What Are the Different Types of Vending Machines?

Did you know that in the USA, there is one vending machine for every 50 people? Vending machines are brilliant for keeping customers and employees happy while generating revenue at the same time. They offer more diversity for your workforce than you may think. Considering installing vending machines in your business? Before you decide on what type to get, let’s go through the different types of vending machines to help you choose.

Food and Drink Vending Machines

Bulk vending machines that offer various things to eat and drink are a great way of motivating your workforce and keeping them on-site and focused throughout the day. So here’s a few examples of the different types available:

Soft Drink Vending Machines

The first thing everyone thinks of when they hear the word vending machine is soft drinks. These operate at room temperature. This feature makes them a good choice if you want to provide refreshments to different people during the day but don’t want machines that are too hot or too cool.

But there are models available that offer a range of temperatures, making them a great addition to any office or factory where warm working conditions exist. Some machines also offer alternatives to soft drinks such as bottled water. Seltzer or sparkling water, vitamin water, and flavored water are just some of the water types that you can find in these machines. This option is excellent for those who aren’t keen on a typical soft beverage’s sugary taste.

Snack Vending Machines

These office vending machines are ideal for keeping clients satisfied during breaks or whenever they’re feeling peckish while working on your premises. Popular snacks include candy bars, chips, and chocolates. Machines that specialize in one kind of snack are also available (e.g., cookie and chip machines). Snacks also provide a great comfort source during times when we’re bored or sleepy in the workplace. If you’re looking for vending machines that can deliver a variety of different snacks, then you’ll need snack combo machines.

Coffee Vending Machines

Many people around us love coffees and teas. These are perfect for offices or factories where they have a wide selection of tea, coffee, and hot chocolate available. And in warmer climates, you’ll also find iced coffee in some machines! But traditionally, most think of hot drinks in these machines. They are becoming more popular in self-service workplaces such as offices, conference rooms, and business-to-customer services such as gas stations.HGV drivers can get a warm drink from these machines when refueling when nowhere else is open for miles.

Cooked and Frozen Vending Machines

These types of machines are great for events management. Maybe your workplace hosts an array of outdoor and indoor events such as weddings, conferences, sports events, or you run a visitor attraction. In that case, offering fresh-cooked or ice-cold food and drinks is an excellent way of keeping your customers and staff happy. At sports events, hot food vending machines such as those serving hot dogs, burgers, and fries are popular. In contrast, for your outdoor visitor attractions, in particular, ice cream vending machines keep customers relaxed as they walk around your venue and have a great time. Plus, they’re also great for your staff if they need a quick respite in extreme weather conditions and cannot move far from their work station.

Combo Vending Machines

These are a popular all-in-one solution for any work on a budget, as they allow an array of items in one machine. They’re great if you want to provide various snacks or drinks for your colleagues but don’t want to overspend on buying them separately. These vending machines are great in areas where many people are coming in every day. They provide options for various snacks and beverages for the customer. You won’t have to purchase several different machines for different products, and you can even put together combinations that serve everyone’s needs. High-traffic locations that make great spaces for your work vending machine include reception rooms and hallways, as well as canteens found in larger workplaces.

Other Types of Vending Machines

It’s worth noting that not all vending machines offer food and drinks, though these are the most common. Here are some examples of other ideas that you may not have thought of at first:

Merchandiser

This type is most popular with hoteliers to offer toiletries to their customers. But in some large industrial or office settings, they are also helpful in vending supplies such as COVID-19 kits. Other examples include toilet paper, tissues, pens and pencils, and even copier cartridges. These can be found in many office settings to provide business cards, pens, pencils, and even staplers. They’re good if your staff members are constantly running out of or needing these supplies. Although most industries offer their staff an unlimited supply of such items, these machines tend to be found more in communal workspaces. One example of such a space is a media hub, where freelancers work in an open-plan office space.

Outdoor Vending Machines

Outdoor vending machines offer snacks and drinks outdoors, making them a great addition to parks and gardens or even in outdoor office spaces. Suppose your workplace predominantly involves outdoor work, especially in extreme heat. In that case, these specialist models are great for allowing your staff to stay on-site while keeping refreshed as and when needed. Not only are there outdoor versions of food and drink machines, but you can also offer outdoor items in them. They can also help with emergency supplies if you run camps or activity businesses or towels and energy supplements at a leisure facility.

Smart Vending Machines

Hi-tech vending machines aren’t the gimmick they once were. There’s a whole tech world that’s now allowing for vending machines to exist in places previously nobody would have thought. Contactless payment and collection are some of the most popular use cases. Not having to touch the machine is very useful for anyone working in environments where contamination of any kind is prevalent. Examples of these include a laboratory or food factory. Some machines even allow you to reserve and pay for goods via smartphone apps, allowing your colleagues. This technology works well in large retail stores. You aren’t allowed to carry money on your person for security reasons (if you can’t carry your phone, you can use a loyalty card instead).

Customized Vending Machines

Even since the first vending machine was invented in Greece over 2000 years ago, people have customized vending machines. The most popular method is branding an existing vending machine model with your decals and graphics. Branding tends to be more impactful on machines where the user doesn’t work for the company. Still, for any communal space, they are a great form of advertising. Customized vending machines serve as a reminder to potential customers that you do offer services in their area. The more relevant you can make your customizations, the more effective they’ll be when used in this manner.

Speciality Vending Machines

This is especially useful for stores that sell some of the expensive toys that kids love. They help parents feel less guilty about dropping by the store but not buying something. By vending toys such as board games and teddies, parents don’t have to worry about buying something that is not on their list. You can also put magazines on these machines. These are great in waiting rooms or any location with many people sitting around, such as a medical practice. They’re also ideal for locations with long queues and waiting times because customers can take their time with the magazine and then move on when they’re ready. And a novelty vending machine is also an effective marketing strategy for a product launch. You can customize the exterior, put your new product in there, or if your launch product is too large or you’ve got a big budget; you can always vend your branded goods for free! You’ll be the talking point of the event when customers discover your products are accessible in such a unique manner.

Select Your Vending Machine

As a business owner, it’s a challenge keeping your workforce motivated and your customers’ spending, especially in times of economic struggle. Vending machines can offer a means of cutting through all of this noise to provide your customers and staff with that one thing missing from their shift. In the future, it’s about providing better, more efficient services than anyone else out there to win over your team and your visitors. We hope we’ve shown you some ways in which you can make the most of a vending machine in your business.