Healthy vs junk projections

[happydude]

Anyone been HAPPY with Healthy You, fresh healthy,  karma,  or other oops?  Are there current operators Who would like to comment on their experience?  I know this topic has been beaten up.  Trying to reconcile the happy operators I've interviewed vs the traditional route proponents/sales reps who are so vehemently opposed to healthy oops.  Most interested if you have direct experience with healthy. Thanks much! 

[AZVendor]

If you have money you don't want to keep you can waste it on a franchise or you could just send it to me - same result. Otherwise you can buy your own used machines and wrap them in your own graphics for nothing near the franchise price.  Then go find your own accounts and do as much or as little healthy product as YOU like.

[Sgolembiewski0903]

3 hours ago, happydude said:

Anyone been HAPPY with Healthy You, fresh healthy,  karma,  or other oops?  Are there current operators Who would like to comment on their experience?  I know this topic has been beaten up.  Trying to reconcile the happy operators I've interviewed vs the traditional route proponents/sales reps who are so vehemently opposed to healthy oops.  Most interested if you have direct experience with healthy. Thanks much! 

 I wonder if there are even any active members on this forum that have actually bought into one of these? I think any vendor worth his salt on this forum says the essentially the same thing AZVendor said. 

1) To small vendors that I know, healthy vending and offering healthy items = a payment to vending gods of expired products as an offering to keep the accounts and account managers happy. 

2) Again, with small vendors, it seems that when someone makes a healthy product request we simply fulfill that request KNOWING we're throwing that money down the drain. We don;t expect for more than 20% of the case to sell

3) MAYBE THE MOST IMPORTANT - These terrible "healthy machine deals" literally are charging people THOUSANDS of dollars for one machine - and they make you buy multiple!!! I've often seen numbers like 6 machines/$30,000....

..... If you are patient, at least here in Phoenix, you can find excellent machines for $500 or less. I see deals pop up ALL the time. 

Lastly: Good luck trying to find another sucker to pawn off your bad investment when you go to sell. 

[tc vending]

Run away from all bizop healthy vending scams.

[Corvus Corax]

I think is a vendor on here who has machines in YMCAs and maybe some shools. You would have too ask her. They may turn a profit. If they do it is because the establishment or higher authority (government ) won't allow other products.  I've said it a thousand times, a Snickers beats a granola bar everytime.

P.S. If you are in the northeast and must buy into a healthy vending scam, please make sure you get AMS machines. They are far easier to place when I buy them from you for 25cents on the dollar.

[AngryChris]

The problem with healthy vending is that people don't actually want much of what is considered a "healthy snack" out of a vending machine.  The healthy people eat healthy stuff in general and the unhealthy people eat unhealthy stuff in general.  Regulating the vending machines won't change that, but it will hurt your margins and divert sales from your machines and to the nearest place that sells the junk food that they want.  I have explained to many locations ,that ask about healthy vending, that all their "healthy program" is going to do is hurt me (the vending machine company) and make their employees travel farther away to get junk food or bring it in.  A few are adamant that putting healthier stuff will work, and they are so stubborn that they continuously try to tell me WHY the healthy stuff doesn't sell -- because I don't put the right healthy stuff.  Yeah, okay, but how much money have I already lost from expired "healthy" products?  And when I ask them, specifically, what they want, they often say things like "nuts, granola, trail mix" to which I inform them that they are already in the machine and have been there as I always stock those items.  Then, again, they say I need things like sandwiches and salads.  It's ridiculous.

The problem with new vendors who are considering healthy vending is not that healthy vending is unprofitable -- it can be profitable in the right locations.  The problem with new vendors is that many of them are not experienced business people and/or do not have a history of success in business.  I have seen a lot of people in the last 10 years, including myself, try to succumb to the idea that the path to success is to get into untapped markets.  The next coolest invention might make you millions, having some really cool service idea could help you dominate the market, etc....  These people, just like I was in many ways, think that business is just a matter of offering more variety, better variety, and/or cheaper products to prospective customers will drive sales.  They also can't figure out why no one else has done it yet!  When they see the right company marketing a "healthy" franchise and how much money you COULD make and how the machine comes with all of the bells and whistles, they are sold!!!  The same people fall victim to too many misunderstood quotes such as "if you build it, they will come" or "you have to spend money to make money" and the companies who sell these "franchises" prey upon this ideology.  Furthermore, they see the pictures of delicious sandwiches and salads and think "Mmm... that looks delicious!  They'll buy all of these!  I'll make a fortune!"  Yes, you have to spend money to make money, but you definitely DON'T want to spend $10,000 on a machine and a franchise that will make you $50/week out of one location.  It's not until they see the products expiring and the sales looking rather flat that they realize that they have made a mistake and didn't think things through.  You can try to put healthy vending in the right places, such as gyms and school cafeterias but don't try to reinvent the wheel.  The other vendors out there are putting "unhealthy" stuff in their machines because that's how they make the bulk of their profits.

[BTVFC]

Chris,

Well said. Successful operators buy with their heads. Unsuccessful ones buy with their hearts.

