SAN DIEGO, Calif. — Six years after debuting on “Dragons’ Den,” one of North America’s first boutique healthy vending companies is back in Canada. KarmaBox Vending has expanded into the greater Vancouver area, bringing nutritious snacks and health products to Canada’s third-largest metropolitan region.
“I am so proud to return to Canada, which gave me so much inspiration as an entrepreneur and the opportunity to create and nurture my business, starting in my dorm room at St. Francis Xavier University,” said A.J. MacQuarrie, 28, founder and CEO of KarmaBox Vending.
KarmaBox operators are found in more than 50 U.S. cities. Entering the Vancouver market is a source of pride, MacQuarrie said, “because I always intended to get back into Canada, it’s destiny. That’s where my company was born.”
A dual Canadian and U.S. citizen, MacQuarrie was featured on an episode during Season 6 of “Dragons’ Den,” where he sought $120,000 for 15 percent of Urban Vendor, the company that brought healthy vending to Halifax, Nova Scotia, and developed into KarmaBox. Although no deal happened, MacQuarrie credits the dragons’ feedback with helping him develop KarmaBox into a business that eventually turned a $20,000 investment into a $1 million business in a year.
Vancouver KarmaBox operators Kory Victor and Beau Thompson are childhood sweethearts and first time business owners. “We started doing our research and KarmaBox met all of our needs for starting our own business,” said Victor, 35. “We love that KarmaBox is there to guide us as newbies, and we know the health-minded culture of Vancouver will love the snacks!”
Headquartered in San Diego, KarmaBox offers a variety of nutritious and beneficial snacks, beverages, and care products that support local guidelines for healthy school nutrition. Inside KarmaBox you’ll find sports bars, turkey jerky, a variety of nuts and berries; healthy beverages such as coconut water, low sugar/low calorie juices, teas and mineral water. Health products include sunscreen and beeswax lip balm.
ZenCards at each KarmaBox contain nutrition information for each product. Each KarmaBox is equipped with easy pay options, optional Wifi, and an optional interactive screen in order to maximize customer experience.
With KarmaBox’s unlimited training and consulting, in-house location services, business processes, tech support and eye-catching KarmaBox machine themes, buying your own vending business has never been easier.
For more information go to mykarmabox.com, or call 855-KARMABOX.
