Have you ever wondered who purchases bottled water? As it turns out, just about everyone does. According to the International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) and the Beverage Marketing Corporation (BMS), “Americans are drinking more bottled water than any other packaged beverage” for the first time in American history. A recent Harris poll conducted for the IBWA found that 86 percent of people polled purchase bottled water. Additionally, the BMS recently released numbers for 2016 bottled water sales. They found that there was a 10 percent increase in sales and an 8.6 percent increase in bottled water consumption. Now, that’s a lot of bottled water.

So, what makes bottled water so popular? The answer depends on who you talk to. Bottled water offers many benefits and has the potential to meet a wide variety of New York City consumer needs. The following are just a few of the features that have made bottled water popular.

Bottled water is versatile.

• It can be consumed at any time of the day.
• Water mixes well with many other types of beverages.
• You can drink it cold or hot.
• It can be found with carbonation or without, and flavored or plain.

Bottled water is healthy.

• It contains zero calories.
• It keeps the body hydrated.
• It can improve one’s mood and focus.
• It can help replenish lost electrolytes.

Bottled water is portable.

• It is convenient when one is on-the-go.
• It is easy to carry it with you.
• Bottled water is available in many locations.
• Disposal of the bottle is relatively simple.

Bottled water is safe.

• It is regulated as a food product by the Food & Drug Administration.
• Bottled water has a long shelf life.
• An extra supply should be kept for an emergency or disaster situation.
• It can help prevent illness when traveling outside of the U.S.

With the great demand for bottled water, it is important to make sure that your New York City employees have access to a variety of bottled water choices during their work day. Not only will you help your employees remain hydrated during the day but their mood and focus are likely to improve if they are hydrated. A large selection of low or no sugar, flavored carbonated waters can also be a refreshing treat during a work break.

What bottled water options do you offer in your office break room? Healthy Vending can help you determine the best combination of flat and carbonated bottled waters as well as other beverages to offer in your office break room or school lunch room. To learn more, contact us at 917.572.3671.

What do you look for when buying a snack? Taste? Convenience? Price? If you are like a growing number of New York City consumers, you are evaluating your snacks for fiber, protein, and sugar before you purchase them. According to Gil Bakal, managing director at A&B Ingredients, “protein and fiber are the two most popular ingredients consumers demand, and the trend crosses Millennials, Gen Xers, and Boomers.”

Don’t confuse the new demand for protein with the existing market for high-protein-based meal replacement items. These new snacks contain a moderate level of protein and are meant to hold the New York City consumer over until their next meal, not function as a post-workout snack or meal replacement. According to recent research, consumers are looking for proteins that are less processed, offer a wide range of health benefits, and taste good. Plant-based proteins such as legumes, nuts, seeds, and a handful of grains meet all of those requirements and more.

Legumes

So, what are legumes? Legumes are what most of us call beans, lentils, or peas. But, looking at it that way doesn’t acknowledge the wide variety of legumes or their nutritional power. Here’s a list of just some of the legumes that are available:  adzuki beans, black beans, black-eyed peas, broad beans or fava beans, calico beans, cannellini beans, garbanzo beans or chickpeas, kidney beans, lentils, lima beans, mung beans, navy beans, peanuts, pinto beans, and soybeans or edamame. These tiny powerhouses are

• An excellent source of protein, low in fat, and a good source of soluble and insoluble fiber
• Nutrient dense or contain a high number of vitamins, minerals, and other healthy nutrients relative to the number of calories
• Helpful for weight control and reducing the risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and colon and other cancers

Nuts

Nuts often get a bad rap because of their high number of calories, but one doesn’t need to eat a lot of nuts to get a great nutritional benefit. Nuts often help lower LDL or bad cholesterol and contain Omega-3 fatty acids, fiber, vitamin E, and L-arginine, a substance that makes the artery walls more flexible. Here are a few of the more commonly used nuts and their benefits.

