There are 5 billion snacks and sodas purchased from vending machine on an annual basis. In the United States, the state of Ohio, per capita, has the most vending machines. For those looking for a vending machine service, there a few decisions that can make it a profitable venture.
First, when you buy vending machines, you are creating a business that is dependent on traffic and availability of highly desired products. Your placement and stocking strategy can make or break your profit potential.
To properly attract a large number of visitors to your machines, you can look at placing the vending machines at work locations. Any company with a significant employee base can provide a steady stream of customers. There are several considerations in looking at potential businesses to host your machines. You will have to decide if it generates more business from typical office workers that do not follow a clock or scheduled break schedule, or if you would see more people visiting during a predetermined break. Sometimes the constant trickle of people can provide additional traffic, but there is the potential for social proof when customers begin to line up at break time.
When cigarette machines first came out in 1926, they were capturing a different customer in a different time. Now, food vending machines and drink items are generally going to fetch the most sales. As you hone in on some of the top snack, candy or soda sellers, you might look to purchasing at better wholesale rates. Your margins are typically thin, but anywhere you can reduce your costs will boost the bottom line. For some that means shopping at big box stores where you can buy bulk or signing up for a wholesale distribution service. Either way, track your sales carefully and begin to test products against each other for demand.
Finally, your profitability depends on prompt servicing of all machines. Doubtless, there will be incidents where customers need a refund or the machine did not properly dispense their items. Take care to keep up with all customer service and mechanical issues to insure a constant stream of purchases in the future. As more and more machine accept credit and debit cards, you will have additional connection and electronic components that need to be inspected as well. More can be found here.
I would be curious to see what the client numbers are for comparable size office workers versus blue collar companies.