Aimia Foods, the independent supplier of hot and cold beverages, has announced findings from a report focusing on the growth of the sport and health drinks market over the next year. In a market worth £200 million in the UK, which is seeing a 15 per cent increase in sales year on year, the new research is driving new product development for the North-West based manufacturer.

OOH Live - claimed to be the UK's only dedicated national exhibition for bakers, sandwich bars, coffee shops, deli-cafés, pubs, restaurants, public sector and leisure outlets - will take place on Sunday 9th and Monday 10th November 2008 at Earls Court, London. Entry is free to trade visitors.

After 20 years of dedicated service, Cummins-Allison's Managing Director Terry Lambert has opted for early retirement.

The Bosch Group is renowned for producing innovative and extremely reliable automotive and industrial technology, together with a range of power tools and household goods.  So, when it came to feeding its workforce at the company's UK headquarters, it had to reflect the manufacturing giant's high standards.

The Millennium Project, with a world-wide reputation for sustainable development, purchases vending machines for their ethical and environmentally-friendly nature.

A selection of new industrial actuators for Series 61 switches is now available from EAO - the expert partner for human machine Interfaces.

KP Nuts, the No.1 nuts brand from United Biscuits (UBUK), is refreshing its iconic packaging and logo and rolling out a raft of innovative new products.

The new fully interactive stand plan for AVEX breaks new ground, AVEX being only the second exhibition organiser in the UK to use this unique system from Expocad. It can be accessed at www.avex2009.co.uk.

The Aquacoil range of recoil water hoses, available from Mecserflex, offers a hygienic choice for industrial catering operations, with a small bending radius and a tight coil diameter to economise on work and storage space.

Running out of inspiration or is it just coincidence? I was intrigued to see that the phrase ‘Thirsty for Change' has been adopted by two quite different giant organisations - Mars Drinks in the UK and PUR Water Filtration in the US (part of Procter & Gamble).

The new Abbeychart high-strength liquid brewer cleaner, introduced to clean stubborn and troublesome stains on fresh brew and stand-alone coffee machine units safely and effectively, eliminates the equipment damages and other dangers incurred by the use of traditional powder products.

The popular Pretz brand is being relaunched with a new brand identity to target core consumers.

AVS Supplier of the Year, Westomatic Vending Services, has appointed Graham Sargent as Southern Key Account Manager. Graham brings with him over 12 years' experience in the vending industry having worked for Coca-Cola, Cadburys, Sodexho Vending and Mars Four Square.

In addition to giving an update on its performance figures, the reason for the meeting was to brief the industry on new developments including the future collection of PET and paper cups, pods, sachets and even cans.

Benders, one of the UK's leading manufacturers of paper cups and disposable tableware, has won an exclusive two-year contract to supply paper cups to Associated Vending Services (AVS) members in the UK and Ireland.

Solo Cup Europe claims to be is the first food packaging manufacturer to contract with the new Closed Loop facility for the provision of recycled PET (RPET) for the production of PET disposables for the foodservice and food-to-go sectors.

The latest product development from Huhtamaki has helped Coffee Point customer, Ashurst LLP, scoop the Platinum Award (Special Commendation) in the Clean City Awards Scheme.

Catering disposals is big business and one of the leading non-food wholesalers, Alliance Online, has reinforced the significant shift in procurement towards eco-friendly products - often at a premium - in order to support caterers' sustainability and CSR demands.

A company which supplies paper cups to the vending industry is toasting three years of success - and aiming to crack the two million cup barrier. Mark Woodward established The Paper Cup Company, at Worston, Clitheroe, three years ago with his partner Jenny. Today it supplies a wide range of sectors, including vending, independent coffee bars, milk bars and multi nationals for tasting campaigns.

A significant number of paper vending cups have an integral oil-based plastic liner in order to prevent leakage, manufacture of which requires significant fossil fuels, and results in a product that is difficult to recycle.

Reverse vending recycling machines, (RVM's) are fully automated recycling machines that utilise advanced technology to identify, sort, collect and recycle used beverage containers - cans, PET plastic bottles and cartons (UBCs) and now vending cups.

Dance Heads®, the innovative entertainment concept that took the world by storm is now available in a coin operated format. Dance Heads superimposes participants' heads on professional dancers' bodies while they sing along to some of the greatest pop hits of all time. The effect is completed with fully animated backgrounds, and users can experience the thrill of becoming a pop star on their own music video DVDs.

Laurence Kahn has written the following letter to Vending International about his experiences in marketing a range of healthy eating products through vending. We would really welcome comment from other readers - manufacturers, operators or customers - and are anxious to discover just how typical Laurence's findings are:

The entire fleet of 217 new Ford Transits chosen by vending services company Selecta to support its operations in the UK and Ireland is being prepared by vehicle enhancement specialist Bott. The contract includes installation of in-vehicle equipment and on-board ancillaries, and management of supply logistics to ensure deliveries meet Selecta's schedules.

