expensive price and sold healthy
products on his own.
"As I thought about it, brand was
important and brand extensions
would be important," he said.
The franchise gave him access
to an established healthy brand
name. Currently, Walters services
23 machines. His average item sells
for $2.50. "A lot of these food items
are signifcantly more expensive [than
traditional vending items]," he admit-
ted. His biggest hurdle is that consum-
ers are not as aware of the products
or brands he offers in his machines,
especially when they previously had
traditional vending. Many of the prod-
ucts are produced by smaller compa-
nies that aren't national name brands.
To give consumers a chance to
taste the products, Walters offers a
box of product free to a location for
events, usually a lesser known brand.
"Once people become familiar with
the brands and products, they fnd
something that fts their taste palate,"
explained Walters, "which drives
organic growth at a single location."
Walters feels very positive about
his business and is expecting to make
$350,000 in annual revenue with his
current projections.
Schools are another location
where healthy vending machines are
very popular, especially with the new
Smart Snacks in School Standards in
place. Mandated by the federal gov-
ernment, these standards establish
minimum nutritional guidelines for
snacks in school vending machines.
Todd Weishaus, a Fresh Healthy
Vending franchisee in Southeast
Michigan, has been placing machines
for 3 years and fnds middle and high
schools ideal locations. "Schools are
''
I won't take
a location
that isn't a
good ft.
''
Todd Weishaus, Fresh Healthy Vending
Franchise Operator, Michigan
28 Automatic Merchandiser VendingMarketWatch.com April 2015
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