Vending machines are getting an overhaul as consumers demand healthier food

OCTOBER 16, 2015
FALAFEL, free-range eggs and mason jars packed with salad aren’t what you would necessarily associate with vending machines.
But times are changing — and quickly.
There is a new movement in automated machines toward fresh, nutritious and gourmet meals and snacks, and it’s set to overhaul the way we think about vending machines.
Far from the usual offerings of sugary, salty, carb-loaded, carbonated and occasionally stale food, these revamped machines dispense freshly made and nutritious fare, including paleo, gluten-free, vegan and sugar-free options.
So different are these new-generation vending machines from the old ones, emergent businesses are even trying to separate themselves from the “vending machine” tag. Melbourne company The Füd Revolution refers to its machine as an “unmanned outlet” while Brisbane’s All Real Food calls theirs “self-service cafes”.
A few things are driving this movement. Health groups have long pushed for healthier food to be included in vending machines, including the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, which in July called for healthy vending machines in hospitals and council-run leisure centres in its new guidelines to prevent obesity.
Consumers are also calling for a change. Also in July, a joint survey by the University of Sydney and University of Wollongong found 87 per cent of people thought vending machine snacks were “too unhealthy” and 80 per cent were happy to fork out more cash for a more nutritious option.
And now business was catching up with those demands, Queensland University of Technology consumer behaviour expert Gary Mortimer said.
“In the past five years, we have seen significant growth in the ‘fresh prepared foods’ segment and supermarkets have been quick to respond, offering fresh, semi-prepared choices,” he said.
“Australians are now more focused than ever on sugar consumption, trans-fats, childhood obesity and BMI indexes, and as such their shopping behaviour has
changed.”
US research suggest sales in the fresh prepared foods segment was on the rise. Forecast forecast sales in America’s $35 billion fresh prepared foods segment are expected to grow at 6 to 7 per cent through to 2017, up from 5 to 6 per cent between 2007 and 2012.
“This growth will outpace the anticipated 2-3 per cent in retail grocery food and beverage,” Dr Mortimer said.
“These healthy ‘vending machines’ are a great example of innovative and entrepreneurial firms responding to consumer behaviour changes.
“We should expect to see these vending machines popping up in office tower foyers, train station platforms, transit hubs, gyms and campuses around Australia.”
the Fed Revolution’s sole vending machine in Melbourne is stocked with nutritionally balanced snacks and meals, which have been carefully developed with a nutritionist and prepared fresh each morning.
They include meal-size salads and separate proteins such as falafel, boiled eggs and chicken, as well as snacks such as organic yoghurt with gluten-free granola and raspberry coolie, raw carrot cake, paleo banana bread and green smoothies.
And business is blossoming. Füd is about to launch four more machines — which will incorporate snacks by other, local small business — and they’re in talks to install more at hospitals and universities, with national expansion on the horizon.
“I don’t think five years ago you would have gotten away with something like this,” Füd’s co-founder Laura Anderson told news.com.au
“Now the general population is taking more care with what they’re eating, we thought this was really the time. It’s not as if we’ve jumped on the wellness trend, it’s more about providing healthy options for people that were clearly lacking and also a gentle encouragement to continue that thinking and that shift in awareness.
“We want to give people at the most basic level the best possible fuel so they can go out and achieve the best things they can that day.”
But she said the idea of a healthy vending machine seemed so radical at first, people were reluctant to get on board.
“When we first started, it took us a lot longer than we thought to get a vending machine in somewhere,” she said. “We approached office towers and big buildings and they thought it was interesting, but it was the very first one they were a bit hesitant.
“But now that people have been able to see it and use it, we pretty much get a request daily from a workplace that wants one.”
Ms Anderson said it was all in the machine’s design, too. Füd’s outlets have none of the flashy, robot-like design features of the classic vending machine, opting instead for recycled timber wood, pretty mason jars and a generally artisan feel.
“It’s to shift people away from thinking it’s a vending machine and thinking of it more of a health outlet that happens to be automated,” she said.
“It’s almost at the point that it’s a cliche now — the blonde timber and the artisan thing, the beautifully curated products — and that’s what the hipster crowd who have been eating quinoa for years probably think.
“But for the general public who is new to this way of eating, for them, it’s like, ‘Yep, this is different from the commercial stuff’. And you can tell that people have put time and effort into these meals from the way it’s presented.
“It’s highlighting the goods choices and highlighting the way that food adds to your productivity and overall wellbeing. And someone might buy a salad from us one day, and take their jar home, and think about how much they enjoyed it and how food it made them feel and it might inspire them to make their own lunch the next day, and pack it in their little jar.”
Dr Mortimer said using earthy and rustic facades, and sustainable, reusable packaging, were the best ways for businesses to capture the health-conscious, time-poor consumer.
“Placing fresh salads in non-recyclable containers and selling them from oversized ostentatious machines simply sends the wrong messages,” he said.
“Further pushing their social agenda, most companies distribute unsold inventory at the end of the day to charity groups and the homeless.”
While he admitted there would always be a market for vending machines stocked with old-school junk food, he also wanted to see more extensions to new vending machines that would let them sell things like fresh Vietnamese rolls, sushi, sandwiches and even heated options like soup and laksas.
“l see no limit to what might be offered,” Dr Mortimer said.