• Almonds: high in magnesium, calcium, vitamin E, and selenium; lower LDL or bad cholesterol, and helps preventing colon cancer because of the high fiber content
• Walnuts: support brain function, improve heart health, and cognitive function; contain ellagic acid, an antioxidant, and 16 disease-fighting polyphenols
• Pistachios: help with heart health, weight management, and digestion, and protect against diabetes and hypertension
• Cashews: high in vitamins E, K, and B6, copper, phosphorus, zinc, magnesium, iron, and selenium
• Brazil Nuts: high in heart-healthy nutrients and minerals like copper, niacin, vitamin E, fiber, magnesium, and selenium

Seeds

Even though seeds are small, they pack a huge nutritional punch. Many seeds contain fiber, protein, vitamin E, and omega-3 fatty acids, an anti-inflammatory. Seeds are known to help prevent weight gain, the accumulation of LDL or bad cholesterol, and the development of heart disease. Here’s a list of a few of the more well-known seeds.

• Hemp: contains 10 essential amino acids and disease-fighting phytosterols and 40% fiber; supports heart health
• Sunflower: high in folate, good fats, vitamin E, selenium, and copper; supports heart health and works against cellular damage
• Sesame: high in calcium, magnesium, zinc, fiber, iron, vitamin B1, and phosphorus; contains lignans (cholesterol-fighting fibers), lowers blood pressure and protects the liver
• Pumpkin: high in omega-3 fatty acids, zinc, carotenoids, an antioxidant that supports the immune system, and phytosterols or plant components that help stabilize cholesterol
• Chia: contains fiber, protein, 34% pure omega-3 fatty acids, various antioxidants, and calcium; stabilize blood sugar, promote heart health, and increase weight loss

Grains

The grains listed here are ones that usually don’t appear at the top of a most popular grain list. Quinoa, wild rice, and oats offer health benefits that can turn almost any snack into a healthy one.

• Quinoa: contains fiber, iron, lysine, B2 (riboflavin), manganese, and magnesium; reduces high blood pressure and diabetes, lowers cholesterol and glucose levels, and helps keep red blood cells healthy
• Wild Rice: high in antioxidants, protein, fiber, vitamin C, phosphorous, and zinc; helps with heart health, digestion, and bone strength and density, and boosts the immune system
• Oats: contains beta-glucan (a type of fiber), avenanthramides (an antioxidant), and magnesium; helps lower cholesterol levels, the risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, breast cancer, and helps fight infection

Which of these healthy ingredients would your New York City employees or students like to see in their next snack? Make the process of locating healthy snacks and beverages easier for them by including vending machines from Healthy Vending in your office breakroom or school. Contact us at 917.572.3671 to learn more about our line of products and vending solutions.

Is it healthy, not so healthy, or somewhere in between? If it’s not so healthy, you are part of a large number of Americans who feel that their diet is unhealthy. Recent research by Mintel, a market intelligence agency, found that “less than half (42 percent) of Americans consider their diet to be healthy.” Yikes!

While negative dietary influences vary greatly from person to person, there is one thing that impacts the majority of New York City consumers—being able to determine the validity of health-related claims on food packaging. As a consumer, how can you combat the uncertainty that often comes with reading food packaging?

Before looking at the packaging issue, it is important to understand what a food or health-related claim is. The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) describes a health claim as “a relationship between a food substance (a food, food component, or dietary supplement ingredient), and reduced risk of a disease or health-related condition.” An example of an FDA approved health claim that explains the benefit of calcium on the risk of osteoporosis is, “Adequate calcium throughout life, as part of a well-balanced diet, may reduce the risk of osteoporosis.” For a manufacturer to be able to include this claim on the packaging of one of their products, the product must meet a list of specific requirements.

Given that it is often difficult to know those requirements while reading different packaging, the nutrition label and ingredient list are a great resource. Ingredient lists and nutrition labels often contain a large amount of information. To better understand that information, here are a few strategies for reading them.

