First vends made!

Wow! - Today I witnessed the first few people actually buy product from our final proof-of-concept machine.

Ian Rowling, the brains behind the scenes has completed all the integration tasks that were required to upgrade our interface screen to full colour and touch-screen functionality, re-tested all the system components and got the demo systems up and running...

..so we have started a live trial. We are aiming to simulate the placement of a machine in an office environment with regualr customers using it.

And the initial feedback has been very encouraging.

The (almost) free lunches
Around 30 people from local businesses around our workshops in Shoreham are now visiting daily to buy product (as supplied by our partner company Nibbles) and try the machine out for themselves.

The trial will run for about a week, and enable us to identify and iron-out any final bugs or interface issues that the public find or feedback to us about. We are actively encouraging feedback through a feedback form and discussions with each user as follows:
> Each user has been shown the machine, then left to pay for and purchase the products each day themselves.
> Each purchaser is given a feedback form for each time they use the machine, which they have to complete and return as a receipt.
> Purchaser eats product.
> Purchaser completes form - we are seeking to capture any and all feedback about the machine, the interface, the experience itself and the products bought.
> At the end of the trial period, we repay the monies spent to each user as a thank you for taking part.

Then we will collate all the data about the trial from our remote interrogation of the machine and build a picture of the times that people used the machine (helpful for knowing when is best to refill it), the condition of each product (how long it was in the machine and time of vend), the temperature of the machine at all times and the money taken.

We can then map this against the data received via the feedback forms to ensure that we have accuracy and continuity.

We will also have a list of things that we may need to attend to before our first placements are made (scheduled for early next month).

If you are taking part in the trial, thank you! and please feel free to feedback below!

How was it for you?

Clarifying Telemetry in Vending

There is increasing movement in the vending industry toward adding intelligence to vending machines and this link to MEI (Thanks Duncan!) illustrates how a major component supplier to the industry have developed a means of reporting back what a vending machine is doing.

However, it is often a lot like adding ABS brakes to a horse and cart.

Vending machines traditionally are not designed to control how the stock is put in and therefore any reporting is only as good as the operator doing the filling. It is quite viable for instance that an operator may not completely fill a unit, but the machines are not clever enough to know this and can continue to vend fresh air when the stock runs out - however, a remote monitoring device will merely report that a vend was made..

Most vending units are designed to provide as cheap and effective means of vending a particular product, with little regard as to how the stock is managed.

Our machines offer telemetry, but, since they were also designed to control how stock is added into the machine, the chance of operator error is almost entirely removed. In addition to this, the remote control facilities we have built in mean that we can actually remotely reset and correct certain errors without sending an engineer.

I was delighted to hear about MEI's developments in this space however, as it is further evidence of interest in the future development of remote retailing as the vending industry gets closer to the retail sector. Of course, at Go4Fresh we can already remote retail - yes, its fresh food today, but we can retail just about anything you want, with full stock, inventory and distribution reporting (oh, and did I mention the remote access and control we offer, too?)

There's telemetry, and there's TELEMETRY!

(photo credit> found_drama)

Snacking trends research

This research paper from the International Dairy-Deli-Bakery Association provides further compelling insight into consumer demand for fresh, healthy food. This research revealed which snacks are selected, when and where they are eaten, and how those choices are made by the consumer.

Key findings from this paper that point to our Go4Fresh healthy food retailing opportunity being an ideal platform to deliver what the consumer wants include:

A healthy demand: Healthier snacks are in high demand as consumers today are very interested in products lower in fat, trans fats, and calories.
(With our machines, the consumer can choose their snack on calorific, fat or ingredient content)

Snacks take on new meaning: Having broadened their view of snacks beyond such items as chips, cookies, and crackers, consumers today are more likely to consider any small portion of food as a potential snacking candidate. Retailers, however, have not caught up to this new consumer thinking (while only 20% of consumers today define snacks traditionally, 40% of retailers still do so). This perceptual gap separating retailers and their customers is alarming — an indication that, as a group, retailers do not fully recognize their competition within the snack market.

Convenience is king: Busier lifestyles have led to an increased demand for convenient snacks — those that are easy to access, easy to prepare, easy to eat, and easy to clean up.
(You cant get much easier than healthy food provided in your workplace, with biodegradable packaging, too)

Eating several small meals a day: One of the greatest opportunities for the snack market — and one that directly addresses the health concerns that have triggered a decline in consumption — is to position snacks as part of a healthy diet of eating several small meals a day.
(With our machine, the retailer can cost-effectively and safely vend healthy foods, anytime)

The Perfect Snack: Consumers define the ideal snack as one that is healthy, tastes sinful, and is convenient in all aspects. This "holy grail" definition of snacks, though perhaps difficult to produce against, is insightful because it is constructed directly from consumer testimony. In other words, consumers know what they want and are very clear in expressing it. The question is, which companies will be able to meet this demand most effectively?
(And how are they going to vend it without the Go4Fresh system?!)

Compelling stuff, eh!?