Healthy Vending: A Potential Opportunity Or Threat?

The vending industry is at a point where new and dynamic changes are being witnessed. While some vending operators have adapted to them, most of the players are still struggling to retain their market share while hesitating to change with the changing market elements.

One such recent trend in the vending industry is the introduction of healthy products for customers. Majority of the Planet Antares vending machines vend fried snacks and high-calorie beverages. Now, they will have to redesign their product mix to suit the needs of customers.

Americans love snacking and use vending machines to grab a quick snack or soda on a daily basis. However, recent studies have shown alarming rates of obesity among adults as well as children. This has led to greater awareness among the customers about their depleting health. Even health organizations are discouraging schools and offices from keeping traditional vending machines that dispense high-calorie items.

In such circumstances, it has become imperative for vending operators to look for healthy vending products. As customers become conscious about what they eat, Planet Antares vendors will have to cater to their health and fitness oriented desires. While most vending operators take this as a challenge or threat to their business revenue, you must accept healthy vending as a part of the dynamic vending market and change our strategies accordingly.

Many of the vending product manufacturers have already started creating and selling new products that have lesser calories and fat content but retain the taste and flavor of the best selling varieties. Some of the popular healthy products being offered are:

1. Nuts
2. Milk bars
3. Meal replacement bars
4. Nutrition bars
5. Milk and tea as beverages

Apart from these, there is a vast array of other products that are launched in the vending market regularly. Of course, this doesn’t mean that you must remove all the traditional products from your vending machines. The key to success will be arriving at an optimal mix of both conventional and healthy items. This also allows you to serve a wider customer base.

Strategies For Successful Planet Antares Vending

Business marketing forms an essential part of your plans to increase customer base, keep the interest of current customers alive and motivate employees and operators too. Not only will effective promotion help in pleasing the customers but also fulfill the requirements of route drivers. Also, it allows you to build your business brand image.

A common mistake made by most vending operators is thinking that running a vending business doesn’t require any marketing or promotion. In reality, the myth that vending machines can sell on their own needs to be gotten rid of. You will need to do a certain amount of marketing to attract customers and obtain new locations.

Successful promotion need not be of any specific type. It can range from homogenous products made by the vending operator to sophisticated games and contests that require a complex procedure of sending competing coupons to customers or route drivers.

Vending machine manufacturers and distributors like Planet Antares Inc may also carry out promotional activity. If your promotion isn’t effective, it will be due to lack of interest on part of the end consumer.

As a vending machine operator, you can plan your vending business promotions according to the following elements:
• Size of vending machine business
• Nature of customers
• Product trends and demand
• Needs of the route drivers
• Budget restrictions

While planning a promotion campaign, you will have to consider all of the above factors. Basically, you will need to be creative while promoting your vending machines, products, etc. This may be done in a simple way by giving caps or t-shirts to customers or you may opt for a more expensive and impressive campaign.

A good idea will be to offer combo snacks as special promotion of your Planet Antares vending machines. Customers love specials and even if they don’t need the vending products, they will order them to get a free gift or something extra. Many vending operators have used this way of giving prizes with every purchase to increase their customer base and in turn, business profitability.

The aim is to make your Planet Antares vending machines more interesting and attractive to arouse customer interest and encourage impulse buying. In recent years, promotions have become quite popular among vending operators to beat the competition.

Ideal Tips For Planet Antares Vending Machine Business

One of the best ways to start on the path to financial freedom is to become a vending business owner. Even though its benefits attract many people to enter this booming industry, only a few are aware of the various aspects of a vending business.

In this article, you will learn about the most important elements of the vending machine business.

Risk
Very little risks is involved in starting a vending business. If you invest in vending machines with a small amount of money, you can always sell them easily and get out of it if you don’t want to be a vending operator or incur losses. I would suggest you to begin with a small scale vending business to get an idea about its running.

Return
Substantial profits can be earned in the Planet Antares vending business as you can buy products for a nominal price while the selling price can be fixed at a much higher price. For instance, gum balls can be bought for $0.02 each while these are sold for $0.25 each.

Machines
Buy the vending machines from a reliable source like Planet Antares Inc to get value for your money. There is a vast rang of vending machine available for meeting specific requirements of different customers. Make sure that the vending machines match the locations and target customer demands.

Locations
Select the right locations for vending machines according to the vending machines and customer preferences. Check the different places in your area that can keep your equipment. Check whether the chosen locations have heavy traffic and easy accessibility for customers.

Vending commission
Vending commission will have to be paid to location owners for keeping your vending machines in the premises of vending operators. If the location owner waives off the commission for a charity, you will save this money.

Maintenance
Set a proper schedule for servicing and maintenance of vending machines. There may also be different problems with the equipment which can be solved on your own or with help of technical support staff of the vending machine company. Ensure that the vending route is well maintained and the machines are up and running at all times.

Price Points Of Planet Antares Large Sized Candy Vending Machines

Selling large sized candy through your Planet Antares vending machines means that you will need to increase the price of the candy bar. Assume a vending price of $1 and a blended cost of $0.57 on large sized candy and $0.75 on its smaller counterpart with a blended cost of $0.38.
The 6% commission paid to the drivers will also need to be considered. This is a percentage of gross profit and usually 15% on large sized candy and 12% on smaller size candy.

If you want the large sized candy proposition to work well for your Planet Antares vending business, the product must sell for at least $1. In certain cases, price points above a dollar are required for beneficial results.

