Bulk vending dates back at least to the late 19th century. Vending machines were widely used in Europe before they became popular in the United States. In the early 1880s, the first commercial coin operated vender was introduced in London and stocked with postcards. In 1888, the Thomas Adams Gum Co. introduced bulk venders to America, using the machines to sell Tutti frutti gum on elevated subway platforms in New York City.

 

Advantages of bulk vending

Locations

Customers at laundromats have lots of quarters and little to do while waiting for their clothes to be ready.

A bulk candy vendor must be willing to act as a salesman in order to persuade businesses to allow location of machines. Since managers are busy, he must be able to state his case concisely and close the sale effectively. Even experienced vendors often report a high rejection rate, on the order of 9 out of 10. Many operators donate a percentage of the profits to charity so that locations will allow them to place the machines for free; others pay the location a commission.

A bulk candy vendor is constantly having to seek new locations as accounts turn over. A company's regional manager may visit a branch, for instance, and decide that he doesn't like the bulk candy machine. Or a competing operator may offer the owner a better commission. The prime locations are fiercely fought over, and operators may need to pay as much as 50% to the store owner in order to keep a high volume location. It usually takes about 300 locations for an operator to live solely on bulk candy profits.

According to Bryon Krug's Vending Business-in-a-Box, certain factors can make a location more profitable for a bulk vendor:

  • Long hours of operation (e.g. a 24-hour restaurant)
  • Large numbers of customers who will pass by (e.g. a busy retail store)
  • People waiting for the business to complete something (e.g. waiting to be seated, waiting for a car's oil to be changed, etc.)
  • Lots of children (e.g. a recreation center)
  • Hungry people (e.g. a restaurant)
  • People present who have quarters on them (e.g. a laundromats)
  • No other bulk candy machines at the location
  • A large number of people working at the same time of day with no other sources of food (e.g. an office).

The presence of a few individuals who each buy a few handfuls of candy a day can dramatically improve sales. Because it is hard to know in advance where these candy lovers may be, usually the only way to find out the profitability of a location is to place a machine and see what happens. Another consideration in finding locations may be a desire to create a "tight route," seeking locations in the same geographical area in order to improve efficiency in servicing them.

 

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