Healthy Vending- One Stop Shop for All Ages

Healthy and nutritious food is essential for all ages more so for children. Proper food is likely to have a positive affect on their learning abilities and plays a significant role in preventing obesity and few other chronic diseases.

Schools have always been the most popular choice for locating vending machines. But with growing concern about child obesity, school managements and parents are encouraging kids to choose food and beverages that are necessary for proper growth. Hence schools have imposed strict restrictions on the products that are to be vended in their premises.

In order to inculcate healthy eating habits among children, school boards are only encouraging healthy vending machines in their campus. This revolution towards healthy food has lead to introduction of low fat products for the first time in mid 1990. Candy, chocolates, snacks, ice-cream, burgers, pizzas are being replaced by fruit juices, low fat snacks, milk and other natural products. These drastic changes in eating habits of customers have to be noted by vending operators on a time to time basis and necessary changes have to be made in their business in order to become successful.

Health clubs and hospitals may be few places where people would prefer healthy foods. So, placing machines in these locations can be very profitable. Business executives also perceive healthy vending as a part of their health and awareness program targeting employees. With change in attitude, most people are shifting towards healthy products. It is the right time operators should make use of this opportunity and do some good business.

Although healthy vending is good, it also has its own set of demerits. Cost is the main problem with this type of vending. Natural/organic food and low fat products cost twice the regular items. This is perhaps one of the main factors that is preventing most of the vending operators from offering healthy vending products. The fear of losing customer is also dominating operators. Hence they are not quite prepared to take up healthy vending.

This scenario would not last long since the increasing demand for healthy vending products is soon going to increase the number of operators taking up this business. Thus, within due course of time these products would be in the reach of a common man.