Deidra Posted September 5, 2016 Share Posted September 5, 2016 Hi All. i've found this forum very informative but alot of the informaiton I am seein is from 2011. We are lookin at Healthy You and Naturals2go as a business opportunity. We have no vending experience, so looking for a company to walk us through this and find great locations. Any recent experience with either of these companies, good, bad or indifferent? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chkoolaid1 Posted September 6, 2016 Share Posted September 6, 2016 Healthy vending is not the way to go. You're way better off buying your own machines and preferably finding your own locations or if you need to hire a locator. Those business ops are all jokes. You want to be able to fill the machines with what you want. Healthy or not. If you need a decked out all healthy machine you can buy a machine and add healthy graphics. In the search bar, search for "healthy vending, new to vending, need advice" you'll find a lot of the advice I think you're looking for. If you are really looking for someone to walk you through there's a couple consultants you can hire here and that can walk you through the business step by step. A consultant is a much better use of your money. Also, the community on here is great and always willing to help. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snickers Posted September 6, 2016 Share Posted September 6, 2016 Don't waste your hard earned $$$ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PerformaVending Posted September 6, 2016 Share Posted September 6, 2016 If there is ONE vending operator still in business today who built their business strictly by going with a company like these, I would be shocked. Even ONE. The odds of you entering arguably the most difficult, stagnant portion of the vending industry, all while paying a premium price for branding and locations that may or may not actually be delivered (there are plenty of horror stories if you dig), and being successful as you intend to be are startlingly low. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZVendor Posted September 6, 2016 Share Posted September 6, 2016 If you aren't willing to build your business with your hard work and your own sales then you won't succeed in vending. The Biz Ops are only there to take money from people who don't know what they are doing, are swayed by the glitz and bells and whistles and promises galore, and people who aren't confident in their own abilities. Don't fall into that trap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZVendor Posted September 6, 2016 Share Posted September 6, 2016 Nothing has changed significantly since 2011 in this business so any info that seems old isn't, it's just from 2011. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southeast Treats Posted September 6, 2016 Share Posted September 6, 2016 Most bizopp sellers in vending want to rope you into their overpriced machines, and their locator services are not geared to getting good locations, just placing the machines quickly anywhere to fill the contract. They have a great rap about how healthy vending is the wave of the future; truth is, what people say they want and what they actually buy is very different. Better for you (BFY) vending products are improving in quality, just a few years ago most were a step down from eating the box they came in! But people still prefer known products and comfort food. The 3 PM sugar rush is still that, not a granola rush. The machines don't care what you put in them, but if you load up products that don't sell just to throw them away when they expire, you will be out of business pretty fast. I add BFY products to my machines as I find new things and keep what few take off, but traditional vending items are still the big sellers. Imported, overpriced combo machines with no real tech support will break you too, and that is what most bizopps are selling.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vendtex Posted September 7, 2016 Share Posted September 7, 2016 Check craigslist in your area and other parts of the state. I've found several of these healthy vending routes for sale and most are doing poorly it seems.... Thanks to this forum, I avoided that money pit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngryChris Posted September 7, 2016 Share Posted September 7, 2016 A former co-worker was bugging me about buying into one of the "Fresh Food" franchises that kept coming up on the radio. He insisted that I was missing an opportunity as the locations were "quickly" being taken due to the "high demand" for healthy fresh food. He pretty much reiterated what he heard on the radio. At first, I just looked at him and laughed. After he began to try to sell me on the idea of how "people want fresh stuff and they'll pay" and showed me his sandwich from a local deli, I finally gave him the lecture he needed. People think that these machines are loaded with nothing but delicious, healthy, fresh foods. What they don't realize is that they are actually full of prepackaged, overly processed, overly priced junk that no one is willing to buy. There are a few local companies around here that probably gross 10-20 million/year (wild guess). I don't know if they still do, but at least one had their own kitchen where they had a crew of roughly 6 people that did nothing but make "fresh food." Their sandwiches (for example) were made on-site and put in air-tight plastic packaging just like anything other prepackaged thing. I'm not 100% sure, but I think they shut their kitchen down because the costs to make the fresh food was more expensive than buying them prepackaged. So.. if they couldn't feasibly make a profit from making their own fresh food, and they were left with having to purchase food from a distributor, you can only imagine how difficult fresh food is for a vendor. A lot of people want to see a filling sub in a vending machine... but when the price is $6 and the ingredients