Digital Eats: The Latest in Vending Machine Innovation

The vending machine: a corporate America icon, artifact of the break room, and symbol of quick convenient eats, has come a long way from its humble beginning as a coin operated postcard dispenser first appearing in London in the early 1880s.

The first vending machine in the US made its debut in 1888 on the New York City train platforms selling gum. From there, the sky was truly the limit. The goal to incentivize purchases spawned the ideas of adding games and voice recordings, which led to the birth of vending machine’s notorious cousin – the slot machine. For the purposes of this blog we will limit our discussion to the segment of vending machines that are perhaps the most well known and, according to Statistic Brain, generate over $64 million in annual revenue – snack and beverage.

Since its introduction, the vending machine has seen a lot of innovation both in functionality and presentation including diversity of products carried, overall display, method of payment accepted, and many, many more. Today there are over 4.5 million vending machines in the U.S. of which 56% account for soda and cold drink sales. More recently Coca-Cola has taken the lead in vending machine innovation with its “Happiness Machine” concept. The YouTube video was launched in 2010 and now has over 6 million views features a very special Coca-Cola vending machine installed in college campus dining halls that dispenses everything from fresh flowers to 3 foot submarine sandwiches. More recently, Coca-Cola launched its Small World machine, designed to bring together two countries, India and Pakistan, with strained relations due to political strife.  The first of their kind machines were installed in shopping malls, in each of the two countries, and encouraged consumers to put aside their differences and share a moment through the interactive vending machines. Like the Happiness Machine, the YouTube video accompanying the machines went viral and currently has over 2 million views.

So what are the marketing benefits of adding media to the dispensable food experience? Coke, like other successful brands leading the charge in  the creative marketing landscape, realized the importance of connecting with their consumer. Coke goes beyond that and connects its loyal consumer with other consumer such that they all bond over a shared experience. This level of creativity brings incredible value not only to the consumer but to the company it represents. Your consumers thus feel more connected to your brand and of course, connectedness increases purchases at the shelf!

Check out our very own Coca-Cola happiness machine in Uris Deli!