UK's AVA adds Vending and Automated Retail Association to brand name, expands mission

AVA is expanding its brand name to reflect its diversified membership. The Automatic Vending Association, the UK's 92-year-old trade organization, has added Vending and Automated Retail Association to its title.

Established in 1929 as the Coin Operated Machine Association, the trade group works to develop, promote and protect the British vending industry. It currently boasts 160 members that manage 460,000 vending machines in the UK. The UK vending industry employs 25,000 people and contributes £1.46 billion to the nation's economy, according to AVA Vending and Automated Retail Association. David Llewellyn is the association's chief executive.

“The vending industry has come a long way from its coin operated machine roots and over the last couple of years we have seen a real shift in consumer demands and the challenges our members face," Llewellyn said. "It was important to reassess our focus and reshape the vision of the AVA to better reflect the wide range of services our members offer, plus the innovation and resilience the industry has demonstrated in turning challenges into opportunities.”

The new name reflects a new vision for the industry's future, the AVA chief explained. He added that its mission is to be agile, innovative and deliver for its members, and the industry's customers, against an ever-changing retail landscape.

“Throughout the past 18 months," Llewellyn said, "we at the AVA have been a source of information and guidance to our members, providing updates on support or funding available and sharing successes to encourage advances. As an industry we are currently facing an impact from almost 40 pieces of upcoming legislation with everything from the proposed deposit return scheme to the single-use plastics tax, to changes in refrigeration gases having both practical and financial implications for our members. We know our members look to us for support..."