Nutrition Labels

• Determine how big or small the serving size is for each packaged item. Often the serving size is different than the amount of food or drink in the package. To correctly understand the other information on the nutrition label, knowing the correct serving size is key.
• Understand that the “percentage daily value” listed on the nutrition label is not the same for everyone. Most nutrition labels are based on a 2000 calorie per day diet. If you are taller or shorter or male or female or 17 or 39 or 82 or super active or a couch potato, it is likely that your caloric needs are different. Use the amount listed, 2000 calories per day, and adjust it up or down based on your own needs.
• Pay special attention to the amount of sugar, unhealthy fats, and sodium that are in a serving as those are ingredients that many individuals need to limit.

Ingredient Lists

• Look for recognizable ingredients. If it is an item that you have never heard of or cannot pronounce, look it up or ask someone what it is.
• Consider which ingredients are listed first or early in the list of ingredients. The earlier the ingredient is listed, the larger the amount is of that ingredient.
• If choosing a food that doesn’t come in a labeled package such as fruits or vegetables isn’t an option, choose products that have shorter ingredient lists. (See previous tip)

Now that you are armed with a few strategies for understanding the information on packaged foods and beverages, you are ready to head out and make healthy snack and beverage choices.

We at Healthy Vending would like to help make things a little easier for everyone by offering a selection of all-natural and organic snacks and beverages in your New York City school lunch room or office breakroom. For more information about our products and services, call us at 917.572.3671.

The definition of the word snack has changed. It no longer refers only to something that has very little nutritional value and is eaten between meals. Snacks need to be healthy, delicious, and convenient as they are often eaten as a meal replacement.

This shift gradually occurred as Millennials became more influential consumers. Together with Gen Xers, the two demographic groups created an increase in demand for healthy or alternative-ingredient snacks, and that demand continues to grow. According to Packaged Facts, a market research firm, “sales of alternative ingredients snacks in 2017 are forecast to rise to $1.2 billion.”

But what is an alternative ingredient snack?

An alternative ingredient snack is a snack that is made from ingredients including pulses (dry peas, beans, lentils, and chickpeas), vegetables, ancient grains, multigrain and whole grains. Snacks made with these ingredients include salty snacks and crackers, and often offer both flavor and textural variety. In vegetable-based snacks, sweet potatoes and spinach are the most frequently used vegetables. Chickpeas or garbanzo beans are used most often in pulse based snacks, the fastest growing snack subcategory.

Why spinach, sweet potatoes, and chickpeas? Because each one offers a different combination of vitamins and minerals, and a wide variety of health benefits.

Spinach

• is a great source of vitamins K, A, C, and B2 as well as folate, iron, fiber, magnesium, manganese, and calcium
• is known to help with energy production and to improve blood quality because of the role that iron plays in red blood cells’ ability to function
• is known to help maintain bone health because of the vitamin K
• contains carotenoids (beta-carotene, lutein, and zeaxanthin) which have both anti-inflammatory and anti-cancerous properties

Sweet Potatoes

• come in 3 different flesh colors: orange, purple and white
• are a great source of vitamins A, C, and B6 as well as potassium, calcium, magnesium, and manganese
• are known to help guard against health risks caused by carcinogens and toxins
• are known to help maintain healthy blood pressure and healthy bones as well as help with healing wounds

Chickpeas

• are a great source of protein, fiber, manganese, folate, and antioxidants
• are known to help control blood sugar levels, lower cholesterol, and to support colon health
• are known to help combat cancer development, especially colon cancer
• are known to help wounds heal and to maintain healthy bones

Which alternative-ingredient would your New York City employees like to try in their next salty snack? Contact Healthy Vending at 917.572.3671 to learn more about which healthy snacks and beverages you can include in your school or healthy breakroom vending machine.

