A survey of 9000 people across 13 different countries carried out by BBC World in early 2008 found that 45% of people in the UK were ‘more likely to agree' that they liked the taste of fast food too much to give it up.

Indeed, FastFoodNation claims that the UK is Europe's biggest fast food consumer, with burger chains at the top of the list of desirable fast food outlets. In 2007 figures showed that we spent £82 per head just in fast food restaurants and burger chains - that doesn't even take into account other types of fast food order such as Chinese, Indian or Pizza, it adds.

Several reasons can explain the increased consumption of food eaten away from the home found an investigation by the University of Finland, such as women's higher involvement in the labour force, higher family incomes, smaller households and a higher supply of affordable and convenient fast-food outlets.

An article by Nick Wyke, published in 2007 by the Times Online agreed: "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."

The health issue has been the subject of intense media coverage in recent years, with the fast food industry being held to account for an increasingly obese society. "The prandial problems facing many employees are similar to the crisis in schools," said Wyke, highlighting concerns about the poor nutritional value of foods available outside of the home. "Many work-places are providing stuff that wouldn't even qualify as school dinners," said Peter Melchett, the policy director of the Soil Association in response to the claim.

Wyke continued: "One British worker in five never takes a lunch break, according to a survey by the catering providers Eurest. The average lunch break for workers remains at a record low of only 27 minutes. Women are the most workaholics, with one in four working through lunch."

With that in mind, it is vital that the industry can provide food on the go that is healthy as well as convenient. Key Note's Market Review found that growth in catering sales was recorded in all sectors of the catering market in 2008. The UK consumer seems to have less time than he does money right now, and while the Vending Industry is perfectly poised to take advantage of this social trend, it is vital that it does so responsibly.

Hot Food Vending on the rise

Bon Appetit

Bon Appetit's menu offers breakfast and hot snacks items, such as paninis, baguettes, pastry rolls & burgers, a restaurant range of complete meals, healthy, vegetarian and low fat options, ice cream and food on the go to suit all tastes and lifestyles.

Bon Appetit also offers a free tasting service for up to 8 people to assess the food for taste, quality and variety. As Managing Director Keith Podum says quite rightly: "It's all about the food."

Offering Vending International an insight to the origins of the hot food phenomenon, Keith said: "We are creating the market. Nothing like this existed in 2004/5. With the recession, hot food vending has come into its own, as a cost saving service. We based our analysis of the service on work-based consumption and found that, as a nation, we spend £13.2 billion a year on food in the workplace - it's a big, competitive market. We have addressed all the key issues, a major one of which is speed. Our focus however, is as it should be, on the quality of the food - we use a lower tech solution, choosing to spend our money on developing our recipes and storage solutions."

Bon Appetit has just launched a new bar coded bag system, which means the products will be cooked precisely to the time registered. "This makes them totally ‘idiot proof' and even more convenient," said Keith.

"We mainly offer the self managed service - delivering food to an on site freezer. The catering industry does not see us as competition, but as a complementary service. If our customer has a canteen, we will offer to put a timer on the machine so that when the canteen is open, the machine is off offering a service only when closed."

The recession has, however, forced many businesses to look at their overheads. "For those looking at ways of cost cutting, it's a no brainer," says Keith. "By choosing a hot food vending machine over a traditional canteen, not only can you save up to 90% of your costs but you have the added benefit of being able to provide tasty meals 24 hours a day, seven days a week, making for a happier and more productive workforce."

Applications for this sort of service are endless insists Keith: "You could move it from the workplace into retail and public spaces - basically anywhere where there is a large footfall. The rest of the market perceives what we do as difficult, but it helps I suppose that we are from the Food Industry, not the Vending Industry."

In what is one of life's many contradictions we are on the one hand an increasingly health conscious society, while on the other we love fast food too much to give it up. Asked what his most popular products were, Keith didn't hesitate in his reply: "Hot breaded products make up 3/4 of our sales - paninis, burgers, and now the Beany a large pastry roll stuffed with sausage and beans."

Talking of health, Keith adds: "People have low expectations of this type of food: as soon as you mention the words ‘vending', ‘frozen food' and ‘microwave' the assumption is that it will be low quality. All our food is however, handmade to restaurant quality as we also operate in the home delivery market and the general consensus at taste tests is: ‘Wow! I wasn't expecting that.'"

Graddon Vending

Meanwhile, over at Graddon Vending, David Graddon spoke to Vending International about the company's latest offering, the Fed Well machine, which has just gone into Torbay hospital. Jofemar, the Spanish vending machine manufacturer, developed this automatic refrigerated vending machine to incorporate a heating module, allowing the machine to dispense hot ready meals in addition to soft drinks and refrigerated products. The heating time is programmable on a per product basis guaranteeing the meal will be served in the optimum condition. From Shepherds Pie to Lamb Hot Pot or Chicken Curry, these delicious meals are prepared via a method known as ‘Steam Fresh Cooking' for optimum nutrition.

"What we like about this machine is that it is easy to use - you put your money in and your meal is delivered in 60 seconds flat. All meals are stored at ambient temperature, which allows for a longer shelf life, reducing waste and maximizing sales. We saw the machine at AVEX this year and put it into our first site a month ago," said David.

David agreed that the big advantage of hot food vending is its ability to offer a 24-hour service with fewer overheads than a conventional canteen. Asked in which locations he expected the machines to be a hit, David suggested that universities, colleges and call centres could all benefit from the service. Unsociable working hours, inadequate kitchen provisions or culinary skills are more than likely to be the contributory factors, we would suggest. "I definitely think this machine will help move hot vending forward. I haven't really seen the market evolve, it has just stood still." Agreeing with Keith Podum's earlier comments David added: "Many vending companies simply do not want to get involved in what they see as a problematic area. The view is ‘we are vending operators, not caterers' and as a result there are not many of us offering this service, which can only be a good thing for us!"

Eagle Vending

According to online health resource FastFoodNation, Indian is one of our favourite fast foods here in the UK, eating (on average) around 2.2 curries per week - costing us a total of £2.8 billion per year.

As a result, Eagle Vending is now offering a range of curries and basmati rices providing a 24/7 food service solution. The meals are ethically created using 100 per cent natural ingredients and are said to be of restaurant quality.

The Veetee curry and rice dishes have a 12-month shelf life, achieved through an investment of £20 million from Veetee Ltd, who developed the microwavable packaging and micro-organism tested products without compromising on the natural quality of their ingredients. The rice and curry dishes take only two minutes to heat, or alternatively can be boiled or stir-fried, providing culinary-minded customers with the option to add additional ingredients such as extra vegetables or spices.

The products are aimed to cater to all palates, with 9 rice products and 12 curry options. With a recommended retail price of under £4 for a complete meal, the product provides a filling, high quality meal for an excellent price, and offers profit margins of approximately 30% per unit.

A number of the new Veetee machines are successfully on trial at the University of Kent in Canterbury. Keith William who is Head of Hospitality and Catering has said, "This is an exciting and unique new concept, one I'll be watching with interest."

Mike Steel from Eagle Vending describes the product as, "Your own restaurant service. With the introduction of a new range of ‘Made in Italy' microwave meals we can now offer an ‘East Meets West' dining experience."

So whether you are looking to cut costs or boost your service provision, hot food vending represents an ideal solution to all your catering needs.

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