The Vendies: Meet the Winners 2016

Lavazza is at the forefront of new innovations within the vending sector. Coffee is naturally at the centre of Lavazza’s universe with the experts in research and development are devoted to select the best qualities to use in Lavazza blends. Lavazza has a full portfolio of real coffee products for vending distributors; capsules beans and ground coffee. The supplier compliments this by offering branding packages allowing its approved distributors to maximise the profits available through a vending solution when selling fresh ground coffee. Its full suite of products is for forward thinking operators wishing to focus on real coffee experience and bringing the perfect espresso within everyone’s reach.

Over the past couple of years, Lavazza has continued to provide support to vending companies with its training centres. Its coffee specialists are dedicated to educate on how to handle real coffee for sales people, operators and engineers; it has had approximately 1800 people through its training centre in Uxbridge alone each year. This special part of Lavazza covers the vending, food service and retail sector.

Lavazza is more than just a quality coffee, it is also an opportunity for your everyday business. 120 years of dedication and passion qualifies the brand as the coffee experts to the professionals. From bean to blend, Lavazza takes pride in our coffee at every step. It is this level of care that ensures its products are of the highest quality.

Burts Potato Chips has recognised that healthier and better for you snacks are moving into all sectors and finding huge traction with Vending Companies. So the company invested in some new equipment 2015 to bring Lentil Waves to market, and the Thai Sweet Chilli flavour does not disappoint – great on flavour and only 99 calories per bag. What’s more, for operators, it is a zero VAT product. As a supplier Burts has found all parts of the UK have embraced this product in the Vending arena. All three flavours are rated in the top 15 ‘better for you’ snacks in the UK.

Kettle Chips, the original hand-cooked potato chip, is the UK’s number one premium crisp brand with sales growing strongly, well ahead of the total crisps & snacks market.

StockingKettle Chips represents a fantastic opportunity for vending operators to capitalize on the consumer appetite for better quality snacking options with no artificial ingredients or added MSG. Whilst Kettle Chips have long been consumed as an at home treat, the smaller bag enables consumers to also enjoy these great tasting crisps at lunch-time or when snacking on-the-go and enables Vending Operators to maximize the premium snacking opportunity. The chips are made with top quality potatoes, sunflower oil and authentic seasonings – hand cooked in small batches to give the distinctive golden colour, crunch and flavour of a Kettle Chip.
As a premium product for everyday indulgence, the 40g range of Kettle Chips is available in the following popular seasonings to suit a variety of tastes: Lightly Salted, Sea Salt & Balsamic Vinegar, Mature Cheddar & Red Onion, Sea Salt & Crushed Black Peppercorns, Sweet Chilli & Sour Cream and new Crispy Bacon & Maple Syrup.

Berrywhite organic drinks was founded by Andrew Jennings in 2011 in the United Kingdom based on the ethos of ‘tastes good, good for you, and good for others’. Goodness shared! The drinks were designed to be light and refreshing so that they could be drunk alongside food, but still be flavoursome as a thirst quencher when consumed on their own.

Berrywhite premium organic fruit drinks combine superfruits, healthy extracts and spring water to provide an amazing taste sensation with a lightness that refreshes.
The Berrywhite name indicates the characteristics of the drinks, with each flavour combination containing berries and white tea extract. There are four refreshing flavour combinations available as still drink in 330ml plastic bottles and as sparkling drinks in 250ml slim line cans: Cranberry & Guava, Peach & Goji Berry, Pomegranate & Blueberry, and Lemon & Ginger.
Acknowledging the trend for healthier options, Berrywhite drinks are organic, have no added sugar, and nothing artificial. Each drink has approximately 50% fruit juice content providing natural flavour. For every bottle and can purchased Berrywhite makes a donation to charity: www.berrywhitefoundation.org

Burts launched Hobgoblin Spit Roast Steak in 2015 and it has been a huge success in the Vending arena. The Wychwood Brewery collaborated with Burts, the nations tastiest Potato Chips, to bring a point of difference. The ‘mischievous’ brand for the vending snacking market, the crisps have a real meaty flavour, with a hint of ale to give an overall exceptional snacking experience. The Hobgoblin is really pushing Burts’ bestselling product ranges for vending suppliers, and commands spiral spaces across the UK.

Through industry research and direct consumer feedback, Coffetek has developed the ultimate smart phone app for connection to Coffetek hot beverage systems: the Button Barista App.
Through an intuitive Bluetooth connection, the consumer connects to a range of Coffetek hot beverage systems and is instantly recognised. They can customise their favourite hot beverage just the way they like it. Feedback from the beverage system updates you on the progress of your creation, from grinding beans through to extraction and delivery.