The Load Lift from Penny Hydraulics is a light and compact platform lift that offers a safe, reliable and economical way of handling loads up to 300kg. It can be fitted inside the rear or side door of a van without restricting access to the load area or affecting vehicle capacity, and does not need to be deployed to allow entry to the vehicle. The Load Lift is ideal for a wide range of delivery and service applications and reduces the risk of injury to operators by helping them comply with manual handling regulations.

The Atlet Alto PS pedestrian pallet transporter/stacker is a compact truck designed for extended work cycles in tight spaces in warehouses and production plants.

In fairness, Vendia is far from being the only group to be able to claim, with some justification, to be successfully providing a local-style vending service on a national basis.

Hot beverage vending has to some extent suffered at the hands of the success of high street coffee shops and the ever-increasing consumption of water in the workplace and elsewhere. However, the positive side is that it has emerged stronger in terms of choice, quality and opportunity and now has plenty to offer the operator, specifier and consumer.

Smooth and balanced, warm and relaxing: that's how Barry Callebaut is describing its the new Caprimo® Café Caramel. It is a ‘trendy new taste experience', and with sales of flavoured cappuccinos on the rise, Café Caramel could really hit the spot for consumers.

The popular Bolero XL423 from Bravilor has been updated with a stylish, modern design featuring larger dispense buttons and a new canister locking mechanism. The non-sticking mixing system and coin operation function have also been improved. Suitable for self-service operations, the XL423 has an easy-to-read LED menu display, and individual buttons that can be disabled as required. A separate hot water dispenser plus a cold water dispense option are included, plus a choice of cabinet colour.

Sielaff, a leading European manufacturer of vending machines and glass-fronted merchandisers, has announced the launch of the Barista Uno - a stylish, fully automatic, purpose-built self-service coffee bar, which is perfect for self-serve takeaway locations, particularly convenience stores, petrol forecourts and motorway service areas.

Qwikbrew and Maxibrew ranges from Marco Beverage Systems, have become the benchmark for bulk filter coffee brewers in the UK. Now Marco is adding self-service brewers to the range, which may be safely operated on one side in self-service mode by customers and simultaneously by staff from the other side. The new option is available on Qwikbrew single and Twin models and the high volume Maxibrew.

The Coffeemar G-500 offers bean-to-cup fresh brew coffee together with a selection of soluble ingredients, or it may be specified as instant-only. It is manufactured in northern Spain by Jofemar and distributed in the UK by its subsidiary, Jofemar UK, which is also known for its food vending machines, payment systems and cigarette machines.

Fed up with slow soup sales in its machines, Neville Thompson Managing Director of Lincolnshire-based vending operator Elite Vending, replaced the soup with Caprimo® Café Vanille - a strategy which has led to increased sales and reduced maintenance costs.

The Forum of Private Business (FPB) is highlighting research showing that, while some industries have experienced a fall in the number of firms going into administration, despite the credit crunch, there has been a significant rise across most sectors.

According to Vicki Armstrong-Smith, Sales and Marketing Manager at Seaga UK, the hygiene market provides excellent opportunities for vending operators. At one time hygiene vending centred on pubs and clubs, but now the circle has widened include a wide range of public and commercial sites with an expanding variety of different hygiene products.

Innovative supply chain solutions company e-TradeWay is moving its proven technology into the Health and Hygiene sector.

The European Vending Association (EVA) is to publish the first pan-European survey on vending, covering 21 countries and looking at both the vending market in those markets and consumer insights.

In view of the forthcoming WEEE revision, the EVA has submitted its comments to the European Commission, including the recommendation that the B2B targets be kept as they were, and reminding the Commission that the vending industry was an intensive reuser of machines, spare parts and components.

The EVA was recently given the opportunity to take a stand at the Green Week, a privilege earned from presenting a good case to the European Commission.

As part of the European ‘ecopolicy', the Member States are strongly encouraged to require that companies that supply products and services to them, (including vending and catering services) meet a number of green requirements.

A new Cup Manufacturers Committee is being established by the EVA to develop a common vending industry message to the authorities, press and consumers regarding disposable vending cups. In order to do that, the EVA is bringing together market leaders in this activity, including Hühtamaki, RPC-Tedeco Gizeh, FLO and Veriplast, and approaching other market players so as to have as broad a  representation as possible.

Following the departure of Nina Poumpalova, after nearly eight years at the EVA, Catherine Piana is reorganising the administration to meet the EVA's future challenges, including the appointment of a Head of Communications and Events.