71% growth... crazy, or curious?

Hello Lovely Vending People

Apologies that it’s been a while, but no worries! The thrills, spills and adventures of the Friendly Vending Geeks continue; Right here, right now!

71% growth – did that headline capture your imagination?  If not, listen up!

Health and Wellbeing are no stranger to this blog; in fact, they are no stranger to any of us, if we’re honest.   What may be strange to some reading this are the business statistics associated with some of the sectors associated with health and wellbeing, in particular the “Free From” trends..

In the UK (source Mintel), the market for Free From food grew by 109% between 2006 and 2011 and the predicted growth between 2011 and 2016 (ie now-ish!) is 71%.    Yes, 71% growth!

If some of you are less comfortable with % and prefer the more familiar GBP (£), then in value (source Kantar World Panel) UK Free From is currently approximately £240m, growing at 15.5% YOY.

The point?  Well, there are a lot of consumers out there buying foods that are free from, because those numbers are real.  Are we in vending serving those consumers because, if not, surely you recognize an opportunity when you seen one?

Some of you may scoff (in the non-eating sense of the word!) and exclaim that 24vend is frankly, crazy, with their attempts to interest the Vending Village to look more broadly, offer more choice and even consider selling what may seem to be non-core products.  Maybe we are (crazy, that is!), but would it really hurt to take a look? 

The point of our conference BEING HEALTHY2013  on 12^th June, is to offer some different perspectives.   Not only will you hear from Vending Operators who are successfully embracing change and offering healthier choices, but you will also have the opportunity to sample some fantastic new products.  Further, through our working partnership with FoodsMatter.com, we will be presenting Vending Consumer insights hot off the press.  All of this is only available if you attend – as they say, you have to be in it to win it!

So, acknowledging the first track to reach number 1 (in the UK) from downloads alone, CRAZY we are happy to be! 

See you on 12^th June, Seminar Marquee at AVEX – Being Healthy 2013

Have a fantastic week!

The Friendly Vending Geeks at 24vend

Nothing more certain...

Than death, or taxes... or so the saying goes.

Today, in the UK at least, there is news in some way related to both and here we go again if you like.  The idea of taxing products that are believed to contribute to the ever burgeoning problem of Obesity.

It's tricky...

It's also very complicated to unravel the environmental, behavioural and situational factors that cause human beings to be larger than might otherwise be good for them.  In its complexity comes the desire to create simple solutions that can, if you'll excuse the metaphor, lead the horse to water ie help people to lead healthier lifestyles.

We're not for a moment going to add any theories to that debate, save to say, that taxation may or may not work.  Denmark looked at a "fat tax", brought it on to the statute books and then gave it up.  Hungary has a similar taxation scheme (on high fat, sugar and salt products), which they seem to have implemented to be workable.

Bravo if the tax that is paid can be used to educate, inform and provide; Educate consumers of all ages on the ways to lead a healthy lifestyle, including cooking and shopping skills to "make from scratch".
Inform consumers of the reality of their choices; just because a product contains fruit or vegetables doesn't always guarantee it's nutritional "cleanliness" - the ability to look beyond the obvious, particularly in small font on the back of a packet, is tricky, nay almost impossible to the untrained observer
Providing good school meals (that children will eat!), enabling access to well priced and high quality produce isn't as easy as it sounds.  Without the foundation of education and information, it could all be for nought.  Oh, and let's not forget the thorny issue of Olympic Legacy.  As someone who gave so much time to volunteer at London 2012, it is disheartening to continue to read of the poor provision of sport, competitive or not, at many of the UK's schools.

Well, to avoid further political debate, let's see what all this means for vending...

If there is a tax on certain products that are popular, there are choices; increase the price to the consumer and take the business impact; certainly that is possible, if not palatable.  Alternatively, is it time to look to offer the consumer more choice?  For vending, as a channel, to do its bit to help consumers on their route to a healthier lifestyle? Man cannot live by bread alone, so a broader selection of products may just be what the doctor ordered.

If you're interested at all in looking beyond the obvious current menus you offer, then perhaps our conference "Being Healthy 13" should be in your diary.  Taking place on June 12th from 10:30 to 12:30 at NEC, we hope to see lots of you taking part in the conversation.  We will be taking bookings for the conference from late February 2013 and will, of course, keep you posted.

Definitely a topic for #talkTuesday, so let us know what you're thinking

Stay well, stay healthy

The Friendly Vending Geeks
Gillian & Neil