Last year VI visited LIW to see how involved our vending manufactures and operators were getting; we met well know names such as Acadia, Autobar, Benbrooks, N&W, Nebrak, Rollover and Zenia to name but a few. Products ranged from healthy food to candy floss, sweet machines and coin operated rides. The response we received from speaking with these manufactures and suppliers and from visitors we spoke to was good and positive, enforcing the need for vending machines to be available within the leisure environment, be it for eating, entertainment or equipment supply.

With new isotonic and health drinks continuously entering the market and the now much better offering on healthy foods and snacks, vending is answering to the government’s pressure for a healthier nation: leisure and health tend to go hand in hand.

LIW show director Jonny Sullens quotes a 20 percent growth in exhibitors for this year’s show, which is very good taking into consideration the 23 percent growth the year before which only proves leisure is forming a larger part of our lives.

VI spoke to a group of leisure centre/health club managers to hear their thoughts. Those without canteen facilities said the choice of vending options was invaluable, this included vended drinks and confectionery along with merchandised machines for the like of swimming goggles, hats etc. Although they found the healthier side of vending was a little hard to implement with children who are still keen on chocolate bars, crisps and fizzy drinks.

But with manufactures working on low fat, low calorie options in these products the little cherubs can still enjoy these and at lower the risk.

Health clubs/gyms were finding bottled water runs freely! So too the isotonic ranges of drinks, and a keen interest was shown in fruit juices and healthy snacks. With healthy food and drink suppliers like “Vending Nutritionals” and “Multiple Marketing” users are not short of options.

When spoken about hot food offerings was of interest although no one we spoke to offered this service - but as many visitors to the gym/pool are arriving straight from work a light hot food option negates the need to rush home to cook a meal or stop off at the chippy on the way back! And put all those hard burned calories back on!!

Machines using telemetry on stock issues were saving centre managers time and grief on their products running out. They also help in stocking popular lines and ensuring a constant flow of products and happy customers.

The only downside on our feedback for vending in leisure was on rubbish. Non catered for areas with vending machines need a regular clean up, waste and drink spills still required a attendant/cleaner to be on duty. When we mentioned recycling there was interest but the general impression was lack of knowledge on how to go about this. VI will be looking into this area in the near future and see how we can help and make recycling in vending fun for consumers and beneficial to owners/managers.

VI opinion is there is a lot of scope for vending in the leisure industry, vending not only offers a service, it is a form of generating additional revenue by keeping visitors within the confines of the building with everything they need. We look forward to visiting LIW this year to see just how involved our manufactures and operators are becoming. A full report will appear in the November edition, published 19th October.

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