If you're developing new products, or enhancing old ones, be it in the bakery, confectionery, snacking or foodservice markets, why not give California Raisins a try?

The company, Jakob Gerhardt GmbH, was created in 1969 as a trading company for Vending machines, ingredients and technical service. Its founder, Mr. Jakob Gerhardt, had an idea to manufacture a vending machine for hot drinks that would feature improvements in comparison to other regular vending machines in 1994. The result today is a company that has become a leader in the vending machine manufacturers industry, managed successfully by Mr. Gerhardt's two sons, Bernd and Ralf. Its products combine workmanship, sound innovative technology and design.

The European Vending Association has announced the launch of its vending market and consumer survey, co-drafted with the premium business information and market analysis provider, Datamonitor.

Packaging manufacturer Huhtamaki has revamped its hugely successful Specialty cup design to give it a fresh NEW look!

The Green Week is the biggest annual conference on European environment policy.  In its ninth edition held 23-26 June 2009 in European Commission's Charlemagne Building, Brussels, the European Commission focused on climate change, under the slogan "Climate change: act and adapt". For the second consecutive year, the European Vending Association attended the event as an exhibitor.

Pelican Technical Solutions of Waterlooville has been appointed sole UK distributor of the internationally known Expresso range of small goods handling equipment specially designed for beverage and food products.

Abbeychart, supplier of quality components for the vending industry, has introduced a new free brochure containing details of hundreds of standard spare parts for most makes of espresso machines plus filters, cleaning products and consumables. The fast-track service is ideal for owner operators and service engineers needing parts fast.

Britvic and PepsiCo have announced a new initiative with Nokia with an on-pack promotion giving Pepsi consumers the opportunity to win a Nokia 5800 Comes With Music every 10 minutes. 

One in five companies in the UK Automatic Vending industry could change ownership as a result of the current economic climate, claims a new study by leading financial analysts Plimsoll. With a surprising number of "cash rich" competitors waiting in the wings, the market could be set for a prolonged period of consolidation.

UK beverage machine manufacturer Westomatic Vending Services, has worked with Northern Ireland catering organisation, Mount Charles, to provide an innovative hot beverage catering solution to Moy Park Ltd.

Irish food and ingredients firm Kerry Group, opens US$50m innovation and technical centre in Wisconsin, US to provide product solutions for America's food and beverage industries.

The Coca-Cola Company wins Point of Sale category award at the 2009 Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival for its new interactive video vending machine, developed in partnership with Samsung.

The more serious tea and coffee drinkers amongst us will no doubt enjoy around four or five cups a day, throwing each and every one in the bin immediately afterwards. Those drinking from the water cooler meanwhile, will probably use the same cup again, getting through an average of five a week. It can't be denied, that's a lot of unnecessary waste and it's high time we cleaned up our act.

What is Sustainability?

Sustainability has been defined by the United Nations as "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."

Sustainability is the intersection of environmental, social and economic responsibility. It is about preserving the planet - in terms of land, air, water and people.

Sustainability spans a range of social, economic and environmental topics from climate change driven by greenhouse gas emissions to helping coffee and cocoa farmers earn a decent wage.

Motivated employees are key to a successful business, especially in the current economic climate. Research carried out by Mars Drinks highlights the need to maintain core benefits to keep employee morale high and at the peak of their abilities.

Douwe Egberts has announced the launch of a new instant coffee range for the vending industry. The company has developed a range of premium vending products, including Pure Gold - the same blend that consumers already enjoy at home - Original, Good Origin and Decaf, all of which will be available from August 2009, in 10 X 300 gram packs. 

The met office predicted a barbecue summer and so far, it's been a scorcher. None of us can deny that the weather enjoyed so far this year is more akin to the Mediterranean than here in the UK. Unprepared for such rising temperatures, we wear the wrong clothes, forget to use sun protection and fail to drink nearly enough water. According to online consumer lifestyle portal, goodtoknow, "Government guidelines reckon we should try to drink at least eight glasses a day and some nutritionists claim that a staggering 80% of us are walking around dehydrated!" Worryingly, many of us will admit to drinking considerably less than that in a day, but would this still be the case if we fully understood its health benefits? And what do employers have to gain from keeping workers hydrated?

