The vending industry 2014/2015 An overview of the vending industry Vending is the sale of goods and services via machines. The machines are installed and operated by ope- rators. They manage the machines as their core business and are responsible for cleaning and filling the machines with products. Employing around 15,000 people, the German vending sector is a significant branch of industry of the away-from-home market. Strong competition and the low barriers of market entry encourage entrepre- neurship and the development of individually tailor-made service solutions. In Germany, machines, which issue ready-to-eat food and other basic consumables at the push of a button, have been an indispensable element of catering for employees in companies for decades. The changed consumption behaviour of the consumers, also due to their mobility has contributed towards drink and snack machines being found in many other areas of life too. Every day around 12 million beverages and snacks are consumed from vending machines in Germany. According to internal industry estimates, the number of drink and vending machines operated in Germany is around 514.000. These are broken down as follows: • 90.000 hot beverage machines • 206.000 professional table-top machines • 89.000 machines for snacks and food • 129.000 cold drink machines The overall turnover for the sales of drinks and snacks from vending machines in Germany is around 2,7 billion Euros. This is broken down as follows: • 57 % is achieved with hot drinks • 25 % is achieved with cold drinks • 18 % is achieved with snacks Over 80% of the drinks and snack machines are located in companies where they serve as a source of light refreshments for the employees. In companies with shift working, light main meals are also offered in vending machines, partly in combination with microwaves. In smaller firms, vending machines are in most cases the only internal catering offer, particularly in those companies where a canteen can no longer be viably operated due to the high operating costs. In addition to this, around 20% of the vending machines are found in the so-called „public vending sec- tor“. These machines are located in schools, universities and other educational establishments, at public authorities, in hospitals, petrol and service stations, hotels and at train stations, in tube stations, airports and public areas. The current generation of machines convince here with robust stainless steel casings, burglar-proof locks and additional floor mountings. The so-called „Office Coffee Service (OCS)“ supplies employees in offices with all kinds of hot drinks. OCS machines are easy to operate and low-maintenance. The exterior appearance of OCS coffee machines is often similar to that of large household appliances, however in terms of their construction and robust- ness they are comparable to catering coffee machines. Depending on the supplier, various office coffee service packages are offered, which include the installation of the machine, delivery of coffee, cleaning and technical services.
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The vending industry 2014/2015
An overview of the vending industry
Vending is the sale of goods and services via machines. The machines are installed and operated by ope-rators. They manage the machines as their core business and are responsible for cleaning and filling the machines with products.
Employing around 15,000 people, the German vending sector is a significant branch of industry of the away-from-home market. Strong competition and the low barriers of market entry encourage entrepre-neurship and the development of individually tailor-made service solutions.
In Germany, machines, which issue ready-to-eat food and other basic consumables at the push of a button, have been an indispensable element of catering for employees in companies for decades. The changed consumption behaviour of the consumers, also due to their mobility has contributed towards drink and snack machines being found in many other areas of life too. Every day around 12 million beverages and snacks are consumed from vending machines in Germany. According to internal industry estimates, the number of drink and vending machines operated in Germany is around 514.000. These are broken down as follows:
• 90.000 hot beverage machines• 206.000 professional table-top machines • 89.000 machines for snacks and food• 129.000 cold drink machines
The overall turnover for the sales of drinks and snacks from vending machines in Germany is around 2,7 billion Euros. This is broken down as follows:
• 57 % is achieved with hot drinks• 25 % is achieved with cold drinks • 18 % is achieved with snacks
Over 80% of the drinks and snack machines are located in companies where they serve as a source of light refreshments for the employees. In companies with shift working, light main meals are also offered in vending machines, partly in combination with microwaves. In smaller firms, vending machines are in most cases the only internal catering offer, particularly in those companies where a canteen can no longer be viably operated due to the high operating costs.
