Bulk Candy, Drinks, Snacks, Toys, Electronics…The list goes on.
There are a large variety of vending machine routes available in the United States. The most traditional is probably the bulk candy route which consists of machines that take quarters and dispense handful amount of candy, nuts, mints, gum or other treats. Now there are DVD rental vending machines, pizza making machines, vending machines that sell iPads and more! The vending industry is extremely large and can offer a great deal of variety between products. Below you will find a quick breakdown of the routes and their differences…
Bulk Candy
Bulk candy routes may be the simplest of all vending route options. Machines are fairly standardized with U-Turn, Northwestern and VendStar being the most popular manufacturers. Route owners are responsible for placing machines at locations and servicing them as needed. The service visits are quite quick because the machines can be cleaned and refilled quickly. You will often find bulk candy machines in waiting areas, entrances/exits of busy retail locations, restaurants, grocery stores, etc. Owners purchase bulk candy or other products at a wholesale price and then sell that product from their machine at anywhere from $0.25 to $1.00.
Drink and Snack Machines
Another common vending route consists of drink and snack vending machines. These are the types of machines that you often see in office buildings, malls, car repair waiting rooms, hotels and other locations where consumers are passing by or waiting. The food machines are often stocked with candy bars, potato chips, pretzels, cake snacks and other quick food products. Some advanced machines can store entree items. Drink machines will have water, soda, energy drinks, athletic drinks or any other beverage that will fit in the machine. There are many manufacturers of these machines…newer companies include HealthyYou, Naturals 2 Go, Genesis, Seaga and many others. More traditional machines include Dixie Narco, Vendo, Royal, AP, Crane and Rowe. Examples of these machines are shown below.
Drink and snack vending typically provides larger sales revenues than bulk candy simply due to the pricing of items. Certain drinks can sell for up to $2.00 each in a vending machine. Larger routes can require an SUV, van or box truck to handle deliveries while some of the smaller routes can be serviced from any economy sized vehicle. Some vending route owners only have a few machines which may only require a few hours per week. Others can build routes that are 50+ locations and require a full-time schedule.
Please contact us if you have any questions regarding vending machine businesses.