As a Button Barista, users can now save their favourite creation for use in the future – naming their masterpiece for easy recall, ensuring they never lose their secret recipe. Alternatively, you use your newly found skills to create beverages for friends, users can save the recipe with their name or nickname.

To make sure you don’t get too carried away, a simple usage tracker keeps you up to date on how many of your creations you have sampled.

As a Button Barista you get more, secret recipes already created not visible to non-Button Baristas.

Nayax’s VPOS card reader gives consumers the flexibility to pay any way they choose. The VPOS provides an all-in-one solution for Swipe, Chip, Contactless, Apple Pay operations, and prepaid cards for unattended automated machines.

Snack vending machines, coffee and drink machines, laundromats, children’s rides, electric vehicle charging stations, self-operated car washes, air pumps for tyres, car vacuum cleaners, rental lockers, personal safes, parking, and really an endless number of applications in the unattended machine industry can benefit from the VPOS and the rest of Nayax’s payment system. A universally certified solution, the VPOS utilizes the latest cashless technology so vending machine operators are able to accept all forms of payment with the added benefits of easy installation, clearance, monitoring, and management.
The VPOS card reader is part of a 360 degree vending payment solution, which also includes a telemetry system and a management business suite which takes advantage of real time data to allow operators to manage their businesses from anywhere, anytime.

The VPOS card reader is an extremely user-friendly, plug & play device that is compatible with all standard automated vending machines. It is easily installed and connected to telemetry systems like the Nayax Amit 3.0 unit and management systems like NayaxVend. The intuitive user interface and clear graphics allow new customers to understand the payment process. There is not just a digital text display that can show multiple languages, the device also has voice interaction.
Each operator receives reports from the Nayax system about sales, as well as alerts about machine inventory availability. Additionally, our Nayax support teams and engineers can monitor the cashless sales per cashless payment option. Nayax also helps operators market their business and compete with the store next door by promoting loyalty cards and pre-paid cards as well as Monyx, a mobile wallet application.

With over 100 years of industry experience, Benders Paper Cups is a leading UK manufacturer of paper cups for the Vending and On-The-Go markets. Benders manufacture a comprehensive range of Single Wall and Double W all cups developed specifically for Vending, supplied across the UK and Europe.

Working closely with machine manufacturers and sharing our knowledge ensures Operators enjoy trouble free vending, and development of the latest solutions. The Garda Embossed Double Wall cup typical of this, the perfect option for Operators growing into leisure vending and HoReCa channels.
Benders are committed to supporting the transition from plastic to paper vending cups, the consumer’s preferred choice when drinking out of the home; driven by the influence of the high street coffee market, the expectation of service from a vending machine is no different. Today’s consumers expect quality in every aspect of the drink, Benders paper cups specifically engineered to deliver trouble free vending with the look and feel of the high street, to support the vending of premium beverages and pricing, building business.

Benders paper cups extend Operator Corporate Social Responsibility, made from only PEFC-accredited paperboard from sustainably managed forestry, in our BRC A-Grade factory, meeting all UK and EU packaging regulations. Every cup has full Chain of Custody accreditation, traceable back to the forest where it was harvested to guarantee provenance.

Benders are a founder member of the Paper Cup Recovery & Recycling Group and Simply Cups, working towards general availability of paper cup recycling.
Benders drives Operator branding through its custom print, in six water-based inks to develop promotional designs, delivering dynamic marketing for Operators and Brands. The messaging is extended by Benders onto social media platforms for even wider awareness; and already included promotions, charity fund raising, social media campaigns and recycling.

Siemens Financial Services (SFS) provides vending operators with competitive financial solutions to help them improve cash flow while enabling their end-customers to acquire quality machines through affordable financing. The competitiveness of its financial solutions has helped SFS maintain its position as the premier financing provider to vendors: SFS has been providing finance to the vending industry for over 45 years.

• More than 80% of vending operators have been working with SFS for more than ten years.
• In 2016 SFS increased its year-on-year total financing volumes by 6%.
• Acceptance rates for vending financing proposals have grown consistently over the years, with a further increase in approved transactions from 2015 to 2016.
• Over 90% of finance transaction pay-outs to vending operators take place within 24 hours.
• SFS has always supported vendors with its unique financing packages and is dedicated to providing the best possible services to vending operators in the UK.

  As a service-oriented financier, SFS continues to develop close, long-term relationships with customers, and consistently delivers premium customer service:

• Underwriting approaches continue to be reviewed and refined to increase accessibility of finance to a broader range of customers. Speed of response is also continually improved; the number of automated acceptances for financing proposals continues to grow, enabling vending operators to finalise more deals faster.
• Customers benefit from dedicated account management. A growing number of field sales support specialists and internal sales support teams ensure the provision of exemplary service and fast responses to operator’s needs.
• SFS works with vending operators to develop innovative, bespoke financing packages, enabling operators to capitalise on evolving trends (e.g. on-the-go coffee market).
• SieSmart, Siemens Financial Services online multi-language, multi-currency finance application tool for equipment vendors, is regularly reviewed and updated to enhance functionality and ultimately improve users’ experience.
• Regular independent customer satisfaction surveys monitor service quality.