In addition to this, around 20% of the vending machines are found in the so-called „public vending sec-tor“. These machines are located in schools, universities and other educational establishments, at public authorities, in hospitals, petrol and service stations, hotels and at train stations, in tube stations, airports and public areas. The current generation of machines convince here with robust stainless steel casings, burglar-proof locks and additional floor mountings.
The so-called „Office Coffee Service (OCS)“ supplies employees in offices with all kinds of hot drinks. OCS machines are easy to operate and low-maintenance. The exterior appearance of OCS coffee machines is often similar to that of large household appliances, however in terms of their construction and robust-ness they are comparable to catering coffee machines. Depending on the supplier, various office coffee service packages are offered, which include the installation of the machine, delivery of coffee, cleaning and technical services.
In Germany, the vending industry comprises
• Over 1,000 mostly medium-sized operators, who operate the drink and snack vending machines at their own expense
• Manufacturers of vending machines• Companies from the food industry, who sell food for vending machines• Manufacturers of mains-fed water dispensers (POU water coolers)• Manufacturers of vending machine cups• Manufacturers of payment systems for machines (coin-operated, banknote readers, cashless
payment systems)• Manufacturers of water filters, machine accessories and peripheral devices• Companies responsible for the technical service of machines and payment systems• Specialist publishers, consultant companies
Five large operators operate nationwide. In total, they account for 20% of the industry‘s overall turnover. The companies that operate nationwide are:
• Alois Dallmayr Automaten-Service, Munich• Coca-Cola-Erfrischungsgetränke AG, Berlin• ARAMARK, Neu-Isenburg• Selecta Deutschland, Bad Soden• Maas International, Bruchsal
Unlike in other European countries, groups of independent vending operators, who work together in both the purchasing and marketing areas to serve supra-regional customers, are only developing very slowly. Currently the following groups exist:
• AP Automaten-Partner, Eichenzell• CA Vending, Hamburg
The business development of the vending industry has been positive for years and BDV is also assuming that this trend will continue in the future: The large variety of drink and snack vending machines increa-singly corresponds to the differentiated needs of the customers. Modern machines are extremely reliable and the sale of drinks and snacks around the clock complies with the consumption behaviour of today‘s consumers.
Diversified offer - always in use
In companies (production, administration, etc.) vending machines are an indispensable element of emplo-yee catering in firms. The fact that machines are in operation 24 hours a day / 7 days a week makes them particularly indispensable in companies where shift work is carried out or where people work weekends.
Society has become mobile. People eat and drink everywhere non-stop. „Coffee-to-go“ is a worldwide phenomenon. With their constantly available offer and minimum space requirement, vending machines are able to fulfil the needs of the modern consumer.The wide-scale usage and acceptance of vending machines is leading to ever-increasing new ideas within the vending industry: In addition to „classic“ food, today vending machines also sell shoes, tools, lingerie, bathing costumes, jeans, electronic items, souvenirs, umbrellas and even gold bars.
The vending industry complies with the requirements of the consumers. In order to do justice to the diffe-rent consumer trends, the vending machine industry constantly offers and develops new solutions. Hence, in the meantime there is a large „regional offer of vending machines“: Butchers, bakers and farmers use innovative vending solutions to offer their products outside of the regular opening hours.
The success factors of vending
Professionals are behind the vending machine business. The vending operators are coffee experts with barista know-how. They have profound expert knowledge and experience in the areas of coffee, the ran-ges of products, electronics and device safety, payment systems, food safety (HACCP) as well as logistics, management and on-site marketing.
