How much do New York City consumers really know about the snacks and beverages they consume? Some attributes like price, convenience and taste are relatively easy to determine, but whether an item was produced in an environmentally sustainable way is a lot harder to figure out.

In addition to taste (86 percent), price (68 percent) and convenience (57 percent), the International Food Information Council (IFIC) Foundation’s 2019 Food and Health Survey determined that sustainability (54 percent) is an important factor when it comes to making a purchasing decision. 

Unfortunately, those 54 percent of participants have different interpretations about what makes a product environmentally sustainable, creating some confusion. The following list includes the top six interpretations of environmentally sustainable.

• locally produced products: 51 percent 
• products labeled as sustainably produced: 47 percent 
• products labeled as non-GMO/not bio-engineered: 47 percent  
• products labeled as organic: 44 percent
• products that have recyclable packaging: 41 percent
• products that have minimal packaging: 35 percent

With 63 percent of the survey participants also agreeing that it is hard to know if a product is environmentally sustainable, the confusion about the definition of environmentally sustainable makes sense. But a definition does exist. According to the U.N.’s Brundtland Commission on sustainable development, “sustainable development [meets] the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” 

To determine if a snack or beverage is sustainable look for the following certifications: USDA Organic, Animal Welfare Approved, Certified Humane Raised and Handled, Fair Trade USA Certified and Rainforest Alliance Certified. Another approach is to learn about a brand and the specific types of ingredients that brand uses. If an employee or student trusts a brand and is familiar with the types of ingredients that a brand uses, they are more likely to purchase that brand’s snacks and beverages. 

New York City employers and schools can help ensure that environmentally sustainable products are available for their employees and students by including vending machines with healthy and organic options in their break room or school lunchroom. Healthy Vending makes that even easier for local businesses and schools by only offering vending machines with healthy snacks and beverages. 

For more information about our menu, including healthy, all-natural and organic snacks and beverages, please call us at 917.572.3671. 

Choosing healthy snacks is becoming easier for New York City employers and students thanks to a new initiative by the International Food and Beverage Alliance (IFBA), a group of 12 leading global food and beverage companies.

According to a recent IFBA press release, the organization “is determined to innovate and optimize the composition of members’ products in order to help contribute to the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) goal of eliminating industrially produced trans-fat (iTFA) from the global food supply by 2023.”

In other words, snacks and beverages, especially those made by IFBA companies, should have less artificial trans fats in them and be a lot healthier for New York City consumers. 

What are trans fats, and why are they unhealthy?

Trans fats come in two forms: naturally occurring and artificial. Naturally occurring trans fats come from some animals, are found in smaller quantities and have been found to be beneficial. Artificial trans fats, on the other hand, are the result of a chemical process that adds hydrogen to liquid vegetable oils creating a solid product and are very unhealthy. 

Because artificial trans fats are inexpensive to produce, have a longer shelf life than other fats and add a desirable taste and texture, they have historically been used as an ingredient in a wide variety of processed foods such as pie crusts, biscuits, frozen pizza, cookies and crackers.

Consuming artificial trans fats increases New York City individuals’ risk of developing heart disease and having a stroke because the artificial trans fats raise bad (LDL) cholesterol levels and lower good (HDL) cholesterol levels. Artificial trans fats are also linked to long-term inflammation, type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance. 

Healthier Choices

For heart health, the American Heart Association suggests enjoying a diet that emphasizes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, low-fat dairy, poultry and fish. When freshly prepared food is not available such as in many New York City break rooms or school lunchrooms, processed snacks made with unhydrogenated oil including canola, safflower, sunflower and olive oil are a great option. 

Healthy Vending, a full-service vending company, would like to provide your school or business with vending machines full of all-natural and organic snacks (with healthy fats) and beverages. For more information or to schedule a product sampling, please contact us at 917.572.3671.

Healthy treats and sweet treats are often perceived by many New York City residents to be two very different things. One of them provides nutritional value while the other is full of unhealthy ingredients. But the term “healthy treat” doesn’t always have to refer to something that is a substitute for a preferred sweet treat. 