[taysha]

I am the healthy vendor mentioned above.  I bought my business from a former human healthy franchisee at a fraction of the price they paid.  Human closed up shop at the end of 2016 and left a lot of franchisees unhappy.  

My machines are located in 3 YMCAs and 5 schools.  Success in the schools is easy, due to federal regulations only so called healthy items can be sold.  The kids are hungry and therefore will buy whatever is available.  My newest school location does have a traditional snack machine and an ice cream machine right next to mine, but they are locked out during the school day while mine is available.  But I get a lot of after school business from kids who actually want something that will sustain them thru their sports practice/game (think apple sauce, skinny pop, granola bar vs gummy worms and pop tarts). 

In the YMCAs, I am the exclusive vendor in 2 and the only snack vendor in the other.  I describe my offerings as healthier vending,  it’s not like I’m selling broccoli and carrots. I sell things like Kettle brand chips, skinny pop, GoGoSqueez applesauce, Nature Valley granola bars, PopChips, PopCorners, Jack Links jerky, BuzzStrong cookies, Welch’s fruit snacks, Sabra hummus cups, pretzels, Veggie Straws, ThinkThin bars, etc.  I’m pretty sure most people would eat and enjoy anything out of the machine if they tried it.  

I buy all my product from Costco, Sam’s and Amazon.  I don’t have any different issues with expiration dates than the rest of you.  My 8 machines had revenue of $51k (just added 9th machine in January).  Overall I am very pleased with my set up.  I run my business out of my home and work part time hours while my kids are in school. 

I’d be happy to answer any other specific questions you may have.  

[Poplady1]

21 hours ago, taysha said:

I am the healthy vendor mentioned above.  I bought my business from a former human healthy franchisee at a fraction of the price they paid.  Human closed up shop at the end of 2016 and left a lot of franchisees unhappy.  

My machines are located in 3 YMCAs and 5 schools.  Success in the schools is easy, due to federal regulations only so called healthy items can be sold.  The kids are hungry and therefore will buy whatever is available.  My newest school location does have a traditional snack machine and an ice cream machine right next to mine, but they are locked out during the school day while mine is available.  But I get a lot of after school business from kids who actually want something that will sustain them thru their sports practice/game (think apple sauce, skinny pop, granola bar vs gummy worms and pop tarts). 

In the YMCAs, I am the exclusive vendor in 2 and the only snack vendor in the other.  I describe my offerings as healthier vending,  it’s not like I’m selling broccoli and carrots. I sell things like Kettle brand chips, skinny pop, GoGoSqueez applesauce, Nature Valley granola bars, PopChips, PopCorners, Jack Links jerky, BuzzStrong cookies, Welch’s fruit snacks, Sabra hummus cups, pretzels, Veggie Straws, ThinkThin bars, etc.  I’m pretty sure most people would eat and enjoy anything out of the machine if they tried it.  

I buy all my product from Costco, Sam’s and Amazon.  I don’t have any different issues with expiration dates than the rest of you.  My 8 machines had revenue of $51k (just added 9th machine in January).  Overall I am very pleased with my set up.  I run my business out of my home and work part time hours while my kids are in school. 

I’d be happy to answer any other specific questions you may have.  

Good for you!!!  Doing a great job and you have the right accounts for Healthy.  

[Poplady1]

The Healthy Vending Market is a beast.  There is an impression from the public and business owners that people will use the vending machines if they have healthy items.  As we all know, that doesn't pan out.  You almost always need an exclusive agreement that you will be the only vendor on site.  I can't tell you how often clients will call saying, "they just put junk in our machine and then they wonder why the sales are slow.  If they would just put in healthy items people would use it!"  

Right away I know the account is a dud.  If you are the only vendor in high schools, middle schools, Y's, sometimes Gym's, you have a chance to make it work.   I did have a large gymnastic's account, they would only take healthy.  The vendor told me it was amazing.  He went twice a week.  Hotels like to offer a traditional snack and a healthy snack, doesn't work unless the traditional snack is empty.

Some of the problem is pricing.  Healthy is more expensive.  

 

[Friendly Vend]

OP, if you are still looking at going with a "Healthy" vending machine, then you really should do it on your own and NOT through one of the companies. Their machines truly are overpriced and their placement services aren't really better than you can do hiring your own locator for far cheaper. IMO, you should do your own research on vending (machines, servicing, locators/locating, financials, products, etc) and do everything on your own once you feel comfortable with your level on knowledge. 

If you do nothing else, I would STRONGLY encourage you to visit sites like www.usedvending.com and get a true idea of what the "healthy" vending machines are worth. You will be shocked at how cheap other operators are willing to sell new in box "healthy" machines. There is a reason for that. Don't get me wrong, there is a time and place for Healthy and there is a time and place for the Combo machines, it's just you should really understand the difference before jumping in. 

 

Also, to partially answer your original question. The projections the companies give you about sales are WAY over. The only places you will ever hit them with healthy products are in schools that have NO other vending and limited options OR doing traditional items in a very busy blue collar location. However, due to the limited capacity of the combo machines, you would have to service them almost everyday to hit the sales projections they give you when trying to convince you to purchase. 

Edited June 23, 2018 by Friendly Vend