Selling the right product to your customers is one of the most important aspects of running a good, profitable vending business. I get calls all the time from new vendors who are excited to stock their new vending machine but don’t know what items to stock it with. This article will focus on the most popular and profitable vending items.
As I have mentioned previously, there is not one solution that will work with every location and much testing and modifying should take place to get the right fit for each location. What I have seen work well is to provide the business with a checklist of snacks and drinks that you are willing to sell and have all the employees check the items in which they are most interested in seeing in their machine. I would not give them a blank sheet as you may get some suggestions that just aren’t available or aren’t popular enough to consider. Many times I have had customers ask me to stock something odd like black licorice or raisins and I had to refuse them as I knew that they just wouldn’t sell to the masses. Listed below is my list of most popular items to be sold in the different vending machine categories:
Snacks
This is my list of the most popular items found in snack vending machines, not in any particular order: Snickers, Peanut M&M’s, Twix, Reeses Peanut Butter Cups, Butterfinger, Milk Duds, Milky Way, Baby Ruth, Gum, Doritos, Cheetos, Lays Potato Chips, Oreos, Grandma’s Cookies, Rice Crispy Treats, Peanuts, Corn Nuts, Trail Mix, Honey Buns, Strawberry Pop Tarts, Cheez-its, Granola Bars, Beef Jerky, & Pretzels.
Soda Pop & Drinks
The following drinks are my most popular ones: Water, Mountain Dew, Energy Drinks, Pepsi, Coke, Sprite, Diet Coke, Diet Pepsi, Gatorade.
Bulk Candy
The most popular Bulk Candy, in order of popularity, would be Peanut M&M’s, Mike & Ikes, Skittles, Gumballs, Hot Tomales, Plain M&M’s, Runts, and Boston Baked Beans. I have tried various kinds of nuts but I prefer not to stock them with my bulk candy machines since they go bad so fast and make a mess.
Most people use vending machines to sell food and drinks, but they can also be used to sell a multitude of items. The other day I had someone who owned a Laundromat call me to discuss the possibility of selling laundry detergent packets from a vending machine. I have had other people call me who were interested in selling school supplies in the vending machine at school. Motels use vending machines all the time for not just snacks and sodas but also to sell items that travelers often forget, such as toothbrushes, tooth paste, aspirin, deodorant, feminine pads, chap stick, cough drops, or condoms.
Vending machines can sell almost anything and the list keeps growing everyday. Most machines are adjustable so they can accommodate a variety of items with differing shapes and sizes; However, knowing if the item will sell or not is another crucial step to making your vending business a success.
