Kraft Foods will be featuring its latest innovations at Hotelympia 2010. From coffee to biscuits there will be lots of exciting news for operators and distributors, so a visit to stand S2036 will be essential!

Nestlé Waters UK replaces Vittel with Nestlé Pure Life for the sponsorship of the 2010 London Marathon.

Tetra Pak CEO Dennis Jönsson predicts liquid dairy product consumption to fall 1.2% in developed markets in the short term, but expects long term global growth.

A compact convenient easy vend solution tailor-made to provide Snacks and Beverages to the European small location vending (SLV) industry, the Twist machine fits neatly into any corner, table or counter-top in the office space.

Ensuring that delegates were refreshed with clean, purified drinking water from a truly sustainable source throughout the conference, the COP 15 chose to install Waterlogic water dispensers to provide drinking water for all 19,000 plus delegates for the Copenhagen event.

Westomatic Vending Services Ltd, a leading UK vending machine manufacturer is now a supplier member of NIVO, the National Independent Vending Operators group.

Graham Kingaby, Managing Director of NIVO comments: “We at NIVO are delighted that we have been able to forge a new relationship with Westomatic as one our Supply Partners.

In November 2008, the Welsh government restricted the products that can be sold through vending machines in Welsh Hospitals without any consultation with the Vending industry.

Fearing that this would be extended to other parts of the UK, the AVA formed the Vending Choice Coalition (a group comprising of key food and beverage associations, major brand manufacturers and operator companies) whose aim is to ensure that vending is able to continue to offer a wide range of products in hospitals.

The AVA has received the following sad news from Richard Brinsley of Westomatic:

“It is with deep regret that I am writing to tell you that Martyn Davies passed away on Friday 11 December.

To add a little warmth to the cold, Aimia Foods has announced that its Galaxy hot chocolate brand will be one of the official sponsors at three seasonal ice rinks – The Tower of London, Hampton Court Palace and Hyde Park’s Winter Wonderland.

From January 2010, the entire range of Kenco’s freeze dried coffees will be sourced from beans grown on Rainforest Alliance Certified™ farms. The move is line with Kenco’s previous announcements and highlights Kraft Foods’, parent company of the Kenco Coffee Company, continued focus on sustainability and ethical sourcing.

David Hoskin, Chairman of Save-a-Cup Recycling Ltd reports that 2009 has been a year of change for Save a Cup with some internal re-organisation to ensure they continue to offer the level of service their clients have come to expect and want.

Entries from Laura Webster (Food On-The-Move), James Chambers (Environmentally-Friendly BioWare) and Amarpreet Brar (Beverages-To-Go) – winners of the Huhtamaki Capture The Cup Photographic Competition.

Packaging manufacturer Huhtamaki is delighted to announce the winners of its very first “Capture The Cup Photographic Competition” – Laura Webster, James Chambers and Amarpreet Brar from Leicester College were the respected winners of the Competition’s three categories, each receiving a cash prize!

Health is a central question for today’s food industries and it is now widely accepted that a healthy and varied diet must be a balanced one - without of course excluding the concept of pleasure. We need to ask what the declining consumption of cocoa and sugar means for our sector, particularly in the light of the removal of drinks vending machines from schools.

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 healthy eating revolution that has taken the nation by storm in the last decade has left no stone unturned, no food or beverage company escaping the changing tide in consumer demand. Vending manufacturers and the schools that house them have been quick to turn these changes into a profitable advantage.

When purchasing coffee, consumers are increasingly looking for higher quality. Taste remains vital, but there is now a growing interest in the conditions in which the coffee was made. Over the coming years, educational institutions must be aware that they will be serving a generation of ethical consumers, adding another factor into a school, college or university’s choice of coffee blend and brand.

SUSO, one of the best selling soft drinks in secondary schools nationwide, is launching a new Sparkling Apple flavour to kick-start the 2010 Spring Term.

The innovative Sparkling Apple variant is entirely focused on the wants and needs of teenagers and will build on the sales momentum of the existing SUSO range, driving market share growth during a key back-to-school period.

In 2008 the European Vending Association staged a well-attended, one day conference in Brussels to look at the development of payment systems now and in the future. Markus Eggar, Group Technology Manager, Selecta, Switzerland, spoke about an operator’s experience with mobile and credit card payment, suggesting that cashless systems could increase business from anything between one and ten per cent, with the potential to be profitable in low-value transactions.

Jofemar UK, wholly owned subsidiary of Spanish vending machine and coin mechanisms manufacturer Jofemar SA has announced a new version of its best-selling J2000 changegiver. This new version works on Executive protocol, but crucially, will also support MDB peripherals, such as card and note readers, giving the J2000 a greater versatility and means that it will support a broader range of products, allowing operators a wider choice over the peripherals they use and reducing their spares stockholding.

Vended water in the form of water coolers or bottled water from machines can seem like an unnecessary expense, given that water is free from the tap. In the last decade however, an increased awareness of obesity and other dietary related diseases has seen an over reliance on the quick fix of sugar laden drinks giving way to a new consumer consensus that health and well being is vital. Bottled water has become a consumer favourite, the average person taking the lead from celebrities glowing with health - branded bottle in hand - in all our favourite magazines!

Studies have found some alarming results about the importance of water for assisting our body to function - research indicates that 8-10 glasses of water per day could significantly ease back and joint pain for up to 80% of sufferers. Furthermore, drinking 5 glasses of water daily decreases the risk of colon cancer by 45% and the risk of breast cancer by 79%. Installing a mains-fed water cooler is a great way of providing an unlimited source of chilled, filtered, drinking water to help you achieve a healthier lifestyle.

Marco Beverage Systems, one of Europe’s leading manufacturers of water boilers and bulk coffee brewers, is distributing water treatment systems under its own brand.

Marco recommends fitting a water filter to all its equipment. Not only does this produce a better tasting beverage, it also helps to prevent limescale build-up in machines, a major cause of equipment failure.

Aqueduct’s revolutionary Bag in Box coolers seems to have hit a chord… especially amongst the Vending fraternity.

The reason is clear… For the first time Bag in Box (BIB) now offers a real alternative to Bottled water coolers… but without the hassle and logistical nightmare of the returnable bottle.

With over 100 years of experience in producing premium quality, Italian coffee, Lavazza has revolutionised the vending and OCS market. Italy’s favourite coffee continues to provide the ultimate in ‘away from home’ coffee solutions – and all at the touch of a button!

An article by Nick Wyke, published in 2007 by the Times Online underlined just how important the out of home food market is: “With about 60 per cent of our waking hours spent in work, and about 75 per cent of working-age people in the UK in employment, one adult meal in three is eaten at work.”