VENDING IN EDUCAT CA
ATION
machines and ideas for vended products, or even the most modern payment systems.
What is thought to work well in educational institutions in the idea of closed loop payments, which allows consumers to pre-load funds into a spending account that is linked to a payment device such as a card.
VMC’s higher education specialist John Elliott says: “Solutions like VMC Flex can be applied at many difffferent payment points across campus enabling students to purchase with the UniCard and promoting increased usage of the scheme. This can add benefits for the students in the form of loyalty and rewards, and for the operator it can provide vital insight about their students habits that can drive bett
In addi tter pu
rchasing decisions.” tion, the ability to add more convenient methods of
payment to machines, such as the Vendotek contactless reader, is opening up the scope of items available through vending and this is an attractive idea to many students.
John explains: “Vending machines are the ideal way to make other items on campus available outside of normal hours. In higher education they can be used to supply small IT goods like USB storage, batteries and SIM cards or even stationery items.We have also seen great success in combining vending with recycling initiatives, encouraging re-use of bottles or rewarding students on their UniCard account when they return a bottle. ”
HEALTHY OPTIONS
Alarming statistics about obesity grabbed many a headline last year and the government and National Health Service have been on a mission to drive home a message of eating healthier snacks which are lower in fat, sugar and salt.
CEO and founder of Mr Lees Pure Foods, Damien Lee, contends that it has never been more important for education caterers to open their eyes to healthy vending.
He says: “Up until recently, the food on offffer across the education catering industry has been questionable. Ye
Yet it is really easy to
merchandise machines with foods that are lower in fat, salt and sugar, not only for the students, but also for the staffff.
“If there’s one message I want to get across, it’s that healthier options really are out there, and they’re in plain view.We’re not alone in leading this charge, and I couldn’t be more excited for the future of healthy vending in the education sector.”
THE RIGHTMACHINE IN THE RIGHT PLACE Is education a difffficult nut to crack for the vending industry?
Well, granted that 12 year olds aren’t clamouring for a coffffee machine, but the answer seems to depend on what type of machine you’re marketing. Selling the right machines into the right education establishment can net you some serious cash. In 2018, twoWestomatic Sigma To
Touch machines were With a two-litre bott
installed in an English grammar school, both of which were equipped with the option to dispense two types of milkshake. Our customer happily reported that they were visiting the school every one to two days to refill the milkshake syrups. ttle of syrup per milkshake, two milkshake
flavours; a 45ml dispense; this means 88 shakes every couple of days were vended from each machine at the school.With two machines in situ, that’s a potential 172 milkshakes sold. At £1 - 2 per shake, that’s a sizeable weekly income.
Younger consumers are without doubt the most tech savvy customers vending operators will come across, which means they are likely to be open all kinds of innovation, whether its quirky new
TECH SAVVY Yo
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