In fact, a treat doesn’t even need to be edible for it to be a treat. It might be purchasing music, fresh flowers, a new book, or new supplies for a favorite hobby. The most important thing is that the person who is enjoying it perceives it to be special and looks forward to the experience.

Treats, in all their forms, also help New York City employees build new and maintain current healthy habits. According to Gretchen Rubin, author and happiness expert, “When we don’t get any treats, we start to feel deprived—and feeling deprived is a very bad frame of mind for good habits. When we feel deprived, we feel entitled to put ourselves back in balance…and feel entitled to break our good habits.”

A delicious and healthy sweet treat that employers can offer their New York City employees, especially Millennials, is chocolate. While there are different types of chocolate consumers, Millennials, the largest generation in the workforce, tend to prefer a mix of dark, milk and white chocolate products made with high-quality cocoa by companies who value social/environmental stewardship. 

Chocolate also offers several health benefits. Made from different combinations of cocoa solids, cocoa butter, cocoa bean powder, sugar and milk powder, there are many options to choose from. Cocoa, the prime ingredient, contains antioxidants which benefits cardiovascular heath while flavonoids perform a variety of jobs such as helping control insulin sensitivity, improving blood flow, and protecting the skin against UV damage. 

Dark chocolate contains the highest amount of cocoa followed by milk chocolate then white chocolate. Milk chocolate contains a smaller percentage of cocoa solids and cocoa butter than dark chocolate plus milk powder and more sugar. While the milk powder and decreased amount of cocoa creates a smoother and sweeter chocolate, milk chocolate also has fewer flavonoids. White chocolate, made from sugar, milk, and a small amount of cocoa butter, doesn’t contain any flavonoids making it quite sweet. 

For chocolate to provide the most health benefits, it needs to be made with a higher percentage of cocoa, and avoid processing methods such as fermenting, alkalizing, and roasting that cause important flavonoids to be lost. Overall, sweet treats can be part of a balanced diet if New York City employees pay attention to portion sizes and frequency of consumption.

To support your New York City employees and students in making healthy “sweet treat” choices during their work or school day, it is important to create an environment where healthy options are the norm. Healthy Vending would like to help your organization customize an all-natural vending machine menu for your work break room or school lunchroom.

For more information or to schedule a product sampling, please call Healthy Vending at 917.572.3671. 

Healthy, convenient and consistent are three attributes that New York City consumers look for when deciding where to purchase snacks and beverages on the go. According to a recent survey by Vixxo, a leading facility management company, 33 percent of the 1,000 consumers surveyed said that they visit a convenience store daily, and two out of three visit a convenience store once or more every week. 

With so many individuals going to convenience stores for cold beverages and snacks as part of their daily routine, workplace break rooms must compete with the pull of local convenience stores. To draw employees to break room vending machines instead of watching them go off-site for a quick bite to eat or cold beverage, it’s important to understand what’s important to consumers who visit convenience stores. 

Healthy

Based on the Vixxo study, one third of participants turn to convenience stores for healthy foods. Even more consumers would visit a local convenience store if that store offered healthy options. Rather than employees going off-site to find a healthy snack or beverage, New York City employers could offer healthy options in break room vending machines.

Convenient

Convenience is key. With 51 percent of survey participants using location as the main reason they went to one convenience store over another, employers have an opportunity to draw more employees to break room vending machines. Add highly desired and healthy products to break room vending machines, and the likelihood of New York City employees purchasing them increases. The opposite of that is also true. If employees don’t want the any of the options available in the break room, they will go elsewhere to find what they are looking for.

Consistent

In a convenience store environment, a consistent experience builds brand loyalty. “Jim Reavey, President & CEO at Vixxo explained, “Convenience stores that offer consumers more variety and quality will command the greatest loyalty and grow their businesses.” To learn more about which products employees want to purchase, try surveying them. The results might be surprising.

Consistently offering healthy, sought-after snacks and beverages in state-of-the-art break room vending machines will create a positive and convenient refreshment experience that New York City employees can rely on day after day. For more information about adding vending machines with healthy snacks and beverages to your break room, please call Healthy Vending at 917.572.3671.

