Lempert Report Considers What Starbucks/Coinstar Partnership Indicates For Food Vending

The Lempert Report, which provides news and commentary on the food industry via email, ponders the future of vending in light of the Starbucks/Coinstar partnership to place 500 Seattle’s Best Coffee vending machines in northeastern and western-state grocery, drug and mass merchandiser stores. For the full story, click here.  

Editor’s Insight: The Lempert Report is a respected and widely read news and commentary source for food retailers. This particular report observes that changing consumer lifestyles have increased the need for good food values for consumers on the run.

This is certainly not the only report to make this observation in recent years. Other evidence of the impact that changing lifestyles are having on food retailing include food trucks and self checkout micro markets.

The traditional vending machine should also benefit from changing consumer lifestyles. For vending machines to capitalize on the demand, more machines need to provide the values consumers are seeking, and more marketing is needed. To this end, the National Automatic Merchandising Association has taken an important step with its industry growth strategy. The industry growth strategy needs to continue and more vending operators need to support it by joining their national association. 07-03-12 By Elliot Maras