Vending machines are fantastic innovation, and believe it or not, they were actually invented some time during the Bronze Age in the era of great Greek engineering. The same first inventor of that Greek steam engine we hear so much about also invented some of the first vending machines. Sure, they were considerably different than what we have now, but something that was invented that early on and is still so popular today can’t really be a flawed concept. No, vending machines are great, it’s more about what we choose to try to sell and emphasize the that matters.
Vending machines have long had an association with less than healthy drink choices, lesson healthy snack choices and much more, with people opting for poor-quality sandwiches, sugary or fatty snacks and sugar-loaded drinks. Of course, water and juice vending machines been around for a long time, emphasizing is somewhat healthy drink concept, but with the popularity and advertising fierceness of soft drinks, these things haven’t really gained that much headway aside from extremely health-conscious people.
Modernly, there are so much healthier drinks than the old vague juice cocktails, and there are much more exciting options for a healthy drink and healthy vending in general than plain old water. Smoothies, organic fruit infusions, teas and much more are readily available and easy to provide through the same kind of vending technology that handle soft drinks and water.
The real trick is all about location, and wherever you consider a good location for a soft drink or water vending machine, an alternative healthy drink machine could also easily go there or nearby, in line of sight, and you can attract people to opt read over the less than healthy soft drinks if you know how. It’s all about competitive pricing, good signage and a wider variety of drinks compared to the small handful in most traditional soda vending machines.
When it comes to promoting healthy vending like this, this does a lot. It brings a lot more attention and awareness to healthy snacks and healthy drinks, thus allowing them to innovate further and saturate the populace more, but that’s far from all. Encouraging healthy drinking and encouraging Association of healthy drinking and snacking with vending machines over the traditional association with sugary junk will encourage healthier lifestyles and future generations when that association fades away. Gone will be any excuses for resorting to unhealthy drinking and snacking choices when it is well known and well encouraged to pursue superior, healthier alternatives.
While soft drinks and candy and chips are going to go away, and there’s no real harm in indulging in the occasional enjoyment of something like this, a stronger association with vending and healthier eating and drinking can only do good both for the reputation of vending, the reputation of snacking/drinking with convenience and for the healthier lifestyles of people on the go.
I for one remember a time when I travel a lot for my job, back in the day, and I had to subsist on a lot of unhealthy stuff at airports, in malls and so forth, and not only was this not good for me, but I often feel sickly and malnourished after a long trip!