Whether they are organic or not, healthy snacks need to be available to New York City students during the school day. Not only do healthy snacks provide much needed nutrition, but they also help students focus and be more productive. One California company is taking things into their own hands to help ensure that they have the necessary ingredients to make their healthy products.

CLIF Bar & Company, a snack bar manufacturer, has created the Clif Ag Fund. The purpose of the fund is to help organic farmers in Clif Bar’s supply chain become more resilient when faced with future economic challenges. 

For the Clif Ag Fund’s first investment, Clif Bar & Company explained that the fund “will help finance a $10 million program that could provide up to 80 organic farms with long-term energy cost savings from hosting on-farm wind turbines.” Since organic farmers already deal with thin margins, the long-term energy cost savings are very important.

Out to the Fields

Organic farming is hard. Converting land from traditional farming to organic farming is a multi-year process that requires a lot of trial and error while learning to manage soil quality without prohibited fertilizers and to prevent weeds and insects without herbicides and insecticides. While difficult, increasing the growing number of successful organic farms is crucial to the future of the organic food industry.

As of 2018, data provided by the Organic Trade Association showed that there was a 48 percent increase in total growth of organic sales since 2011. Unfortunately, during the same time period, there was only a 20 percent increase in organic farmland. If the number of successful organic farms doesn’t increase, it will be hard to sustain the growing demand for organic food.

Back to the School Lunchroom

With Healthy Vending providing vending machines in schools, New York City parents don’t need to worry about how their students will find healthy snacks during the school day. All of Healthy Vending’s vending machines offer healthy and/or organic snacks and beverages that meet or exceed the minimum nutritional standards established by the USDA School Food Service Program. Proper nutrition is key to successful learning for both students and adults.

For more information about offering healthy vending machine options in your New York City schools or office break rooms, please call Healthy Vending at 917.572.3671. We look forward to working with you to customize a healthy vending machine menu that all your students or employees can enjoy.

Blueberries are a delicious healthy snack that are often enjoyed by themselves or as an ingredient in something else. This time of year, blueberries can be found almost everywhere from farmer’s markets to pick-your-own farms to the grocery store. July is especially important for blueberry lovers; it’s National Blueberry Month!

Some blueberry related healthy snacks or mini meals that New York City employees might enjoy during their day include blueberry breakfast bars, blueberry muffins, blueberry yogurt or parfait, blueberry smoothies, a fruit salad with blueberries or a dark green salad with blueberries and nuts. Choosing to eat multiple mini meals or snacks during the day can help employees meet nutritional requirements, control blood sugar, and maintain metabolism. 

And that is true whether or not New York City employees choose to enjoy blueberries. It is important for everyone to consume enough fruit in their diet. According to ChooseMyPlate.gov, the recommended number of fruit servings per day depends on the individual, but the CDC “federal guidelines recommend that adults eat at least 1½ to 2 cups per day of fruit.”   

Reading the ingredient list on the packaging of a healthy snack is a great way to see if that snack contains any fruit. If blueberries are a primary ingredient, they will be listed toward the front of the list as ingredients with the largest amounts are listed first followed by the others in descending order. The nutrition panel on the package is another place to find information about a snack. It lists the serving size, how many servings in the package, calories per serving and other nutrients.  

For blueberries, 1 cup (148 grams) of fresh blueberries contains 84 calories, 0.3 g fat, 0.0 mg cholesterol, 1.0 mg sodium, 21.5 g total carbohydrates, 14.7 g sugar, 3.6 g fiber and 1.1 g protein. There is also 9 mg of calcium, 9 mg of magnesium, 0.4 mg of iron, 18 mg of phosphorus, 114 mg of potassium, 14.4 mg of vitamin c, 9 µg of folate, 80 IU of vitamin a, and 28.6 µg of vitamin k.

Learning about nutrients is important. Some – like saturated and trans fats, cholesterol and sodium – can be very unhealthy when consumed because they increase the risk of developing certain diseases. Healthy nutrients do the opposite; they can help reduce the risk of developing some diseases, and healthy employees are much better for New York City businesses.

