Buy a cup of coffee in a vending machine has become quite ordinary business. It's convenient and simple. In vending machines you can buy not only drinks and snacks, but also various goods and services - disks, contact lenses , hygiene items, comfortable shoes, ties and even "huskies" for social networks, manicure, massage, in general - almost everything. The future, when the buyer contacts the car, and not with the live seller, has come. But behind the guns are still real people - "vending" businessmen.
Vending - what is it?
Vending is a relatively young industry for Russian business. In English, the verb to vend means "sell." Vending is the sale of goods and services through devices. People who lived in the USSR, often with nostalgia remember soda from vending machines - the vending was already in the days of the Soviet Union, only was bent in the period of perestroika.
In 2000, a real vending boom began - with the development of technologies, new opportunities for entrepreneurs appeared. The last two decades, vending in Russia has developed rapidly, and still has not yet reached the western level. Therefore, many people think about how to launch a vending business, where to start and what nuances should be taken into account.
Pros and cons of vending business
Like any other type of business, business on vending machines has its advantages and pitfalls. Pros of the vending business:
- Easy to manage:
- put the sales device in a place with high traffic;
- fill with popular products;
- service regularly and collect money;
- you do not have to directly interact with customers.
- Work 24/7 - the vending machine sells 24 hours 7 days a week. There are few retail sources of income that give this advantage without additional labor costs.
- You can sell anything - fresh fruit or the latest technology. The main thing is to correctly identify the needs of potential customers.
- There is no need for constant advertising.
- There is no need to maintain a large staff.
- Small retail space - less rental costs.
- The vending machine works on the principle of "first money - then goods", which excludes debtors and problems with the transfer of the assortment for sale.
Vending is an easy way to enter and lead a business. But there were some shortcomings in this business:
- Vending machine is a technique that can break. Then you have to spend money on repairs, and if it fails completely without the ability to fix it - buy or rent a new one.
- Vandalism. One of the common problems that many owners of the vending business suffer from. It is not always possible to ensure the safety of the machine.
- Theft. Increasingly, entrepreneurs are faced with this problem - robbers have learned to extract money from vending machines. Therefore, it is worth puzzling the choice of a place where video surveillance would be conducted.
- Possible problems with electricity and water supply. They lead to the inaction of an automated "trader".
- High dependence on location. Unsuccessful choice can deprive a significant profit.
Any business has its advantages and pitfalls. With a competent approach to business, vending can bring good money. To get into the jet, you need to make the right choice of goods or services that will be available in the machine. And in this regard, the variety of options on the market of vending machines is unlimited.
Types of vending machines
New vending technologies develop this market at the speed of light around the world. If only recently you could see mostly machines with hot / cold drinks and snacks, then now you can buy practically everything in a vending machine up to living crabs. Yes, in China, where crabs go to dinner, this is common. And in Moscow, recently appeared vending machines, where you can, in addition to printing a photo from Instagram, also buy a husky. Who does not like to take risks, can consider proven options.
Vending machines for drinks
Vending coffee machines are a real find not only for those who want to refresh themselves with a cup of coffee, when all cafes are closed, but also for enterprising people. Vending coffee machines are offered in variations: espresso, moccasino, cappuccino, latte, the bigger the choice - the better. There is to put such a machine in the right place, you can have a stable profit.
Vending business of this type has a high profitability - the mark-up on drinks reaches 500%. This applies to coffee and tea. Carbonated drinks in vending machines are popular only in the southern regions. There are other options for drinks:
- juices;
- oxygen cocktails;
- milkshakes;
- alcoholic beverages
Snacks
Vending trade is not only tea, coffee and soda. Often in a single vending machine with drinks you can find snacks:
- Chocolates.
- Biscuit.
- Chips.
- Cheese sticks.
- Crackers.
There are separately standing snack machines, but, as a rule, they are placed next to drinks. These cars are in high demand:
- in waiting areas (airports, train stations);
- educational institutions.
Aquavending
A vending machine for selling water can be found in many urban yards. Drinking water is offered to recruit in containers of 6, 8, 19 liters. In the same device you can buy bottles, small and large. In the West, this direction of the vending business has become widespread, in Russia it is gaining momentum. It is recommended to install such devices in densely populated sleeping areas.
Food vending machine
Automatic machines, in which you can buy ready-made lunch, a sandwich, pizza, rolls are popular:
- in offices where there is no dining room;
- in universities;
- at stations and airports.
Products for vending are in vacuum packing, the machine maintains a temperature of + 4, which allows you to keep fresh. As a rule, in such devices there is a powerful microwave oven for warming up. The vending business of selling food in Russia is only beginning to gain momentum, it has great potential. The example of the Ural businessman Igor Baibulatov proved this: he occupied the niche of rolls trade through automatic machines, developed his own network and already sells the franchise.
Vending machines for the sale of piece goods
Trading devices for the sale of piece goods can be divided into two types:
- Maxi-devices. Are intended for places with high passableness.
- Microphones. Small size, as a rule, do not bring huge profits, they are installed rather for convenience - for example, at reception desks.
Vending machines for selling chewing gum are one of the first and popular vending machines for selling piece goods. Now the assortment is practically diverse:
- Chocolates;
- lenses;
- mobile phones and much more.
Automata for the provision of services
The range of services that a vending machine can provide is growing. Some of them:
- massage chairs;
- photo booths and print photos from social. networks;
- copying machines;
- telescopes and binoculars (popular in tourist places);
- terminals for receiving payments.
Entertaining machines
Game vending machines are found in the halls of cinemas, in amusement parks and other leisure areas. The types of entertainment that they offer are varied:
- a virtual reality;
- video games;
- karaoke;
- "Capture" of toys, etc.
Which vending business is the most profitable?
How to start a vending business so that it brings the maximum profit? The profitability of vending machines depends on a number of factors, so it is difficult to unequivocally answer the question of which vending machine is the most profitable. To achieve maximum results, many factors are necessary:
- The location (most influences the profitability of the vending business - if the equipment is installed in a place with high traffic and the demand for a product / service, the profitability will go off scale).
- The supply-demand ratio - for example, an automatic device for recharging mobile devices at an airport where there are free charging stations, will hardly be profitable.
- The choice of payment, cash or card, gives an advantage.
- The uniqueness of the proposal - if you find a "new and unexplored", but demanded, success is also guaranteed.
How to start a vending business?
As with the launch of any type of business, marketing research and planning are the key to success. There are several ways to start a vending business - each has its advantages and disadvantages:
- From scratch, independently buying machines and goods for vending. This scenario gives you maximum flexibility - you can start with a few machines and expand as far as possible. For this method, a lot of effort will be required - in addition to buying the machine and filling it for him, searching for and agreeing on placements (but you can purchase vending equipment from a distributor that provides space).
- Buying an existing business. However, it is important to determine why the owner wants to sell it. A thorough background research in business is mandatory, including checking accounts, checking machines, checking existing contracts, and researching possible problems.
- Buying a franchise is the easiest way to get into a vending business. The franchise gives the advantage of the finished business model. As a rule, in addition to the franchise fee at start-up, the franchisor takes a percentage of the profit (royalties).
How to put the vending machine
Whichever way to launch a vendor business could not be chosen, the installation of a trading device is inevitable. For this you need:
- to register an IP or LLC;
- find a place for a vending machine;
- conclude a lease agreement;
- select and buy a trading device;
- bring and install.
Also for the installation of a trading device it is desirable to have:
- the health record of the employee servicing the equipment;
- certificates for products (issued by sellers).