Snacks. Depending on whom you ask, snacks are either a temptation or an integral part of one’s diet. Healthy snacks can be eaten daily as they have many benefits such as keeping blood sugar levels stable, helping with weight management, and providing nutrients that aren’t eaten at meals. Besides improved health, healthy snacks also play a role in improving one’s mood, increasing energy levels, and decreasing stress. And we all need a bit of that.

New Snack Choices

KIND, a healthy foods company that offers products made from whole ingredients, has recently introduced three new bars to help New York City consumers enjoy a healthy snack— KIND Healthy Grains Cinnamon Oat bar, KIND Healthy Grains Double Dark Chocolate bar, and Pressed by KIND Strawberry Apple Chia bar. While the bars are from different product lines, they all contain healthy ingredients. Both KIND Healthy Grains bars contain one full serving of whole grains, while the Pressed by KIND bar has no added sugar and contains two full servings of fruit.

Whole Grains

Both the American Diabetes Association and the American Heart Association recommend eating a wide variety of whole grains as each grain offers different nutrients. But what exactly is a whole grain? According to the Whole Grain Council, a whole grain is a grain that not only includes the bran, germ, and endosperm but also includes them in the same proportions as when the grain was still in the ground. The KIND Healthy Grains bars include five different whole grains which have the following nutrients and benefits (per the Whole Grain Council):

• Oats: help lower LDL “bad” cholesterol, contain soluble fiber that helps control blood sugar, contain healthy fats, and contain avenanthramides which have anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-itching properties
• Brown Rice: contains manganese and selenium, and helps lower the risk of type 2 diabetes
• Millet: contains antioxidants and magnesium, and helps control diabetes and inflammation
• Buckwheat: contains zinc, copper, manganese, and potassium, and has high levels of protein and soluble fiber
• Amaranth: contains 13 to 14% protein (much higher than the majority of grains), calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, and potassium

Strawberries

Berries, as a subgroup of fruits, contain antioxidants, vitamins, and fiber, and could all be part of a student’s healthy snack. Strawberries, in particular, increase “good” or HDL cholesterol, lower blood pressure, and contain fiber, high levels of antioxidants, manganese, potassium, and vitamin c (per WebMD). It’s not surprising then that strawberries are one of America’s favorite fruits. As of 2013, the USDA Economic Research Service found that the annual per person consumption of fresh strawberries in the United States reached a new record at 7.9 pounds. Now that’s a lot of strawberries!

Which KIND bar do you want to try for your next healthy snack? They are all a great choice. Contact Healthy Vending at 917.572.3671 to learn about healthy snack and beverage vending options or to add KIND bars to your current offerings.

What are the ingredients in your favorite healthy vending machine snack or beverage? Do you know? If you do, you belong to a growing group of consumers who not only know which ingredients are in their food but also know the number of ingredients. According to Andrew Mandyz, Director of Strategic Insights at Nielsen, “There’s a shift in how people are thinking about ‘better for you.’ People are looking for back-to-basics, simpler ingredients.”

Ingredient Labels

Seeing the recipe for your snack or beverage would be the best way to learn about what is in it, and how much of each thing was used. But since that is rarely an option, there is another way for New York City students to learn about what is in their food and drink—by reading ingredient labels. Ingredients are listed in a very specific order. The largest ingredient is listed first, followed by each ingredient until the smallest ingredient. For example, a ready-to-drink cold tea that lists the ingredients tea (water, tea), sugar, and lemon is letting the consumer know that there is more tea than sugar and more sugar than lemon in the beverage. Nielsen found that “about 61 percent [of consumers] said that the shorter the ingredients’ list, the healthier the product.”

Online Resources

In addition to reading ingredient labels, consumers are researching health information online. Mandzy found that the number of consumers who went online for information went from 48% in 2014 up to 68% in 2016, a 20% increase. With a large amount of health information available online, and more New York City consumers using the internet, it is important to know how to determine if a website contains reliable information. Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center offers some tips:

• Don’t search the entire Internet. Start with the Johns Hopkins Medicine Health Library [or other hospital website] or MedlinePlus.gov.
• Evaluate commercial (“dot com”) sites carefully for bias and conflict of interest.
• Check to see if the information is current (less than three years old).
• Look for the credentials of the author (i.e. doctor, nurse, psychologist) to make sure the information is written by a health professional.

