It has come to our attention that one of England's most prominent housing associations is looking to get into the vending area. A number of news reports say the association is now in the process of setting up a £60million framework for providing vending machines to the public sector – most notably through social housing. This leads us to believe that social housing might represent a brand new healthy vending market just waiting to be tapped.
Hyde, a company that manages some 50,000 homes in London and the South East, is looking at vending machines dispensing the kinds of things you would typically expect. But we think the time is right to begin looking at alternatives to soft drinks and snack foods. If we are truly serious about helping Britons make better food choices and avoid obesity, we can do better in our vending machines than crisps, chocolates, and other unhealthy snacks.
As long as social housing is going to have vending machines made available to residents, we think at least some of those machines should offer healthy alternatives. The time has come for healthy vending machines to move beyond the gym and leisure centre and into mainstream life.
Vending Is About Traffic
We can understand why Hyde would want to procure vending machines for its social housing portfolio. They are smart enough to know that successful vending is all about traffic. Put vending machines in high traffic areas and you've already won half the battle. The other half is filling those machines with products people actually want. Unfortunately, this is where things get tricky for us.
We fully stand behind nutritional vending and everything that it implies. Furthermore, years of data clearly show that Britons are developing a greater desire for healthier food choices with each passing year. We are buying healthier foods at the supermarket; we are making healthier choices from the restaurant menu; we are doing what we can to make sure our kids grow up on a healthy diet. Now we just have to convince the average Brit that healthy vending machines are a good idea too.
As far as we're concerned, social housing is as good a place to start as anywhere else. Social housing is absolutely a high-traffic environment perfectly suited to the impulse nature of vending sales. Better yet, it is also an environment that brings together all sorts of people from a variety of backgrounds. This suggests that not everyone in a given social housing area is looking to find the same products in their vending machines. No, they want diversity in their snack choices.
Let's Work Together on Your Vending
Do you run a company that manages social housing? If so, have you thought about procuring vending machines for your sites? We can work together to come up with a creative healthy vending solution that will allow you to reach your desired targets. Give us a call and let's talk about working together on a comprehensive vending strategy.