A good strategy will be higher price points for your Planet Antares vending business. Your coin mechanism will suffer with incremental price points of $1.10 and $1.15 but this is part of the vending business as operators strive for higher revenue.

In the short term, the operating expenses for your vending business remain fixed. Some of these are rent, insurance, depreciation, amortization and interest. Think of a way to make your Planet Antares vending machine produce more with each route driver stop.

The introduction of large sized candy in your Planet Antares vending machine will provide you with this opportunity. This will not be without a few issues of concern. The proposition that the candy companies are promoting is almost identical to what has been heard from salted snack companies and bottlers.

The conversion to the larger product has been favorable for vending operators who are willing to change. This has not been easy for every vending business. As competitors remain willing to provide the conventional programs, potential market leaders face the risk of business losses.

Rise In Vending Costs Through Power Disruptions

As the vending operators move from manual operations to digital technology and software operated systems, the vending business has essentially become dependent on power. No more will you see mechanical vending machines dominating the marketplace. Instead, majority of the vending equipment is electronic and consists of hi-end technology.

Even though there are numerous benefits of purchasing electrical vending machines, there is one thing that causes problems for your vending business, if not taken care of. The problem of power disruption can be a potential risk for vending business operations and losses.

There can be consistent disorder in the vending operations due to power failure, energy surges and lightening. Even the equipment will face a negative impact by frequent fluctuations and may even breakdown eventually. Thus, protection of your Planet Antares vending machines and building of sound power supply systems has become a critical part of a successful vending business.

With the growing dependence on digital technology, quality power has increased in demand for many vending machines, office equipment and facilities. This requires electricity to function and carry out different operations in real time.

Another factor for consideration is the security of your vending machines. This can be done with the help of a power protector. It helps in avoiding electrical noise and other interfering elements from disrupting machine operations. There should be proper provision for ensuring minimum amount of damage to the machines. The basic purpose is to extend the life of your vending machines while enhancing their reliability.

Warranties are also offered by several vending machine companies on equipment that provides a cover for repair cost. This cuts down on the risk being faced by you and may give the full replacement value of the Planet Antares vending machines if there is any occurrence of system error.

It is essential to compare power protection companies to select the right one for matching your specific requirements. Always look out for additional services and programs available for your Planet Antares vending business while searching for a suitable power protection company.

Why Are Planet Antares Vending Machines So Profitable?

Many times, entrepreneurs are advised to invest in high quality vending machines if they want to succeed in their vending business. Among the best vending machines in the industry are Planet Antares vending machines.

These are reliable and durable equipment that can be a worthwhile investment in the long term. Moreover, the design of these machines is very simple to understand and user friendly. Thus, you will hardly have to worry about the product dispensing or your money getting stuck in the machine. These vending machines are designed for hassle free vending.

A number of factors are responsible for the profitability of a vending machine.

The location of the vending machines is the most important thing to be considered. Not enough emphasis can be laid on this element of a vending business. The vending machine bought by you must go well with the location that you choose.

Try to obtain high traffic locations for your Planet Antares vending machines, even though they can fit in any location. The reason for this is the popularity of snacks and beverages in most locations. This makes Planet Antares vending machines very lucrative. Good places for such vending machines can be shopping malls, motels, subways, etc.

As glass front vending machines, Planet Antares vending machines possess great advantage. The products placed in the vending machine will always be visible to the vending operator. This allows customers to view the contents of the vending machine and attracts more attention than a closed vending machine. In comparison, glass front vending machines are more profitable than closed ones. Place brightly colored products in the vending machine and it will grab customer interest and result in higher sales.

The contribution of the products sold cannot be underestimated. They represent an important factor in determining the profitability of your Planet Antares vending machines. You need to offer a variety of products in your vending machines for serving varied customer tastes.

As Planet Antares vending machines have great capacity, you can vend all kinds of products through them. Glass front vending machines must be filled with eye catching, branded products that compel customers to buy them instantly.

Profitability Issues For Planet Antares Vendors

All your Planet Antares vending locations may be earning what they should. In spite of this, there can be problems that may arise later on. Most of theses issues can be classified under five main categories.

1. Gross sales
As per the population of the location, the sales will also vary. As the population increases or decreases, so will sales. If a new fast food outlet is opened near your location, sales can decline. Since gross sales are the main determinant of the bottom line, they need to be monitored closely.

2. Gross profits
Gross profits are sales less cost of goods sold. If product costs increase and you cannot raise the selling prices in your Planet Antares vending business, the gross profits from the location will decline. Moreover, if a dishonest route person doesn’t return all the cash collected, reported sales will fall while the product costs will remain the same and the gross profits will also decline.

There is need for the vending operators to understand that gross profits don’t portray the whole story. At a given location, gross profits may remain as 54 percent, but if sales drop by 50 percent in real dollars, gross profit will also drop.

3. Operating costs
The operating cost of the vending business should be limited to the client related costs alone. There include the direct, variable costs associated with servicing the client. The larger ones include direct labor and vehicle, commissions, equipment depreciation, sales tax, etc.

4. Net profits
Net profit is the result left after deducting all the operating expenses from gross profits. It must be calculated in both dollars and percentages.

5. Return on investment (ROI)
ROI is the net profit from the location, annualized and expressed as a percentage of the capital investment in that location. This calculation is important as it is possible to show acceptable net profits, expressed as a percent of sales and still have a problem. You should monitor the problems that can happen in your Planet Antares vending business to ensure efficiency.