Tuesday 29 January 2013

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

Tuesday 15 January 2013

NY NY?

Well, happy 2013 to one and all!  For those humming to themselves "New York, New York; so good they named it twice", you're close, but no cigar!

New Year - New You!  Even though we are but 2 weeks into 2013, it's been hard to escape endless articles about how this year is going to be THE year that you, me and everyone else can change.... seemingly, even if we neither need nor want "change", there's plenty of advice out there.

So, you may ask, what has this to do with our favourite topic, VENDING? Well, our industry is impacted by economic, social and environmental factors just as much as any other.  Changes or trends that are alive and kicking on the High Street, Wall Street or Fleet Street will affect us sooner or later.

Taking a punt at what that might mean for 2013, here are 24vend's predictions for the winds of change in vending!!



Consolidation - happening everywhere!  Some of you who follow us on twitter would have seen our little joke on 21st December (the day that, according to some who follow the Mayan calendar, the world would end) that whilst the world hadn't ended Crane had made moves to purchase MEI.  So, we predict there will be more changes like this...  ears to the ground, and all that!



Health and Wellbeing - well this truly will run and run although, of course, if we were all running and running, we might not be in this pickle!  Perhaps pickles will be proven to be the way forward in 2013, but we doubt that very much...  we won't bore you with numbers, but the fact is too many of us are carrying a bit of extra timber and life seemingly conspires to prevent the local lumberjack from making a dent on the excess.  We predict more debates about how to get more people moving more often; how to limit our excesses; how to educate us with labelling schemes (that still confuddle and confuse!) and etc.... Surely, lest we forget, there will be the old chestnut of taxation to cure all ills when everything else doesn't work...  personally, we're hoping to see some exciting new products that will tempt, taste and teach us that eating can still be fun whilst being healthy and genuinely good for us!  Oh, and remember, move a bit more (thanks!)


Social, digital and mobile - well, cash will always be King but it's true that it's probably surrounded by the elegant Queens and Princesses of cashless.  Everyone's talking mobile wallet and the rise and rise of smartphones and tablets cannot be denied.   With retailers beginning their journey of tablet as cash register/till, it's no surprise.  All that computing power in such small and mighty packages enables an internet of things as well as business solutions.  In other news, tablets and screens are being touted as the great saviours of vending (by some quarters at least).  Getting the integration right and cost structures sorted will definitely help this but (hold the front page!), maybe not as fast in vending as in more established retail.  "Slow and steady, when we're ready", we reckon!

Sustainability - in its broadest sense and across machines, ingredients and the manner in which we operate.  With corporate social responsibility high on political and economic agendas, vending will make progress; at varying rates and with different strategies but truly, vending does "get" it and will make it work!

So, we aren't fortune-tellers, but that's our two-penneth.  We'd love to know what you think, so feel free to get in touch with us.

Otherwise, good people of the vending village, all the very best for 2013!

Gillian & Neil
The Friendly Vending Geeks at 24vend