Jump to content

Vending frozen foods in refridgerated machine?


Recommended Posts

Hi Everyone,

Does anyone have any experience vending frozen foods such as hot pockets, frozen pizzas, etc. in a regular refridgerated machine? any input on this is appreciated such as the foods you found to last the longest, how long would the food last (2 weeks?), etc.

Thanks!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In my experience hot pockets will not sell in the fridge. On the package it should say either "Keep Frozen" or "Keep Frozen or refrigerated up to XX days"

If it says just keep frozen then i'd keep it in there only for a couple days. There are sandwiches out there made to be thawed that keep for 14 - 30 days. But, you'll only find a few of those at Sams, etc.

I assume you'll visit this stop 2-3 times a week. I'd put just one or two of each sandwich in at a time. And make sure you mark each sandwich with a sticker or something that shows "best when consumed by".....for your sake and for theirs. Absolutely make sure you check those dates and DO NOT be afraid to throw stuff away.

One bad sandwich is a problem. But, if it happens a couple times to the same person - especially if they are a higher up - and you might be told to move on.

Just hope to break even on sandwiches at best. It's a necessary evil for larger accounts. Break even on those and make your money on drinks and snacks. Fill that machine up with things like juices, etc..... Those odd bottles that won't fit in a pop machine. All of a sudden you're offering a big variety.

What sucks about having just one food machine is you will throw away a whole lot of food.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for your input. It's 100 blue collar workers at a plant out in the country with no restaurants or stores in close proximity so these vending machines will be all they have for the most part. I'm thinking a cold machine that holds 66 items and the business has 100 employees I won't throw out much. We're hoping the cold machine does better than we're told it will. As far as profit on the cold items we are also hearing there isn't much to be made but I don't see how?

BBQ rib sandwich cost $1.16 sell $3.00

Stead/Cheese sandwich cost $1.50 sell $3.00

Pot Pies cost $1.24 sell $2.50

Steak/Cheese Quesadillas cost .79 sell $1.50

Ham Sandwiches (frozen) cost $1.24 sell $3.00

Hot Pockets cost .76 sell $1.50

Everyone tells us there is little to be made on this type of vending. Are my prices above too high or are you factoring in cost of gas to buy food and cost of gas to service location twice/week?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Everyone,

Does anyone have any experience vending frozen foods such as hot pockets, frozen pizzas, etc. in a regular refridgerated machine? any input on this is appreciated such as the foods you found to last the longest, how long would the food last (2 weeks?), etc.

Thanks!

Depends on how you handle them, put them into the machine frozen and keep a thermometer in the machine where you can read it from the outside. Temp needs to be 36-38 degrees. Hot pockets ought to be good for 10-14 days. If you can get stuff from Vistar somehow I'd look really hard into that. Many of their vending frozen food brands are good for 28 days in a refrigerated machine.

Be prepared to toss 25% or more of the food items. One way to minimize food losses is to also include microwave bowls of beef stew etc in 20-30% of your selections, they basically don't expire. ;D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

One way to minimize food losses is to also include microwave bowls of beef stew etc in 20-30% of your selections, they basically don't expire. ;D

This is what I do as well. We put in cup-o-soups, Hormel Compleats meals...and apples (don't really need to be refridgerated....but they last a very long time when they are).

Also, look at Walmarts for packaged sandwiches. We have two walmarts close to us....one has them, and one doesn't. They are packed in Nitrogen which extends the shelf life to about 30 days.

I will also agree with most others. We don't sell alot of fresh foods, but we manage the inventory and we seldom have to throw anything away.

Good luck

Travis

Link to comment
Share on other sites

"Also, look at Walmarts for packaged sandwiches. We have two walmarts close to us....one has them, and one doesn't. They are packed in Nitrogen which extends the shelf life to about 30 days."

Can you tell me more about these? What are they called? Look like? etc.? thank you!!

I went to the Vistar website but couldn't figure out how to look at products/prices/etc. Not sure what I'm doing wrong? They are a company I can order product from (I'm assuming meeting a minimum order requirement) and they ship to me?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On Fresh food you need to work on keeping good track of what you install every service. Keep a log so you know what sells. The longer you do it the better you will get. Also check some of the conviance stores in your area. See what they have on the shelves. I ran a sandwich route for years our best selling sandwhich was the ChuckWagon. Kiser bun Bologna Ham Cotto Salami and ham with american cheese. See if you can get any contact info on who provides there sandwhiches Most suppliers have a vendor price for there products. I don't know what area you are in but some companys are Stewart sandwhiches, Deli Express, Landshire, etc.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Landshire sandwiches is what I sell. Purchase them from our local walmart for $1.98. Sell them for $3.75. I average about 6 a week.

I also contacted a local manufacturer that stocks like the local 7-11 and Circle K's. However they were not interested in selling me 30 at a time.

Do a google search for landshire sandwiches.....and you can see everything that they sell.

Travis

post-1546-0-17800700-1346018578_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Ramon Noodle Cup o soups buy for 25 cents and sell for 75 cents. Easy Mac Microwaveable bowls, Campbel Soup Microwavable Bowls, Red Baron Pizzas from frozen last about 14 days, Del Monte Fruit Cups. White Castle Burgers from Frozen last about 14 days, Ive had a tough time selling pre packaged sandwiches. I always seem to loose money on them. Chef B'oardie (spelling) also sells microwavable bowls that last a long time the will sell also.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...