VI - How has the demand for office refreshment via vending changed over the years and why?
RM - According to the Automatic Vending Association (AVA), there are now 518,589 refreshment vending machines in use in the UK with consumer spend totalling £1.5 billion every year through vending machines. With eight million cups of coffee and two million cups of tea vended every day in the UK, these fundamental drinks continue to be the strongest sellers in the industry.

Consumers are however becoming increasingly used to the bespoke, varied and customised drinks offering from the likes of Starbucks and Costa, and are therefore seeking the same ‘intelligent drinking’ from vending machines in their work environment. Consumers recognise that they have many options and want different drinks for different occasions, something that has and is putting pressure on vending operators to come up with innovative new products.

A further trend and common consumer preference that has emerged is the ability to choose drinks from well known brands such as Nescafé or PG Tips. These trusted and popular brands are providing consumers with familiarity and the same quality they would expect to receive as if they’d made the drink themselves.

VI - What products and services does Klix supply to offices today and how popular are they?
RM - KLIX® prides itself on providing smart, reliable, energy-efficient drinks systems, serving a wide choice of top quality hot and cold refreshments from some of the most popular and trusted brands in the world. These include Nescafé Cappuccino, Latte and Mocha, Nescafé Gold Blend, PG Tips, Knorr and BRITA.

The company’s renowned ‘in-cup’ technology offers a ‘no-nonsense’ drinks vending solution that takes ingredients from these market-leading brands and seals the right amount into the cup. At the touch of a button, pure clear BRITA filtered water is added dissolving the ingredients to create a delicious drinking experience.

KLIX® is continually focused on breaking conventions with the design and technology of its drinks systems and can offer a vending machine to suit any office, from home and small offices to SMEs and large businesses. The range includes the KLIX® OUTLOOK floor standing vending machines and KLIX® 450 machine which is a table top option.

KLIX® OUTLOOK - attractive exterior design, simple one-touch operation machines, including the KLIX® in-cup technology to deliver high quality hot and cold drinks from well known British brands, with no waiting and no mess. The machines are user-friendly, easy to clean and simple to restock, providing the ultimate in efficient, user-friendly drinks vending. It is the ultimate in design, style and functionality with different ‘looks’ to fit the office environment and culture.

KLIX® 450 - a more compact machine, the KLIX® 450 is ideal for the smaller office or workspace and includes eight drink selections from the KLIX range of well known brands. It is a table-top drinks system (with optional base cabinet) which will deliver 400 cups, utilising the cutting edge in-cup technology. The simple and intuitive one-touch operation is user-friendly and facilitates fast drinks delivery.

The KLIX® drinks range includes over 35 different options:

COFFEES - mostly from Nescafe and including Nescafe Gold Blend, Decaffeinated and Alta Rica. KLIX also offer Percol Fairtrade coffee.

TEAS - PG Tips and the new refreshing Lipton Lemon Tea.

INDULGENCE - Nescafe Cappuccino, Nescafe Latte, Nescafe Mocha, Nescafe Espresso, Choamento Hot Chocolate, Options Belgian Hot Chocolate.

WARMERS - KNORR Vegetable Soup with Croutons, KNORR Tomato Soup, KNORR Minestrone Soup.

CHILLERS - Cranberry Juice Drink, BRITA Filtered Water, Blast Stimulant Drink.

VI - What factors affect the popularity of some machines over others?
RM - The KLIX® Outlook has proven to be the most popular machine in the office environment to date. In the modern workplace it is vital to meet two objectives - satisfying all consumer needs with a wide range, and having the drinks capacity to minimize re-stocking requirements. The Outlook delivers on both counts with 16 drinks selections and up to 180 cups per selection. KLIX® also offers seven different fascias for the Outlook machine, so customers can choose the ‘look’ to suit their office environment which is proving very popular. Smaller office environments find that space needed for a full size machine can be at a premium and therefore need a smaller table top solution.

VI - What level of customer support does Klix offer?
RM - KLIX® prides itself in being one of the most professional organisations in the industry and providing excellent customer service is core to the business. The 'one stop shop' customer services team will address customer needs including drinks orders, general enquiries, machine servicing or invoicing queries quickly and effectively.

In addition, KLIX® operates a nationwide technical support service. The reliability of the machines is second to none with a track record of 80 weeks MTBF (mean time between failure). However in case of a problem, clients are able to deal direct with KLIX® for the best drinks and maintenance service.

The company also always encourages customers to rate its service - a fixed performance criteria exist against which customers rate KLIX® and anything less than 9 out of 10 triggers action.

VI - What about Fairtrade - how has this affected the Klix menu and revenue?
RM - In response to increasing consumer demands for socially responsible drinks, KLIX® has just launched a delicious new Fairtrade tea option - Teadirect - the UK’s number one Fairtrade tea. As part of the Mars family, KLIX® is totally focused on ethical trading with all producers, suppliers, customers and employees, as well as a commitment to innovation in order to reflect consumer trends. The introduction of Teadirect means that KLIX® can offer excellent drinks that customers also feel good about as well as provide a way for companies to support Fairtrade simply by choosing Teadirect.

VI - Can you highlight any emerging trends?
KLIX - For the KLIX® brand, tea and coffee are continuing to be strong sellers and the company is also seeing growth in speciality drinks like Cappuccino and Café Latte, which offer more of a treat factor for customers. As mentioned above, another area of growth are the fairtrade and sustainable products. KLIX® currently offer Percol Fairtrade coffee, and are about to launch a Fairtrade tea.

But, much of the growth in terms of drinks vending choices falls under the health and wellbeing category. Wellbeing drinks are being well received in the market as health-conscious consumers are becoming increasingly aware of and responsive to what they put into their bodies.

From decaf variations of tea and coffee to wellbeing versions such as green tea and peppermint tea, consumers are opting for drinks that have a functional benefit - for example, KLIX® has just launched a Cranberry juice drink comprised of 10% real fruit content and packed with antioxidants and vitamin C.

In addition, consumers are now far more aware of the health benefits associated with drinking water. The sharp rise in demand for bottled water on the high street is translating into a fast growing trend in the vending industry too. KLIX® uses high quality BRITA filtered water to make all drinks in its Outlook machines which is helping to meet this trend.

VI - Where do you see the vending industry going in 20 years time?
RM - The company believes that coffee and tea will remain strong and continue to be key categories. Areas of growth will be seen in the healthier and more premium drinks. People are becoming ever choosier about what they put in their bodies and want healthier options. There is therefore a need to deliver health and wellbeing benefits from each drinking opportunity - for example, KLIX® has just launched a Cranberry Juice Drink that has as much as 10% real fruit content when it is ready made and is a breakthrough product in the vending industry. The Cranberry Juice Drink is packed with antioxidants and Vitamin C, and taps in to the health and premiumisation trends that we are seeing. Speciality coffee drinks like Cappuccino, Café Latte and Mocha are also increasing in popularity as many want an extra treat. Other anticipated trends are around transparency, holistic health, individualisation, indulgence and convenience. Technology will also advance the market over the coming years and generate quality improvements and a subsequently wider choice of drinks.

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