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  • Nutrition Rules Hurt Short Term, But Ultimately Help Improve Vending’s Public Image
    By Elliot Maras - Wednesday August 15, 2012
    It has been six years since U.S. schools began removing soda from vending machines. This was a controversial move. Some observers claimed it would create financial hardships for schools but would not change kids’ eating habits. The removal of soda and other products has certainly created financial hardships for schools. Obesity rates among young people remain high. However, this past week, the journal, Pediatrics, reports that laws that curb the sales of “junk” food and sweetened drinks at school may play a role in slowing childhood obesity. The vending and beverage industries have largely supported these efforts. They have done so in recognition of the seriousness of the obesity problem and in the interest of being good corporate...

  • Vending And Millennials: A Unique Fit, Research Would Indicate
    By Elliot Maras - Wednesday August 8, 2012
    Symphony IRI Group recently released a market research report on the shopping habits of millennials, consumers 18 to 34 years of age, a growing and unique customer segment. The report includes suggestions and case studies of how to market to this group of consumers who are at the early stages of their work lives. Millennials are not currently the majority of consumers in the American work place, but they are growing and replacing their elders daily. Consumer product marketers need to get to know them better if they want to have a future. In reviewing this very comprehensive and easy-to-follow report, I could not help but note the many ways in which the vending and refreshment services industries are specially equipped to meet...

  • As Single-Cup Innovation Continues, OCS Gains New Respect; Specialty Coffee Roasters Aren’t Smirking Any More
    - Wednesday August 1, 2012
    The upcoming State of the Coffee Service Industry Report will be one of the most positive stories Automatic Merchandiser will provide in recent history. Refreshment service veterans won’t be surprised to learn that a lot of the good news is being driven by single-serve coffee. One of the most interesting findings is that while single-serve systems have improved in recent years and grabbed the consumer’s interest in a way never anticipated, innovation continues. While single-serve market leaders have established themselves, they aren’t sitting still. New systems, designed to give the end user more control over their coffee, are being introduced. As much as the single-serve business has grown in recent years, the equipment...

  • Quality Now Rules In Refreshment Services; Let The Price-Driven Retailers Make Fools Of Themselves
    By Elliot Maras - Wednesday July 25, 2012
    Thick in the throes of researching the state of the coffee service industry, it’s safe to say the refreshment service industry overall has weathered the challenging economic environment in good condition. The State of the Coffee Service Industry will give specific numbers on the performance of the various product segments in our September issue. Without divulging data, it’s safe to say that quality – in both product and service – is what “rules the roost” today, not price. The manufacturers of all types of refreshment products – coffee, water, flavored water, juice, sports drinks, iced tea, iced coffee, etc. – and of the delivery systems that provide these products have continuously improved quality. Refreshment...

  • The Industry Isn’t As Simple As It Used To Be: Neither Is Writing About It
    By Elliot Maras - Wednesday July 18, 2012
    Being an editor of a business publication has many rewards. I get to meet interesting and dynamic people. The job also has its challenges. It is aggravating to hear, as I occasionally do, that writing about an industry can’t possibly be as hard as having to work as an owner/operator in the business. Every business writer hears this from time to time. I’ve been hearing it more often lately as the vending industry struggles to adapt to all the new technology. The fact of the matter is that as an industry becomes more challenging, so does addressing its communication needs. Sure, it must be great to learn about cashless vending, remote machine monitoring, digital touchcreens, micro markets, etc., people sometimes say to me. “It...

  • Serex Services Acquisition: Changing Of The Guard Continues For Large Independents
    By Elliot Maras - Wednesday July 11, 2012
    Last week’s news that Youngstown, Ohio-based Serex Services Inc. was sold to a larger competitor was a disturbing piece of news to many of us. While it was only one of many acquisitions reported over the years, it struck me harder than most others because I happen to live in Northeast Ohio, the geographic market that Serex Services served for many years. When I began covering the vending industry two decades ago, large independents held key market positions in every geographic region. Because of them, the vending industry had a unique sense of entrepreneurship that had long disappeared from other retail channels, such as supermarkets, drug stores and department stores. These entrepreneurs gave vending an identity of more...

  • VEII Presentation Highlights LED Technology Benefits For U.S. Industry; Vending Operators Can Be Educators
    By Elliot Maras - Wednesday June 27, 2012
    A couple of days ago I had a chance to hear a presentation on a topic that holds great importance to the vending industry as well as other industries: light emitting diode (LED) technology. Vending operators are becoming familiar with LED lighting as they replace their fluorescent lights on their machines. Business owners and homeowners are also becoming more aware of LED technology. Justin Miller, CEO of an LED manufacturer, Cleanlife Energy LLC in Beachwood, Ohio, gave a presentation on this rapidly developing technology to the sales team at Vendors Exchange International Inc. here in Cleveland. As a homeowner, a business magazine editor and someone with friends in the construction industry, I thought I was reasonably up to date on...

  • Open Minded We Must Be, But A Pizza Machine Tests Us
    By Elliot Maras - Thursday June 14, 2012
    The recent announcement that a Netherlands-based company called A 1 Concepts will be opening a U.S. headquarters in the Atlanta, Ga. area in the third quarter has gained a lot of coverage in the last two days. The company has been growing throughout Europe since its launch about three years ago, according to www.pizzamarketplace.com , a Website that covers the pizza industry. Automatic merchandising industry veterans have seen pizza machines come and go over the years. The concept has never succeeded in the U.S. Based on the pizzamarketplace.com interview, this “Let’s Pizza” machine contains a specially developed bag of flour and a bag of mineral water. Every time a customer orders a pizza, the machine will start making the...

  • Successful Food Trucks Offer Valuable Lesson For Micro Markets As Convenience Food Revolution Unfolds
    By Elliot Maras - Wednesday June 13, 2012
    Many people in our industry think micro markets are the most exciting thing happening today. From my vantage point, I’m inclined to agree, but only to a degree. The most important change that micro markets are bringing to automatic merchandising is they are getting vending operators back in the convenience food business, a business that has changed a lot since it was a big part of our industry. Micro markets are bringing food back to our industry, and that means big change. For years, we have reported how the decline in big locations has hammered the once prosperous food business. Vend food used to be such a big business that there was a whole cottage industry of commissaries that focused on food for refrigerated machines. Most of...

  • New York Mayor's Beverage Restriction Calls For More Than Our Complaints
    By Elliot Maras - Wednesday June 6, 2012
    New York City Mayor Bloomberg set off a firestorm last week with his plan to ban large-size sugary beverages in restaurants and other venues. Vending operators might be grateful that vending machines have so far been spared. But the issue Bloomberg raises goes well beyond the confines of his particular proposal. Similarly unreasonable rules have been proposed in numerous jurisdictions nationwide. And the movement will continue, given the nation’s obesity crisis. It is an area of particular concern for the food and refreshments industry. The reaction to Bloomberg’s proposal have focused on its most immediate ramifications: restrictions on individual choice and lower sales for affected businesses. This is natural, but it misses the...