Employers have the opportunity to contribute to the health and wellness of their employees by offering healthy snacks and beverages in their break room vending machines. Employees only need to take a quick trip to the break room instead of going off-site to find a healthy option. 

What healthy choices does your New York City break room offer? To learn more about healthy refreshment options, and how you can turn your break room into a great employee benefit, call Healthy Vending at 917.572.3671. 

The future of healthy snacks looks bright according to Fact.MR, a market research firm. Their recent report examined current and future scenarios of the snack market for the years between 2017 and 2022 and found promising data for the healthy snack sector. 

According to the report, changes in the definition of health and wellness have led New York City consumers to seek transparency when it comes to the ingredients in their favorite snacks. Unlike previous years when a brand name, by itself, could sell a snack, today’s consumers prioritize the quality of ingredients over brand names. In addition to organic ingredients, non-genetically modified organism (GMO), clean, low-sugar, gluten-free, and healthy ingredients are at the top of the most wanted ingredients list.

Two additional characteristics continue to influence consumer demand. These new snacks must have the ability to bridge the gap between nutritious and indulgent and offer ingredient lists that take regional or local taste preferences into account. 

Now that we know healthy snacks aren’t going anywhere, what can New York City employees and students expect to find in their break room and lunchroom vending machines? Both snack bars and sippable or ready-to-eat soups will likely make an appearance, if they haven’t already. 

While snack bars will continue to be consumed as snacks, many will be used to replace a meal. Bars used as meal replacements will need to offer nutritious ingredients including a variety of healthy proteins. Healthy sippable soups can also function as a snack or a meal thanks to healthy ingredients, convenience, and versatility. 

Which healthy snacks do your New York City employees or students look for when they need a quick bite to eat? Do they have a favorite beverage? It’s important to understand which products they reach for first in order to be able to offer the most highly desired products. 

We would like to help your organization or school customize a healthy vending machine menu to meet your specific needs. For more information or to schedule a product sampling, please call Healthy Vending at 917.572.3671.

It’s time for a new approach to choosing break room snacks and beverages. It’s time to seriously consider organic options for your New York City employees. According to Nielsen, a global measurement and data analytics company, “Organics no longer appeal to a single segment or specialty audience, but are mainstream.” That’s right. Organic snacks and beverages are not a fad. 

While all age groups or generations are purchasing more organic products, Millennials continue to lead the pack. They spend an average of 13.8 percent more on organic products followed by GenX at 9.5 percent. But don’t discount GenX as a consumer group. Gen Xers take up 35 percent of the overall U.S. workforce.

The top selling organic categories include cow’s milk, pre-packaged salads, eggs and bars. Even though the majority of vending machines in the U.S. don’t sell cow’s milk or raw eggs, there are many different types of organic snacks that are made with them that are sold in vending machines.  

Is it worth it?

For many New York City employees and students, deciding whether or not to spend the extra money for organic is a challenging decision. After years of research, many in the medical community say, “yes, it’s worth it.”  The following list examines why.

• Nutrients: choosing organic can increase consumed antioxidants and reduce harmful toxic heavy metals
• Omega-3 fatty acids: organically raised animals generally have higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids, an important fat for heart health
• Pesticides: choosing organically grown produce helps reduce the amount of harmful pesticides that are consumed
• Immune health: consuming organically grown and raised plants and animals helps avoid excess exposure to antibiotics and genetically-modified plants improving the immune system

What can we do?

One way New York City employers and school districts can help their employees or students is by offering great-tasting organic options via break room and lunchroom vending machines. This removes a key barrier – having to go offsite. It also helps provide healthy choices while everyone is out during the day. 

Are you interested in learning more? Healthy Vending can help. We offer a wide selection of snack and beverage products at a price equal to many unhealthy ones. We also work with school districts to ensure all items sold meet or exceed minimum nutritional standards. For more information or to schedule a product sampling, please contact us at 917.572.3671.