seem cheaper than Subway, people would rather hop in their vehicle and literally drive to a local fast food place and buy the food there instead. The food at fast-food places appears to be made completely on-site, it typically tastes better and it's cheaper. Meanwhile, the customers like to complain about how you charge too much money despite the fact that you might actually be losing money from the fresh food service. There are things such as fresh grapes and cheese, and various other prepackaged items that sell well and last a while.... while also retaining a pretty good margin. People eat those up but when customers hear about these healthy vending franchises, they immediately assume that it's exactly what they want. I'm cancelling a customer soon due to low sales. A customer there insisted on having an ice cream machine installed maybe 2 years ago. There's a gas station that sells ice cream a block away. I think she was implying that she would get someone to install an ice cream machine if I didn't lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southeast Treats Posted September 7, 2016 Share Posted September 7, 2016 Just found this article today in the daily vending times email, right on point..... and Vending Times is a good resource as well: http://www.vendingtimes.com/ME2/dirmod.asp?sid=737C17AB0E09499F90660557C93983AD&nm=Articles&type=Publishing&mod=Publications::Article&mid=8F3A7027421841978F18BE895F87F791&tier=4&id=2DC9713833394822AAB1F46742702841 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EddieMac Posted September 9, 2016 Share Posted September 9, 2016 I've had a few of my locations ask for "healthy" snacks. I'll try it for a while, but so far NONE of them have sold more than one or two units a month, some were exactly what they requested (most have no idea what "healthy" snacks they want in the machine). Once they expire I take them out and when they ask for "healthy" snacks again I tell them that I put them in but they didn't sell. I'm not losing any sales. These people don't buy the regular snacks either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southeast Treats Posted September 9, 2016 Share Posted September 9, 2016 One more comment - true story. Was stocking an account several years ago, a lady who worked there started talking to me, telling me I needed to stock healthier choices. I asked her "is there a special item would you like me to add that you want to buy?'. Her reply: "oh no, I would NEVER buy ANYTHING from a vending machine". Smiled and kept stocking..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poplady1 Posted September 9, 2016 Share Posted September 9, 2016 Healthy just doesn't sell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
putrevus Posted September 15, 2016 Share Posted September 15, 2016 Healthy sells as long as you do it right, even getting healthy vending machines from people who are unable to place theirs is useful to land big accounts in my experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southeast Treats Posted September 15, 2016 Share Posted September 15, 2016 4 hours ago, putrevus said: Healthy sells as long as you do it right, even getting healthy vending machines from people who are unable to place theirs is useful to land big accounts in my experience. I agree, but doing it right is the hard part... finding products that are good quality and priced right, doing promotions to get people to try new things, finding suppliers that have what you want when you need it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
putrevus Posted September 16, 2016 Share Posted September 16, 2016 You are right finding the machines when you need is hard but if you get a brand new machines with two to three warranty on all parts with credit card reader and new coin mech and validators including delivery. The machine even if it lasts 3 years it is worth the money. Reseller like Betson are asking 1000 dollars more on used machines without any attractive healthy skins and no card readers.Key is getting them but like any business you keep looking for better alternatives.Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orsd Posted September 16, 2016 Share Posted September 16, 2016 35 minutes ago, putrevus said: You are right finding the machines when you need is hard but if you get a brand new machines with two to three warranty on all parts with credit card reader and new coin mech and validators including delivery. The machine even if it lasts 3 years it is worth the money. Reseller like Betson are asking 1000 dollars more on used machines without any attractive healthy skins and no card readers. Key is getting them but like any business you keep looking for better alternatives. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Rebuilders like Betson are not selling used machines for 1000 dollars more than new. Graphics and CC readers can be added for a few hundred bucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
putrevus Posted September 16, 2016 Share Posted September 16, 2016 Rebuilders like Betson are not selling used machines for 1000 dollars more than new. Graphics and CC readers can be added for a few hundred bucks.I personally got new machines from people who could not place their machines for $2000 new with warranty transferred to my name granted these are not great machines long term but most combos from refurbisher would be 2900 plus delivery and tax. I personally feel the new one with attractive skin is a good selling point where you place 3 or 4 full size machines.Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southeast Treats Posted September 29, 2016 Share Posted September 29, 2016 And yet another article today on topic.... https://www.vendingtimes.com/ME2/dirmod.asp?sid=EB79A487112B48A296B38C81345C8C7F&nm=Vending+Features&type=Publishing&mod=Publications::Article&mid=8F3A7027421841978F18BE895F87F791&tier=4&id=8357340F8C9E4EFC8EFC1B65FC4EB885 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.