Technology as a Tool

Using technology to track health-related activities and numbers are also on the rise. There are apps that are worn during activities such as running or walking, ones that track the number of hours slept and the quality of sleep, ones that track what an individual has eaten and count calories, and others that track heart health or healthy habits. With so many apps available, it can be challenging to find one that meets a New York City user’s needs. Harvard Health Publications recommends several things to consider when looking for the right app.

• Have realistic expectations of the technology and watch out for unrealistic claims.
• Read reviews. Try out a few different ones.
• Read the fine print.
• Ask for recommendations.
• Look for ones “sponsored or created by established health advocacy groups, medical organizations, or universities”

Reading ingredient labels, researching health information and monitoring one’s own health-related activities are just a few of the many ways that consumers can become more knowledgeable. Sharon Allison-Ottey, MD and health educator, recently expressed that “the overall trend of a more-educated consumer is excellent” especially when it comes to a person’s diet. Which snack and beverage ingredients do your consumers want to see in their New York City energy star rated vending machines?

Contact Healthy Vending at 917.572.3671 to learn more about our healthy vending options.

What was your favorite food or drink trend in 2016? Did you try kale or black raspberries? Both were on 2016’s top trends’ list. In 2017, we will see new trends in addition to some old ones from 2016 such as exploring new ways to decrease food waste and trying new-old foods. Mintel, a global market intelligence agency, recently published a report outlining 6 trends that will influence the global food and beverage market in 2017.

Plant Life

In 2017, plants will play a starring role in food and beverage choices. With the growing focus on health and wellness, New York City consumers are searching for products that will contribute to health-related goals. Multiple individuals are adopting natural, nourishing, and adaptable diets that prioritize fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, grains, and botanicals. Rather than a complete dietary change, though, vegetarian and vegan products are only eaten occasionally. Consuming more plant-based products to improve one’s health will create an opportunity for growth for companies who manufacture healthy snacks, beverages, or meals with plant-based ingredients.

Historical Inspiration

Craft, artisan and homemade are favorable terms that describe a food or beverage’s story and create an emotional connection. As the world changes at a swift pace, consumers look to traditional foods from their heritage to provide safe and trustworthy experiences. Companies that are willing to develop new products will find interested consumers. Jenny Zegler, Global Food and Drink Analyst at Mintel, described it best when she connected traditional foods to the future. “The trust in the familiar does not eliminate the need for innovation; instead, it [emphasizes] the opportunity for manufacturers to look to the past as a dependable source of inspiration.”

Accessible Nutrients

As individuals in New York City realize that an unhealthy diet contributes to an increase in health problems, they begin searching for healthier options. The lack of cost-friendly and healthy choices requires a variety of solutions. Lowering the price of healthy foods, creating apps that help consumers locate affordable produce or meat, and decreasing food and beverage waste by finding other ways to use it are just a few of the approaches that have increased access to healthy food.

Missing Valuables

Food waste is an issue that should be addressed from multiple angles. Rather than disposing of them, “ugly” or imperfect fruit and vegetables are sold at lower prices as well as use to create new recipes. Companies are altering supply chains to decrease the amount of wasted food, and addressing packaging as the type of packaging can impact spoilage.

Functional Relaxation

Just as consumers use energy drinks during the day to boost energy, there are now healthy snacks and beverages such as chamomile tea that help consumers relax at night. By combining the use of daytime functional beverages with the familiarity of night-time beauty products such as creams and serums, companies hope that New York City consumers will easily make the jump to nighttime functional foods and beverages. Teas, cereals, and athlete recovery products are already available to help the user fall asleep, avoid middle of the night cravings, and recover from athletic activity while asleep.