When it comes to environmental best practice, BRITA Professional stands out from its competitors. It provides its customers with a sustainable way of filtering water for their customers’ enjoyment and preventing equipment breakdown. BRITA helps operators all across the industry overcome challenges such as serving a sustainable supply chain, reducing waste and energy usage. At the heart of this is BRITA’s comprehensive recycling programme for exhausted filters, which are 100% recyclable. Each year, almost 1.4 million cartridges are returned and recycled at its purpose built facility in Germany. Its recycling strategy has a lasting impact.

The plastic casing of each filter is granulated and remoulded for products such as park benches; the carbon is reused in other industries and the ion exchange resin is regenerated. Each year 100 tonnes of plastic is put back into the market through this process. BRITA’s recycling philosophy has been deeply rooted in the business since 1992 and the culture of responsibility extends across the entire worldwide group, determining the company’s attitude to the environment, as well as to its employees, business partners and society as a whole. Since 2010, BRITA has been using 100% TÜV-certified, environmentally friendly hydropower throughout its headquarters in Taunusstein, Germany – resulting in annual CO₂ savings of 2,540 tonnes. Its UK offices use certified green renewable energy, and all BRITA products are TÜV-certified, proving BRITA’s limited impact on the environment through its reduced carbon footprint.

In the UK, BRITA set out to achieve zero waste to landfill by 2012 and reduce its carbon footprint by building on the company-wide recycling programme already in place for exhausted filters. To achieve this the UK head office set up a designated Green Team to ensure waste management was a priority. Since then, the Team has been instrumental in achieving zero waste to landfill in the UK and securing gold status in the National Recycling Star Awards. The Green Team’s focus on waste reduction has achieved impressive results with 97.2% of site waste now recycled using containers located where the waste is generated – making it easy for all employees to contribute to the process. Since 2012, the company has grown its waste streams in the factory from 16 bins to 32 separate material streams. Waste is extracted from the compactor and sorted accordingly. To tackle more complex materials, such as polystyrene, BRITA has invested in machinery that processes materials on-site to form polystyrene ‘brickettes’ that are subsequently used for animal bedding. The remaining 2.8% of waste is removed from the site and turned into renewable energy using an incinerator. Engagement with employees has been key. With advice from the Green Team and more signage placed throughout the building, employees are filling 1,100 recycling bags – almost double what was previously recycled. LED lighting has been installed at BRITA UK enabling it to be more energy efficient. In the two years since installation, BRITA has saved over 100,000kW of electricity – enough to power 31 average UK households or boil 760,000 kettles.

The single cup dispenser is an effective and hygienic solution to a common and widely recognised problem and, since the unit was introduced by 4 Aces, as sole supplier to the UK market, eight years ago, sales have gone from strength to strength.

A decade ago, the water cooler industry was working tirelessly to promote the importance of hygiene in and around water coolers. The issue of the day was the constant risk of germs on the cups that were being pulled and pushed from various dispensing devices, not to mention potential cross contamination when said cups were put back into the top of the dispenser for reuse.

We were keen to find a solution that would remove the risk of touching any cups other than the one dispensed. This would not only address the hygiene and sanitation issue; it would also be of great benefit to the environment as, by controlling the amount of cups dispensed, it would alleviate a lot of waste.

The touch level cup dispenser we eventually sourced and now supply is fast and efficient, with a strong, simple mechanism that has been designed to dispense both paper and plastic cups one at a time, eliminating multiple cup drop outs.

Since 2008, we’ve sold over 100,000 units to water cooler and vending distributors who have introduced them across various sectors. Our single cup dispensers can now be found in hospitals, care homes, dentists, clinics, kitchens, schools, washrooms and health centres, where germs are most common – not to mention a whole host of other locations.

The cup sleeve is emptied into the unit with the lid placed down and voila. The dispenser allows single cup dispensing rather than multi cup pull outs that usually get placed back in the top of the unit, affecting the clean stack if the user has a cold, cough or general poor hygiene.

Demand continues to grow for this product as more and more customers get to hear about it and see it and its reputation continues to soar. Once the product has been demonstrated and the full benefits explained, customers are keen to engage.

Eliminating cross-contamination and general cup waste, the touch level cup dispenser deserves its position in our company history as a pivotal product that has been a boon for a lot of our customers, has generated good business and is doing its bit to keep coughs, colds and sneezes at bay.