With the cost of living increasing year-on-year, are you working all hours to make ends meet and missing out on freshly prepared meals at home? If so, you’re not alone. Sales of fast food are on the up, but thankfully, so is the nutritional content. Vending International investigates...

How Bon Appetit’s Hot Food Vending Service is making a difference. Vending International talks to Bon Appetit’s CEO Keith Pordum to find out why he considers the ‘Little Tasty Food Outlet’ to be the breakthrough in these key areas of catering.

FM1000 is the innovative vending machine patented by Remak, that offers a 24/7 restaurant service by offering warm ready made meals. One of the main motivations behind Remak’s development of the FM1000 was the desire to enable ready-made meal companies to sell their dishes directly to the end customer in a location without catering staff or specific kitchen facilities.

In October last year, Fast Food Nation used the terms ‘Functional’, ‘Healthy’ and ‘Green’ to describe what it saw as the latest trends in fast food. “The trend towards ‘adding’ ingredients to foods that have a specific function has made its way into some of the high street retailers – advertising fish fingers with omega three oils, for example.”

A report by bakers Warburtons published in July last year revealed that each day, time-pressed adults in Britain will spend an average of £2.50 on lunch, which adds up to more than £550 every year - or £22,000 over a lifetime.

Also last year, convenience store group Spar reported that the traditional British lunch hour had shrunk to ‘an all time low’. “It now lasts just 35 minutes and 39 seconds,” said the Group, adding: “Some seven million workers skip their lunch break altogether and 70% of us don’t even leave our desks. Over half (56%) now take 30 minutes or less, and one in 10 take less than 20 minutes.”

Feasters, one of the leading microwaveable snack brands on the market, has launched a revolutionary new product range for vending machines in the UK.

The Feasters ‘Micropack’ is placed directly into the microwave, removing the need for plates or cutlery.

What makes the product unique is the patented ‘Microvent Technology’ which works with the innovative ‘crisper sleeve’, also known as a susceptor to wrap around the product during heating and create a microwave baking effect - browning the bun and leaving it feeling and tasting crispier and ‘oven baked’.

Douwe Egberts aims for improved operator margins with new Espresso Bar vending concept

After a successful entry into the vending arena last year, Douwe Egberts has announced the launch of a brand new vending concept called Espresso Bar, which aims to help operators break the £1 barrier on vended coffee drinks.

Spanish vending machine giant, Jofemar, has announced the launch of the Series 2 version of its best selling hot food merchandiser, the Gourmet. Distributed in this country by its subsidiary, Jofemar UK, the Gourmet is the modern way to dispense nutritious hot meals automatically. The new features on the Series 2 model include fresh contemporary livery, improved graphics and enhanced LED back lighting.