We are not afraid to acknowledge that Nutrivend is both a business and an opportunity to help promote better nutrition. In fact, our nutritional vending machines are all about giving people healthier choices. So how do we reconcile the need to pursue sound business practices and a desire to improve nutrition? By taking advantage of the psychology of vending.
The simplest way to explain this is to say that people buy things from vending machines for known reasons. After so many years in the business, we know just what those reasons are. We can develop vending solutions for our customers designed to tap into the psychology of vending in order to maximise sales. It turns out we can also tap into that psychology to help people make healthier choices.
Reasons People Buy from Vending Machines
Tapping into the psychology of vending requires understanding why people buy products from vending machines. Bear in mind that we are talking about snack foods and beverages here, not mobile phone accessories or DVDs. People buy food and drink from vending machines because:
- they are hungry or thirsty
- they need a quick boost of energy
- they need some temporary comfort
- they are bored or stressed out
- they see something that looks good
- it is mealtime and there is no other source of food.
These motivations all have one thing in common: impulse drives sales. In other words, people do not plan to visit the vending machine days ahead of time in the same way they plan to go to the supermarket. Rather, they have an immediate need for food or beverage and the vending machine provides a solution.
How We Tap In
Not all six things listed above apply to the nutritional vending machines we place at gyms and leisure centres. At least three of them do though. Let us focus on the need for quick boost of energy to explain what we do.
When a person emerges from the gym after a strenuous 30-minute workout, being physically and emotionally drained is not unusual. That person could use a quick boost of energy to replace some of what was lost during the workout. A couple of nutritional vending machines placed right near the changing room door makes getting a quick bite fairly easy.
To take advantage of that desire for quick energy, we would stock the machines with products that people find visually appealing. A product or two catches the eye as the person walks by, followed by that desire for a quick boost of energy kicking in. The impulse to buy is triggered in a split second.
As a vending company, we have the opportunity to change the national discussion on nutritional snacking by expanding our nutritional vending machines to as many outlets as we possibly can. You can join us in this pursuit by allowing us to place machines on your premises. Together we can use the psychology of vending to improve the snacking choices people make.