The products prepared in the vending machines are high-quality and diversified. Over 50% of the vending machines in Germany dispense hot drinks (in particular coffee, coffee specialities and cocoa). Thanks to the optimised brewing techniques (fresh and espresso brewers, InCup, capsules, instant, etc.) the coffee quality in vending machines and the products used have long since reached the same level as that of upscale catering.Thus, vending machines have advanced into becoming one of the important sales channels for coffee, the favourite drink of the Germans. With a consumption of 162 litres a year per person, the hot drink that contains caffeine undisputedly ranks in first place, in front of beer and water. New coffee concepts with well-known coffee shop chains such as Costa or Starbucks for example bring the feel-good zone to the office or the company. New vending machine concepts such as coffee and cash-to-go, a symbiosis between cash machines of the Sparkasse and vending machines in public areas or also a vending machine café with sustainable premium coffee, fresh snacks and small warm meals with a directly adjacent for electric cars round off the solutions for the future.
Innovative technologies are implemented in energy-efficient high-tech vending machines. Glass front doors, lift systems and robot grippers have an eye-catching effect and dispense the goods at a consumer- friendly height. Touchscreens offer an ideal platform for product presentations and advertising options. The design of the vending machines is characterised by simple operating elements, visual communication, voice control and multi-functionality. There are even coffee vending machines that also dispense the lid for the coffee-to-go cup. In this way, the vending machine becomes the „smallest coffee shop in the world“!
Data transmission from and to the vending machine is already possible today in a growing number of ap-pliances. This makes the vending machines more customer-friendly and reduces the service requirement.
The variety of payment methods for vending machines also continues to increase. Coin-operated systems still dominate the market, however around 25% of all vending machines are equipped with cashless pay-ment systems. Contactless chip cards, contactless credit cards and smartphone payment systems work in the vending machines in a technically flawless manner. The implementation of payment apps and NFC technologies (near-field communication) is also possible without any problems.
An overview of the advantages of vending machines:
• Convenience• Speed• Constant availability (24h/7 days)• Variety: Vending machines can sell almost any product• A wide offer of payment methods• Clean, hygienic, safe, always at the right temperature• Constant level of quality of the food and drinks• Personalised vending machines/vending machine branding
Correspond to the wishes and needs of the customer• Enjoyment and energy for motivated workforces• Flexible business models (sell, lease or hire)
Current themes of the vending industry
The German Vending Association (BDV) founded in 1973 is the recognised discussion partner for its mem-bers, political circles, administration and the media regarding any queries to do with the vending industry. Furthermore, the BDV Academy is the first point of contact for competent further training by experienced experts from the vending industry.
Current themes of the vending industry are:
Food sector:• Food labelling in vending machines• Cooperation with FAIRTRADE Germany for the sustainability of vending machines• Food issues and school catering
Legal issues:• Minimum wage in the vending industry: Subcontractor liability and record keeping obligations
for mini-jobbers• Amendments to the packaging regulations / recycling law: i.e. cup disposal• Drink packaging with a deposit: Disposable/reusable bottles in vending machines
BDV Certifications and Guidelines:• Industry certification for member companies in accordance with the BDV quality seal and ISO
9001:2015• Guidelines for the „good hygiene practice“ of point-of-use water coolers• Energy efficiency of hot and cold drink machines
Fiscal themes:• Introduction of new contactless payment systems (i.e. girogo, mobile payment)• Introduction of new Euro banknotes (Europe series): Adaption of banknote readers• Data transmission from and to vending machines• Cash handling• Electronic date reading of vending machines and payment systems
Industry-specific training:• Vending machine-specific vocational training „vending machine specialist“
„Eu‘Vend & coffeena“ - the leading European trade fair
Every two years, „Eu‘Vend & coffeena“ - the leading European trade fair for the vending industry takes place. The trade fair is jointly organised by Koelnmesse and BDV - as the conceptual sponsor.Trade visitors are invited to inform themselves about the latest trends and developments within the industry from 24 to 26 September 2015 at the Cologne fair grounds.
All information on the trade fair at: www.eu-vend.de
All information on BDV at: www.bdv-vending.de
Universitätsstraße 5 | 50937 Köln
Tel. +49 (0)221 44 79 68 | Fax +49 (0)221 42 25 22
[email protected] | www.bdv-vending.de
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