks from the vending machines. If we can’t change the kids, let’s change the food options! Surrounding these kids with healthy vending machines is a beneficial step in changing purchasing options at a young age. Why not buy a bag of  Stacy’s Cinnamon Sugar Pita Chips and Hansen’s Natural Soda instead of a Snickers bar and Cherry Coke?

Checkout a couple articles about school nutrition in:

The New York Times

Patriot Ledger

What does this mean? It means health, healthy vending, and healthy vending machines are gaining importance in everyone’s mind. People are increasingly realizing the benefits of living a healthy lifestyle and are proving it by spending more on healthy goods than ever before.  h.u.m.a.n. has the most innovative healthy vending machines and provides the healthiest, tastiest foods & drinks that consumers love.

2) Convenience
Fact:  In today’s hectic society, less meals are being consumed at home.  People simply have less time to eat due to our increasingly fast-paced society.  By bringing health and nutrition products directly to customers through healthy vending machines, we’re making it easier than ever before to eat more nutritiously and achieve a healthy lifestyle. To improve upon the already convenient nature of vending, we provide features such as credit card readers to make purchasing from our vendors as easy as possible. Since 2003, h.u.m.a.n. has been the leader in “convenient nutrition!”

3) Digital Advertising and Technology

Have you seen those bright ads displayed on big digital billboards yet? If you haven’t, you will very soon. They’re popping up everywhere, and they make a whole lot of sense. Why? Because they display targeted ads, look really sharp, & generate significantly more revenue when compared to old-school static advertisements. This is why the “Out-of-Home Digital Advertising” is already a $1.7 Billion industry with a rapid 23% annual growth rate. Our healthy vending program capitalizes on this booming digital advertising trend, allowing YOU to profit from it!

These unassailable trends point to where the world is heading and HUMAN is uniquely poised to benefit from all three.  We couldn’t be more excited!  Not only are we doing a lot of good for the world, we’re also making our vending operators and partners wealthy in the process!

Learn about HUMAN’s premium healthy vending program and attractive healthy vending machines.
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