Evolution Of Vending Machine Industry

Evolution of vending machines

It’s the age of the machine. It’s the era of sleek and compact. Look around you – everything we use today is mechanical and gadget-based. Everything is now available in a sleek and compact version. It’s a world of instant gratification. We are so accustomed to being able to access whatever we want, whenever we want and from wherever we are.

Everything is available in quite literally a fraction of a minute. Where people used to stand for hours in long queues at the bank to withdraw their cash they can now just punch in their PIN number at ATMs around the country and withdraw money in a jiffy. We used to scout innumerable shops to find the product we wanted but now we simply spend a few minutes online shopping for our necessities from within the comfort of our own homes.

Get ready for a ‘Gen Y’ vending machine

In such rapidly evolving times, why should having a drink be any different? Why should you put so much effort into preparing a drink or wait endlessly in long queues to get your favourite beverage in a café? The same concept of instant gratification that we find in other areas of our consumerism we can now enjoy through drink dispensing machines. Your favourite drink is just a vending machine button away. A single machine can dispense multiple drinks in all its variations – made to perfection and just how you like it.

Say goodbye to that seemingly never-ending wait in a crowded café for your cappuccino to arrive or that slow moving queue to pay for your cola at the convenience store. You can grab your drink from a vending machine on the go within a matter of seconds and be on your way. Moreover, vending machine installations are as frequent as ATM installations in the city so you won’t have to wander too far to find your next caffeine fix.

There was a time when vending machines were as bulky and heavy as those giant supercomputers. But just as the computer has slimmed down into the compact laptop and more recently the slinky tablet, the humble vending machine has also been developed into a much more compact version with enhanced efficiency and greater drink making capacity.

Evolution of vending machines
Evolution of vending machines

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More than just a drink dispensing machine

Vending machines are no longer seen as simple drink dispensing machines but actually as a branding tool. For example Pepsi has developed the slimmest vending machine to reflect and promote its diet cola product in particular. Coffee dispensing machines often have a visual of rich coffee beans on the machine to assure consumers of the freshness and quality of the product and to catch coffee-lovers’ attention. This ‘branding revolution’ is a major step in keeping the vending machine relevant and up to speed with modern developments.

With technology developing exponentially, it’s only a matter of time before the next step in developing even more advanced and astonishingly functional machines is taken. How cool would it be to sip a drink that truly represents Gen Y?

Hannah Gray is a writer for KLIX, the vending machine service by Mars Inc. Hannah has a firm background in the vending industry and is interested in how developing technology affects the future of business.

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Administrator and Chief Editor for TLB. Loves to talk. Super freak about publishing. Loves watching obscure movies, good cook and overall gentle fellow. Reach him if you want to write an article for TLB. Email him on marty@thelocalbrand.com