NATURAL SELECTIONS
A Healthier Vending Machine
Equipment distributors, technology companies
and product suppliers talk about how consumers'
The Goodie Monster is a 6-foot-tall vending machine designed to look like a furry friendly monster, which dishes out healthier snacks such as Kind Bars, Popchips, Justin's Maple Almond Butter and Sahale Snacks.
T
embrace of better-for-you snacking is impacting the vending business.
BY NICOLE POTENZA DENIS
he food industry has been under increasing scrutiny from legislators and nutritionists to provide healthier offerings to help combat childhood obesity, which affects 17 percent of all children—triple the rate it was just one generation ago. Vending machines haven't been exempt from the inquiries, making news in 2010 when President Obama's legislation went into effect requiring schools to meet nutritional standards for all snacks and drinks made available to students.
Additional legislation and programs—such as First Lady
Michelle Obama's Let's Move campaign—have raised the profile even more. These efforts, combined with consumers' growing inter- est in better-for-you snacking for themselves as well as their chil- dren, has opened doors for new vending companies that specialize in healthy snack products, as well as others who offer creative solutions to help steer Americans toward better choices. But with a reputation for being a junk-food paradise, can the
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vending industry really dismiss its negative stigma and sugary snack history? "Vending is not just about peddling junk food," says Paresh Patel, founder and CEO of VendScreen, a vending machine technol- ogy company based in Portland, Ore. It's about meeting consumer demand—which, right now, is for healthier options. As healthful choices and label-reading become priorities among consumers, vend- ing companies are differentiating themselves in a number of ways to meet that demand.
PHOTO: JASON COHOON