The European Vending Association was pleased to have successfully delivered, what it considers the most influential event for the vending industry in 2009. The AGM and the round-table discussions that ensued brought together top managers from the main companies and National Associations, representing the vending industry in Europe and abroad. The workshop gave much needed impetus to a dynamic industry ready to re-look and re-position itself in the world of automated trade.
The discussions were lively and professionals from the European vending industry and abroad – United States of America and Brazil - shared their best practices and exchanged their views on how to improve the image of vending. The main conclusion reached at the end of the day was that the vending industry should think more like a retailer. Vending machines should be able to create an experience, just like when a customer enters a coffee shop (such as in the case of coffee vending machines).
Marketing resources should be used to attract customers, and therefore focus on the attractiveness of the machine, of the cups, of the environment created around the machine and so forth. Customers lack a story when they purchase and consume a product from a vending machine and this usually means that their perception of the product could be viewed as negative compared to the actual quality of the product. Another central conclusion of the day was that all segments of the vending industry need to be involved in the improvement process of its image.

Source: EVA’s Press-Release from 17/12/2009, www.vending-europe.eu