Specialty Food Magazine is the leading publication for retailers, manufacturers and foodservice professionals in the specialty food trade. It provides news, trends and business-building insights that help readers keep their businesses competitive.
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pany recently added to its offerings a Fresh Healthy Vending Café machine, which serves freshly ground organic coffee drinks such as lattes, cappuccinos and mochas as well as chai, fresh juices and yogurt drinks. "The fastest growing category is locations that utilize coffee and healthy snacks," Negroni says. "There was no question about the need for great espresso-based coffee and healthy snack options in the workplace." Vend Natural. The Annapolis, Md., company is seeing tremendous growth since focusing on this category. "We are a nation of snackers, and the business of being healthy is being pushed by the con- sumer who is seeking out better snacking alternatives," says president William H. Carpenter Jr. Vend Natural has more than 550 machines around the nation, with 45 per- cent of its business coming from those in schools and universities, with the remain- der of the mix stemming from military bases, medical centers—like Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu— and federal court systems, as well as the USDA building. Many of its 600-plus products meet strict nutritional criteria that include spe- cific sodium, sugar and carbohydrate levels for school placement, such as Buzz Strong's Cookies made with whole-wheat flour. "We are always sourcing and testing new prod- ucts before we put them out to our dis- tributorship," he says. Other brands offered include Late July, Sensible Foods, Honest Kids and Stonyfield. Since machines vary with selections, Carpenter says it is hard to pinpoint what sells the best, but healthier cookies are popular. Prices are also kept competitive. "Price points are about $1.35—only slightly higher than traditional machines," says Carpenter. "We do not want to price out of the market. Keeping prices competitive gives us the ability to help change the behavior of how people eat." h.u.m.a.n. Healthy Vending. Backed by a team of health professionals, vending experts, registered dieticians and doctors, this Santa Monica, Calif., company was established in 2003 to give consumers con- venient access to healthy snack products and nutritional information. The "h.u.m.a.n." in the name comes from the company's mission—"helping unite man and nutri- tion"—aiming to create a global network of healthy and interactive vending machines that bring nutrition directly to people rather than making them seek it out. The com- pany even donates 10 percent of proceeds to charities that fight obesity and malnutrition. Touchscreens, streaming video con- tent, cashless payment systems and an eco- friendly power device helps the business stand out. It also works with vending cus- tomers to establish a product mix tailored for each location and demographic. Brands offered include Vita Coco, Luna Bar, Horizon Organic Milk, Popchips and no- sugar Blue Sky Soda. Its large purchasing power, partnerships with healthful product distributors and the fact that it does not profit on the wholesale sale of products helps to keep product costs down, according to the company website. The Machines: Highlighting Better Choices To make healthy options more appealing and easy to find, vending machine compa- nies are exploring an array of features from interactive touchscreens to animations. Improved technology. Vending machines are going the way of modern mobile tech- nology with a wide variety of interactive options. The Kraft Diji-Touch machine, for example, features an LCD touchscreen panel that can deliver animated and interac- tive advertising and features product with a 360-degree view showing nutritional information so consumers can make more SEPTEMBER 2012 43 PHOTO: TRAVIS MILLER / WWW.HEALTHYVENDING.COM