Barr Soft Drinks has developed a new range of products under the St. Clement's Squeeze brand to meet the needs of both the Schools Food Trust's soft drinks guidelines for schools and school pupils' desire for great tasting refreshment during the school day.

Size: H590 x W420 x D584mm

Colour: Black and Silver

Canisters: up to 5

Capacity: recommended 150 cups per day

Size: H520 x W380 x D470mm

Colour: Black or Silver

Canisters: up to 4

Capacity: recommended 100 cups per day

Size: H550 x W285 x D450mm

Colour: Black or Silver

Canisters: 3

Capacity: recommended 100 cups per day

Size: H520 x W380 x D470mm

Colour: Nestlé Branded

Canisters: up to 5

Capacity: recommended 100 cups per day

WALL HUNG SMALL PACK VENDOR

Size: H910 x W295 x D190mm

Colour: Wrap around stainless steel front cover for strength, long life & great looks. Standard colours are white and silver. Branding available (subject to minimum quantities).

Capacity: 1, 2, 3 or 4 column vendors. Short height, compact models also available.

Size: 870 x 450 x 475mm

Colour: Black.

Capacity: Up to 280 drinks.

Selections: 16 direct drink selections and pre selection for drink strength.

WALL HUNG SMALL PACK VENDOR

Size: H910 x W370 x D210mm

Colour: Stylish wrap around stainless steel cover finished in durable white or silver powder coat paint.

Capacity: 6 or 5 column versions offering excellent product pack capacity, 4 column variant to accept larger or unusual pack sizes.

Size: 460 x 220 x 385mm

Colour: Stainless steel with black infill.

Capacity: 2 x 1.7 litres.

Selections: Coffee only.

FREE STANDING SNACK MACHINE

Size: 1830 x 890 x 860mm

Colour: Black, Silver.

Capacity: 400 or 466 items.

FREE STANDING BEVERAGE MACHINE

Size: 1830 x 650 x 742mm

Colour: Black.

Capacity: 300 Cups.

Size: from 350 x 210 x 465mm (T5 tap model)

Colour: Stainless steel throughout with black infill and trim.

Capacity: from 28 to 56 litres per hour, with immediate draw-off from 5-30 litres.

Selections: Hot water only.

HIGH VOLUME BULK COFFEE BREWER - with variable time ‘auto-dump' facility for stale coffee

Size: 630 x 880 x 830mm

Colour: Stainless steel with black infill.

Capacity: Water: 8.5 litres immediate draw-off; 84 litres per hour. Coffee: 2 x 11.5 litres full brew.

HOT BEVERAGE MACHINE

Size: W650mm x H1830mm x D760mm - 170kg

Power Supply: 230V 50Hz, nominal power: 2400W

Capacity: 400 capsules

FOOD MACHINE - combined food vendor with automatic heating

Size: 1830 x 960 x 850mm

Colour: Dark blue

Capacity: Varies by products to be vended e.g: 64 plates plus 42 cold drinks.

HOT BEVERAGE MACHINE

Size: W540mm x H980mm x D585mm - 65kg

Power Supply: 230V 50Hz, nominal power: 1300W

Capacity: 240 capsules

Size: H1870 x W1120 x D700mm

Colour: Predominantly black, with yellow

Capacity: 400 units

Selections: approx 200 titles

COLD DRINKS (BOTTLES & CANS)

Size: H 1830 x D813 x W1181mm

Colour: Silver (standard) can be ordered in black.

Capacity: 45 product selections, 9 selections per tray. Able to vend 500ml bottles on all trays.

FREE STANDING BEVERAGE MACHINE

Size: H1830 x W660 x D740mm

Colour: Silver only with cafe style graphic.

Capacity: 380 cups, dependent on cup size.

IN-CUP BEVERAGE MACHINE

Size: H1830 x W630 x D700mm

Colour: Five different fascias available.

Capacity: 1400 internal cups.