“With KIND® Minis, we aim to turn the industry’s approach to small portion single-serve snacks upside down.”     – Daniel Lubetzky, Founder & CEO of KIND

KIND Healthy Snacks (KIND) is known for its variety of snacking options that can be enjoyed at any time of the day from breakfast to a late afternoon snack. The organization’s new product line, KIND Minis, fills a void left by empty-calorie, single-serve snacks that have been around since the introduction of the small portion snack category.

In line with other KIND products, KIND Minis have nutrient-dense ingredients that provide protein and fiber while using less refined carbohydrates such as flour, sugar or corn. The first ingredient in the bars is either almonds, peanuts or cashews. Lubetzky isn’t surprised that other food manufacturers use flours, sugar and corn more frequently because those ingredients are inexpensive compared to most nuts. For example, the cheaper ingredients, on average, are $2.16 per pound less expensive than the nuts.

But, there is also a not-so-obvious cost to New York City consumers that is connected to the lower-cost ingredients. Those ingredients are highly processed and can increase the risk of obesity, which is already a problem for the 39.6 percent of adults and 18.5 percent of children who are already considered obese. Unfortunately, obesity opens a door to a number of other serious health conditions including diabetes and hypertension.

The increased risk associated with highly processed ingredients is a problem for many New York City employees and students as half of all eating occasions today are snacks, and 63 percent of individuals use snacks as a way to consume nutrients, but it doesn’t have to be. One part of the solution, where employers or schools can have an impact, is to offer better-for-you snacks and beverages to your employees or students in their workplace break room or school lunchroom. Being able to access healthier options on-site is one way to make choosing healthier easy.   

In addition to products like KIND Minis, better-for-you snacks in your New York City break room might include protein bars with lower amounts of sugar, baked chips made from ingredients such as sweet potato, brown rice or lentils, and dried or fresh fruit. Healthier beverages that promote hydration, another aspect of staying healthy, include flavored or plain mineral or traditional bottled water, unsweetened iced tea or coconut water. 

Does your New York City break room or school lunchroom provide your employees or students with opportunities to access healthy snacks and beverages on-site? Healthy Vending would like to help you offer your employees or students better-for-you snacking choices at prices that are similar to traditional products. To schedule a snack or beverage product sampling, please contact Healthy Vending at 917.572.3671.

Even if you haven’t heard of the term “snack meal,” you’ve likely experienced it with the 86 percent of Americans who already have. A snack meal is a healthy snack eaten in place of a traditional meal, and more and more people are incorporating them into their diet. For example, according to a recent survey performed for Farm Rich, the average New York City employee consumes five snack meals each week and is likely to eat their snack meals instead of lunch.

Shannon Gilreath, Director of Marketing at Farm Rich, shared that “People are no longer feeling bound to the traditional three meals a day, which gives them more variety and time back to do the things they enjoy most, and for many, that doesn’t involve a ton of time in the kitchen, especially on busy days.”

Of the different generations of New York City employees, Millennials are the most likely to believe that “three standard meals a day is a thing of the past.” Unlike older generations who look at snacks as a way to curb cravings, Millennials use snacks as way to refuel without needing a lot of time to grocery shop, prepare a meal, and then sit down to eat it. Snack meals need to be easy and quick to prepare and portable.

Farm Rich’s survey found that the top healthy choices are cheese, crackers, fruit, chips, nuts, veggies, yogurt, and pretzels. The right combination of these healthy options will enable employees to create small meals that meet their own unique nutritional needs.

One way New York City employers can help their employees meet their meal/snacking needs is to offer healthy snack meals (with beverages) in their break room vending machines. Access to healthy, onsite options will not only save time, but it also provides employees with the fuel they need to recharge, giving them the energy to have a productive day.

If you’d really like to give your New York City employees a boost, consider implementing one of the following vending solutions – their wallets will thank you.

Subsidized Vending: The prices of the items in the vending machine are lowered. At the end of each month, your company receives a bill for the difference.

Free Vending: All the products in your vending machines are free. Your company receives an invoice at the end of each month and pays the entire cost.

For more information about customizing the right healthy vending machine menu for your employees, contact Healthy Vending at 917.572.3671.