It's difficult for us to look at the vending market in Japan and not be a little bit jealous. If there's one country that knows how to do vending on a grand scale, it's Japan. Here at Nutrivend, we believe the same thing can be done in the UK. We also believe that fitness vending has one thing that other vending solutions lack. It is something that could truly revolutionise UK vending.
Rather than letting that one thing out of the bag, let's lead up to it by discussing what it is that makes vending in Japan so prolific. Note the scale of Japanese vending. According to a 24th October article from The Grocer, there is one vending machine for every 20 people in Japan. A typical Japanese machine generates £11,500 annually.
So how do they do it? The Grocer thinks it has the answer. It says it has to do with the humanity of Japanese vending.
Post-War Vending in Japan
Japan is by no means the birthplace of vending. But according to The Grocer, Japan is the spiritual home of vending. It all goes back to the post-war era before vending machines were hooked to electricity or capable of Bluetooth connections. It was a time when Japan was recovering from the devastation of nuclear war.
Back in the day, Japanese vendors left their products on carts parked on street corners. There were no protective glass cases and no coin mechs. Nothing stopped people from taking what they wanted without paying. But that's not what happened.
Japanese culture is one very much rooted in honour. Stealing has always been dishonourable, but it was even more so during post-war rebuilding. So vendors didn't have to worry. They could leave their products unprotected knowing that their customers would pay for the items they wanted.
Vending's Human Connection
The end result of post-war vending in Japan was that it evolved with a human connection. People didn't look at vending as just buying a product out of machine. There were names and faces behind those machines. They understood vending to be an extension of the local merchant's shop. That human connection is why vending in Japan continues to be so prolific. And that takes us to fitness vending.
We have the opportunity to tap into that same human connection. Why? Because fitness is a very personal thing. People who regularly buy fitness supplements and health foods don't look at their purchases as supporting nameless corporations. They look at it as buying products that will help them live healthier lifestyles. And they have a certain measure of loyalty to the companies behind those products. There's the human connection.
Fitness vending can make the human connection better than any other kind of vending out there. That's why our industry has the potential to truly disrupt the market. If we learn how to tap into vending's human connection, fitness vending could be as prolific here as it is in Japan.
Sources:
The Grocer – https://www.thegrocer.co.uk/stores/store-design/vending-could-be-the-next-big-retail-disruptor-if-we-can-get-it-right/572997.article