Fast & Slow

Time is a precious commodity, especially when it comes to meal preparation. Depending on the time of day, consumers either demand fresh, nutritious, and on-the-go food, or “slow,” time-intensive foods that are already partially prepared. Time of day and the day of the week are the key criteria for deciding if the meal or healthy snack must be fast or slow. For example, breakfast foods should require little or no preparation, but weekend meals can require more prep and cooking time. Depending on the product, companies will need to include “specific time-related claims” to appeal to consumers.

Which trends will your New York City students and employees gravitate toward in 2017? Will they look for healthy snacks and beverages with a twist of history or ones that are plant-based, fresh and full of nutrients?  Contact Healthy Vending at 917.572.3671 for more information.

What is a calorie?

A calorie is a unit of energy that measures the amount of energy our bodies receive after eating or drinking. For example, if a healthy beverage or snack contains 100 calories, then your body gets 100 calories worth of energy from that snack or beverage. Reading nutrition labels are a great way to learn how many calories, among other things such as protein or carbohydrates, are in a specific healthy snack or beverage. Paying attention to the number of calories consumed is one of several tools available that can help us live a healthy lifestyle.

Calorie Counts and Labels

Because of the ongoing U.S. obesity epidemic, the medical and public health communities have sought out alternative ways to educate the public and begin reversing the problem. One approach has been to encourage consumers in New York City to understand more about the food and beverages consumed outside of the home as those calories count for one-third of total calories consumed. To ensure that consumers have access to the appropriate information, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) developed new requirements regarding the placement of calorie counts on restaurant menus (effective May 5, 2017) and nutrition label placement on items purchased from vending machines (effective December 1, 2016, except for specific food items sold from glass-front vending machines).

Andrew Breck, a doctoral candidate at NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service in New York City and co-author of the Philadelphia study “The Current Limits of Calorie Labeling and the Potential for Population Health Impact,” stated that “the success of such a calorie-labeling campaign, however, requires that target consumers simultaneously see the calorie labels, are motivated to eat healthfully, and understand how many calories they should be eating.” Unfortunately, the study found that fast food consumers in Philadelphia have not changed their choices even with calorie counts placed on the menu. But, Connie Diekman, director of university nutrition at Washington University and study co-author commented, “awareness is the first step in the change process, so if consumers begin to see the numbers, eventual change is possible.”

Healthy Eating

While not everyone is interested in considering nutritional labels, we would like to offer some motivation for those in New York City who might need it. Deciding to eat healthfully should be a personal decision as no two individuals are the same. For some, an increase in energy or feeling better is why they want to change their diet. For others, a stronger immune system and lower health care costs are the reason. In either case, making small simple steps and tracking your progress can help to avoid feeling overwhelmed. To maintain your new way of eating and keep food costs down, there are several things that you can do including educate yourself about how many calories you, as an individual, need and which foods offer which nutrients, find foods that taste good to you, and create a plan for menus and food prep that fits your lifestyle.

For those times when you need a snack or quick meal, cost and convenience do not need to outweigh nutrition. Healthy vending machines offer alternatives that not only meet nutritional requirements but are also cost-effective and convenient. Which healthy snacks and beverages will be available at your New York City office or school? Contact Healthy Vending at 917.572.3671 to learn more about healthy vending machine options.

A healthy lifestyle is the sum of many small parts. Each small part on its own may not seem important, but when it is part of something bigger, it is easier to see the role it plays. Making healthy snack choices from a vending machine when you are at work or your child is at school is one way to help maintain a healthy lifestyle. While most of us think about our food choices, many of us don’t realize that the vending machine itself is one of the small parts that plays a role in the bigger picture.

Lighting

An important and necessary component of every healthy vending machine in New York City is lighting; otherwise, it is difficult to see which healthy snack or beverage to choose. The switch from fluorescent light bulbs to light-emitting diode (LED) light bulbs in breakroom vending machines continues to occur as LED bulbs offer unique benefits. Compared to other types of light bulbs, the LED light bulb emits light in a specific direction without substantial loss of light and emits less overall heat. Additionally, the U.S. Department of Energy states that “today’s LED bulbs can be six-seven times more energy efficient than conventional incandescent lights and cut energy use by more than 80 percent.”

