When staff and students at the University of Sheffield wanted a vending machine stocked only with healthy and ethical drinks, they turned to Leeds-based operator Calvenda for help.
Calvenda recommended offering a selection of Fairtrade fruit juices, smoothies, and a prominent display of 500ml bottles of Thirsty Planet, inside a Vendo Vue-40 glass-fronted machine.
It was installed in the students' union early in March, complete with Thirsty Planet stickers explaining how the brand provides people in Africa with clean water, and Bob Brown, Retail Services Manager at the university, said he expected it to be a success.
"We had several machines that vended carbonated drinks, but these were becoming increasingly unpopular with the students, and our sales were suffering as a result," he said. "There has been a noticeable swing away from fizzy drinks towards healthier choices such as water and fruit juice, so we decided to replace one of the carbonated drinks machines with the new machine that Calvenda recommended.
"We wanted the products to not only be healthy and convenient, but also reflect the fact that as a Fairtrade university, Sheffield is committed to selling ethical brands - and Thirsty Planet seemed like the perfect fit. We are already seeing a lot of interest from the students and we're expecting it to prove very popular."
Calvenda supplies and manages vending machines for a number of organisations in the Yorkshire area, including universities, hospitals and offices. Director Chris Smith said that he planned to roll Thirsty Planet out to more of his customers over the coming months.
"We have been offering Thirsty Planet alongside our mainstream products for four months, and it is selling very well," he said. "In addition to Sheffield, it is also sold in our machines at the University of Leeds. We see students as a key market for the product as they are very passionate about ethical issues and making a difference to the world.
"Over the coming months, we will be meeting our customers at other universities and organisations to introduce Thirsty Planet to them. More and more people are keen to buy products that are both healthy and ethical."
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