A Key Note report estimated that the UK market for products sold via automatic vending machines had increased in value to £3.58bn in 2007, up by 1.7% from £3.52bn in 2006. The number of vending machines in operation in the UK also rose over this period, to nearly 1.3 million. In 2007, retail sales of vended products accounted for an estimated 4.8% of household expenditure on food and non-alcoholic beverages; a huge sum of money.

Snacking is by its nature impulsive, so it's no surprise that the sale of vended food and drink is in demand in a number of locations and settings. More often than not, the consumer's vending machine spend is neither budgeted, nor accounted for, so even when finances are strained purchases like these will avoid the crunch. Indeed, the economic climate is very different now to the one the Key Note report was published in, but research suggests that the ‘work hard, play hard' mentality prevalent in today's society will ensure that break time remains synonymous with snacking for many years to come.

Changing tastes

Consumer tastes have changed remarkably in recent years, with programmes such as You Are What you Eat and Jamie's School Dinners encouraging us to think twice about what we put in our mouths. With the media shining its spotlight on the obesity issue, brands have responded to calls for healthier alternatives by creating products that meet the consumer's rising expectations about food.

Despite fears it would harm sales, the ban on ‘junk food' in schools, together with other government and community initiatives designed to improve our eating habits has opened up a number of marketing opportunities. Manufacturers have carried out extensive research into the age and life stage of various target groups, responding to the demand with products that appeal to a more discerning, and dare we say it, healthier palate. There are now a number of takes on old favourites low in sugar salt and fat designed to ensure brand loyalty, together with a generous serving of new products, all whetting the consumer's appetite for more.

Raising standards

A couple of years ago, a report by the Soil Association insisted that hospitals and schools needed to practice what they preached by offering healthier choices. Not What the Doctor Ordered, sponsored by food company Organix, found that vending machines in a sample of sports centres and hospitals across England and Wales failed to provide healthy options, despite the Government's health policy identifying diet and nutrition as one of six key priority areas for improving public health.

In the aftermath of the report, The Culinary Guide highlighted the investigation's findings that much of the food on sale was of poor nutritional value, with machines full to the brim with fatty snacks, fizzy drinks and confectionery, despite a ban in schools to help protect children's health.

Eating habits are informed by a number of factors - it is unfair to suggest that the vending industry alone is responsible for damaging the long term health of the next generation. As an industry, we must offer consumers the choice with healthy products sitting alongside more traditional snacks and confectionery which, if eaten in moderation will not do any real harm. The choice the consumer makes when faced with this selection, will be determined by a number of key influences; joined up action is needed if the right decision is to be made.

The future

The Key Note report into the Vending Industry found the refreshment machine sector to be the largest, including sales of hot and cold drinks, snacks, confectionery, sandwiches and meals. Snacks and confectionery alone generate a considerable amount of revenue, even in difficult economic conditions such as these.

Interestingly, the introduction of healthier vended options should help to increase sales and could also aid demand concluded the report. This underlines the industry's resilience to changing legislation and economic turbulence, in its refusal to starve the nation of the snacks and confectionery it has come to know and love.

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