Sweet or Sour

Conserving energy through light bulb choice is just one reason to consider using LED light bulbs in your New York City vending machine. According to a recent study at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) titled “Retail Lighting and Packaging Influence Consumer Acceptance of Fluid Milk,” the type of light and packaging used in retail beverage coolers has an impact on the taste of the milk stored in that container. The researchers found that LED light bulbs caused less oxidation of the milk than fluorescent light bulbs did regardless of packaging type. In other words, the LED light bulbs caused the least amount of change to the structure of the milk resulting in what their participants described as better tasting milk. 

A Healthy Beverage

The taste or flavor of milk is important for New York City residents as they are more likely to purchase milk again if it tastes good. Per the Virginia Tech study, milk stored under LED lighting also retains more nutrients such as riboflavin, vitamins A and D, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, and other vitamins and minerals because there has been less breakdown. Calcium, another mineral in milk, helps to build and maintain bones, teeth, and muscle mass in adults and children. In addition to the vitamins and minerals it provides, milk is an excellent source of high-quality protein as there is more protein in one cup of milk than in one large egg.

What combination of small parts do you use to help maintain a healthy lifestyle? Have you considered adding healthy snack and beverages to your office breakroom or local school lunch room? Contact Healthy Vending at 917.572.3671 for more information.

Have you seen the Capital One TV commercial that asks, “What’s in your wallet?” It’s no longer just about what’s in the object that holds the cash and credit cards that you carry in your back pocket or handbag. It’s now about what type of wallet you use – a mobile wallet that holds a variety of credit card, bank account, and loyalty program information, or the one that holds actual cash and credit cards.

Historically, vending machines accepted only cash. As technology changed, so did the types of payments that vending machines allowed. Today, a new option is available that has the potential to increase sales at New York City’s healthy vending machines–the contactless transaction. This type of transaction is not only cashless but also credit cardless. The person purchasing a healthy snack or beverage needs only to carry a smartphone that has a mobile payment app, and he or she can quickly buy that item. Many universities and colleges have already seen an increase in the use of mobile wallets by students. Some of the more well-known mobile payment systems are Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, and Android Pay, but banks and credit cards are also creating their own mobile payment apps.

Do you use a mobile wallet? If you do, you are part of a segment of the population that is moving toward a cashless society. A June 2016 Gallop Poll found that fewer Americans are using cash for purchases today than they did five years ago. In November 2016, Capital One surveyed 1,805 individuals and found that 24.4% of the participants use a mobile wallet for purchases, and 63.3% of those individuals adopted the technology during the past year. That leaves 76.7% of those who participated in the study who do not use a mobile wallet. Another way to look at it is that there are 1,364 potential new mobile wallet users in the Capital One survey. Or 1,364 potential vending machine users in New York City that could purchase a healthy snack using a mobile wallet.

Digital advertising for contactless transactions or mobile payments also impacts the volume of sales at vending machines. A recent study by USA Technologies, Inc. (USAT) examined the relationship between digital advertising and the use of mobile wallets, specifically Apple Pay, at 35 vending machines in New York and Louisiana. They found that there was a 36.5% increase in overall sales at the machines that promoted the availability of Apple Pay.  Maeve McKenna Duska, senior vice president of marketing and sales at USAT, stated, “Based on our study, we believe that when businesses and operators present consumers with the option to pay for items with Apple Pay, the number of mobile payments made and the amount spent increases.” Given the large volume of vending machines currently being used in New York City and the increasing number of individuals who are switching to mobile wallets, there is an opportunity for growth as sales typically increase when mobile payments are available.

If you are looking for mobile payment options for your New York City healthy breakroom vending machine, contact Healthy Vending at 917.572.3671.