INDUSTRY INSIGHT


Thriving in the pandemic


The Vending and Automated Retail Association (AVA) AGM heard from three vending companies that are leading the way in how to survive and thrive during a pandemic


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ending has taking a very significant knock in the past 18 months, however by embracing new technologies, investing and diversifying, the three companies Coinadrink, SV24-7 Vending and Cafepoint


have proved with the right strategy it didn’t have to be all doom and gloom. Gary Lewis of Cafepoint made a decision to invest big to bring big


rewards by recruiting new staff, with diverse skills, who had been made redundant during the pandemic. In one project, undertaken in Canary Wharf in London, Cafepoint was


able to provide numerous services including vending requirements as well as installing washbasins, sanitising stations and piping. “The customer just wanted a one-stop shop of services. They did not


want many different contractors coming in and out of their premises,” Mr Lewis said. “We were able to do this because among our recruits we had ex-electricians, ex-plumbers etc.” “We’ve stepped out of our comfort zone, but every sales person I have


hired has brought in new business in the last few months,” he revealed. Mr Lewis also highlighted the growth in opportunities in micromarkets and


stressed that vending was well-placed to strike while the iron is hot during a time when caterers contracts, particularly in London, are being reduced. “This is good for vending because we are geared up for logistics,


but caterers are not. We’ve had caterers asking if we will partner with them on a number of projects. Micromarkets are definitely an area worth investigating in detail.” Meanwhile Scotland-based SV24-7 Vending made an early decision to


make its full estate of machines contactless. Director and co-owner Fiona Chambers said the decision was


made at the beginning of lockdown in order to make machines as safe as possible and to make the business “bullet-proof”. SV24-7’s strategy included getting rid of rented machines and


buying new machines that were fully aligned with its software package. The next step was to retrofit all of SV24-7 vending machines with contactless payment. This decision was made a time when the pandemic was still in its infancy and no-one new how it would eventually pan out. “We made a brave decision that we were going to retrofit all our


vending machines, even the ones that are slower, with contactless payment,” Fiona said. And now SV24-7 is reaping the benefits of renewed customer


confidence as there is no need to use coin, improved cashflow as digital payments hit the bank immediately, less time handling money, and the company is enjoying good PR as it took the


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decision to invest when many other businesses would not. Coinadrink prides itself on installing the first micromarket in the UK


through its special division Express Refreshments allowing it to enjoy an increase in selling prices, basket size, basket value, sales vs vending and overall margin. Sales, customer care and marketing manager Tom Williams said the


company had also enjoyed particular success through its own brand label Café Casa. The firm spent time reimagining the branding for the range in 2020 and this is now starting to come to fruition. All bases are covered from coffee beans, soluble coffee, pod/capsules,


hot chocolate, tea, milk and single serve portions so there is a product available for every market be it home, office, Horeca, or small business – and not just vending. Café Casa products accounted for three per cent of online and wholesale


sales value before the rebrand and reformulation. It now represents 15% and is growing as more products join the range. “It’s important to note that in 2019 the UK drank an estimated 12 million


cups of coffee per day, so to get a little slice of that makes a lot of sense for anyone,” Mr Williams concluded. The words of AVA chair Gillian White sum it up. She said: Automated


retailing is here to stay even if we don’t know exactly what it will look like in the future. Customers absolutely still want our services and it is up to us to embrace the technologies and the landscape that will allow us to reinvent ourselves, remain relevant and allow us to thrive.”


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