Healthy You / Healthy Vending

[ryanlinz]

Hello all,

I'm new to this forum (just signed up tonight) and I have to say I've learned a lot already.  My business partner and I are starting a vending machine business and are planning on purchasing units from a company called Healthy You.  Has anyone heard anything about this company? Information and ratings on them seem to be a little too good to be true.  So, I just wanted to see if anyone had some objective advice on going through a company like Healthy You or just advice in general about healthy vending machines.

Thanks!

[orsd]

Just use the search function here, or google "healthy you site:vendiscuss.net"

TLDR: Don't do it.

[lacanteen]

Send $100 to this forum and consider it your total losses doing healthy vending. 

[Corvus Corax]

Make sure you get the AMS machines, that way when you endeavor fails, we can buy them off you for a pittance.

[SCOTT1963]

1 Question

Do you you want to lose all your money really fast? 

[allen watson]

Healthy Vending has a certain appeal. The problem I have found is that the people asking for healthy items really don’t use vending machines. The healthy eaters seem to bring their own stuff while everyone else eats whatever is in front of them. 

[taysha]

I run a small (9 machine) healthy vending business.  But I like to think of it as healthier vending, because it’s not like I’m selling fruits and vegetables.  There is definitely a market for it in the right locations.  All of my machines are in schools and YMCAs.  That said, I would not buy into a franchise, you can easily do healthy vending on your own.  I see used Healthy You machines for sale all the time, seems to me like lots of people are getting out. 

[ryanlinz]

Thank you all so much for the input.  I think we are going to go the more independent route (Parlevel remote monitoring software, USI or Federal machines, only purchasing machines AFTER a location for is it secured, 3rd party location services, etc).  The only problem is that we already gave HealthyYOU a down-payment, so we may be stuck with at least one machine if we don't want to completely eat the cost.  It might be OK, because we can at least see how that one machine does as a trial run.

Has anyone used a third party vending location service? Any recommendations or advice on that would be greatly appreciated.

[AZVendor]

Cancel the deal and get your money back.  They will require you to buy overpriced product from them and you'll probably be locked in to some card processing system of their choice.  You don't even know what brand of machines they really use and you can get stuck with imported crap.  Read this forum for a few months before you jump in to vending.  This will save you thousands of dollars and help you begin in smart and professional ways.  Don't get overly excited and bug-eyed over a glitzy presentation.  You will regret it.

[SCOTT1963]

We have a warehouse full of machines that used to be healthy vending machines

That's a lot of dreams and cash destroyed

 

 

[orsd]

4 hours ago, ryanlinz said:

Thank you all so much for the input.  I think we are going to go the more independent route (Parlevel remote monitoring software, USI or Federal machines, only purchasing machines AFTER a location for is it secured, 3rd party location services, etc).  The only problem is that we already gave HealthyYOU a down-payment, so we may be stuck with at least one machine if we don't want to completely eat the cost.  It might be OK, because we can at least see how that one machine does as a trial run.

Has anyone used a third party vending location service? Any recommendations or advice on that would be greatly appreciated.

Now is the time to start tryin to weasel out.

[tc vending]

Healthy vending machines are a guaranteed loser. Healthy products don't sell well and healthy machines companies are a good place to overpay for equipment.

[AngryChris]

14 hours ago, allen watson said:

Healthy Vending has a certain appeal. The problem I have found is that the people asking for healthy items really don’t use vending machines. The healthy eaters seem to bring their own stuff while everyone else eats whatever is in front of them. 

That's often the truth.  The most common things I see are "Can you put something healthy like nuts or trail mix?"  Then I show them the nuts AND the trail mix and they so "Oh, I never saw them in there."  Then they kind of chuckle and admit they never use the machines.

[Southeast Treats]

Healthier products are a small segment of a good machine planogram.  You need to meet the needs of the customer; trying to force unwanted products on them is not the plan.  Healthy vending sounds nice and fits into all the modern, trendy ideas of good eating.  The problem is the people who are using your machines really want their ruffles chips and snickers bars.  There is nothing wrong with snack products in moderation, and if someone is making cheetos their entire diet they are not doing it 1 oz at a time from a vending machine, they are down at the grocery store buying the shopping cart sized bags!  The franchises overprice everything they sell to you, and they take a big cut of your sales.  Vending margins are small enough without paying inflated prices and commission fees.

[taysha]

Healthy vending works when it is the only option.  My healthy machines are in schools and YMCAs and with only two exceptions, are the only machines available.

In one YMCA,  there are also 4 Pepsi Bevmax machines, so I only sell snacks and non-competitive drinks (like juice boxes, naked juice and coconut water).  This is my highest volume machine.  

My newest location is a large high school that also has an ice cream machine, a traditional snack machine full of chips and candy and three Pepsi machines.  But my machine is the only one that is available all day, and kids actually buy from it - shocker, I know!  GoGoSqueez applesauce, PopChips and SkinnyPop are the top sellers.  

[Southeast Treats]

15 hours ago, taysha said:

Healthy vending works when it is the only option.  My healthy machines are in schools and YMCAs and with only two exceptions, are the only machines available.

In one YMCA,  there are also 4 Pepsi Bevmax machines, so I only sell snacks and non-competitive drinks (like juice boxes, naked juice and coconut water).  This is my highest volume machine.  

My newest location is a large high school that also has an ice cream machine, a traditional snack machine full of chips and candy and three Pepsi machines.  But my machine is the only one that is available all day, and kids actually buy from it - shocker, I know!  GoGoSqueez applesauce, PopChips and SkinnyPop are the top sellers.  

This is exactly right - when the consumer is trapped and has no other option they will purchase what is available.  I have had student vending under the healthy rules and yes it is high volume.  I can only imagine what it would be if the choices were not restricted, and I have heard from others in the business longer than me that it was even bigger than now.  When a location is mandated by law (schools) or by choice due to image (Y's, etc) then customer choice is blocked and people will either work around you (bringing outside products), skip you, or buy from you.  High traffic counts may still give you a decent ROI.   In most other places where vending occurs, trying to force healthy vending by excluding choice will simply backfire and cost the operator their investment.  We may be the most convenient option but we still have to meet consumer needs and wants to succeed.

[BCV]

Balance is really where it's at. There are a lot of healthy vending businesses out there, and I know of many that do thrive, but traditional will always out-sell healthy. That's why we encourage our Partners to create a balance in the products they put in their machines. We're always here to offer advice and answer questions you may have as well: Balanced Choice Vending - 888-400-2831. We have been in healthy  vending and obviously strayed from that for several reasons.  Just do your research and make the decision you think is best for you.

[Corvus Corax]

The only healthy thing that sells in my machines is peanuts. I had some almond packs that would sell, but my supplier discontinued them. Even the the Kar's trail mix would just sit in the machines.  I have no dog in the fight, if it sells, I will put it in.  They wont buy sun chips, granola bars, barely buy chex mix or pretzels.