Trends, analysis and opportunities in automatic distribution in 2020 foresee a year full of changes.
Vending 2020 will be a year to remember for a long time, no doubt about it, for the great changes that Covid-19 has brought us and will continue to do so. This does not mean we are limited and cannot find the strength and desire to react and discover new opportunities, whatever the difficulties we face.
The vending sector will see a substantial boost in the coming months, from changes in consumer behavior to technological advances.
The sector could (and perhaps must) be back on track, without of course ignoring the influence of the Covid-19 pandemic, which seems destined to drastically revolutionize this sector too.
THE COVID-19 EFFECT
Speaking of 2020, one cannot help but start with the Covid-19 pandemic. At first, no one could have foreseen such an impact on industries all over the world, which includes the Vending sector.
The European Vending & Coffee Service Association (EVA), the president Paolo Ghidotti, said that sales that operators are recording as business loss is up by 90% due to the introduction of remote working systems. Approx. 80% of vending machines and coffee machines are located in offices and workplaces causing a huge fall in their income. On the other hand, vending machines play an extremely important role within healthcare facilities, as they are often the only means available for healthcare professionals to obtain food such as sandwiches and snacks without interaction. This gives the vending sector an opportunity to approach new potential consumers, who would not have trusted vending machines as an option (often motivated by prejudices) in different circumstances.
SUSTAINABILITY
Although the dominant theme was replaced by the emergency of the pandemic (and although it seems much more so as time has passed) until a few weeks ago the prioritized theme of 2020 was Sustainability. From Greta Thunberg’s spontaneous movements, her message was received all over the world. It was a major wake up call for both companies and the public to realize the environmental impact of products, the manufacturing industry and many other factors in a way they had never considered before.
The Vending sector has often been viewed with a critical eye by the general population, perhaps due to the excessive products of disposable plastic sold or the degree of energy consumption.
One of the trends that can be seen this year is technological innovation, expressed both in terms of energy savings (refrigeration, heating, energy consumed etc.) and improvement of the machines already in the market. Another trend has been a careful observation of people's behavior and consumption habits.
SandenVendo strives to create ECO-friendly solutions by applying Natural Refrigerants, in order to reduce the direct and indirect emission of greenhouse gases and less impact on GWP.
R290 is a natural commercially available modern refrigerant.
The non-toxic hydrocarbons are an eco-friendly alternative to the CFC/HCFC/HFC fluorocarbons related to ozone damage.
SandenVendo has met this challenge by pioneering an innovative patent process where R290 is safely applied for the current range of refrigerated vending machines.
An innovative system of SandenVendo HC patented application is designed to have sealed environments.
VERSATILITY
The Food & Beverage sector has been undergoing radical changes in terms of supply in recent years. Already in 2019, consumers' attention to healthier food or drinks showed a rapidly growing trend worldwide, from zero sugar drinks to low calorie snacks.
People are making increasingly health-conscious choices, and as a result, the industry will have to adapt to meet consumer needs.
But the trend shows on one side the rapid growth of healthy food, and on the other, a sharp increase in more elaborate or ready-to-eat cooked foods for which you would usually go to a restaurant.
Instead, nowadays, consumers, for convenience (or necessity) consider self-service machines to be a means of providing those services.
Versatility in the area of vending, especially at this particular moment could become fundamental, not only in Food & Beverage, but as a more general trend. Just think about the images that everyone has seen of the vending machines which were adapted to sell masks or sanitizing and protective products, or even the automatic distribution of tobacco and many other food products. The need for social distancing has brought to light the advantages of automatic distribution.