brand manager. "As vending consumers look to satisfy their
sweet cravings with new and exciting product offerings,
Mrs. Freshley's Icers are the perfect solution to fll that need
through a conveniently packaged and delicious treat."
Operator–focused technology
Technology integration in the vending industry is slowly
but surely occurring. More operators are using technology
to drive effciencies and proftability. In fact, Automatic
Merchandiser reported last year that 5.8 percent of opera-
tors added a vending management system (VMS) the prior
year, bringing that number to 58 percent of total operators
using a VMS. It comes as no surprise then that readers voted
Gimme Systems as the winner in the Technology category.
Gimme Vending released a new true plug-and-play solution
last year that gives vending machine owners the ability to
track cash and inventory and speed service calls, thanks to
a pocket-sized device that transmits information instantly
to handheld devices/mobile phones. The Gimme System, a
combination hardware/software solution, allows vending
companies to track what's happening in the feld, in real-
time, via the cloud, without downloading, synchronizing
or hand-keying. "Gimme is on a mission to ensure every
vending operator can reap the benefts of accessing better
data and better insights in order to improve proftability,"
said Cory Hewett, CEO of Gimme Vending. "In this spirit,
we build technology that connects every vending machine
to the Internet, regardless of where these machines are
located. We are working collaboratively with leading VMS
providers to usher in this new 'era of insight' for vending."
The Gimme System solution integrates with existing
VMS and turns traditional vending machines into data-
producing, "smart" machines.
New products drive the industry forward, therefore
it's our pleasure to support and promote these leaders of
industry innovation.
Methodology
Readers' Choice Products of the Year were voted on by
more than 800 Automatic Merchandiser and Vending-
MarketWatch.com readers in a period between January
2016 and February 2016 via a survey promoted through
email, print and social media. All products nominated
were released and submitted to editorial staff in 2015.
April 2016 VendingMarketWatch.com Automatic Merchandiser 31
S T A N D I N G H E A D E R