USA Technologies, Inc. (USAT) and Fresh Healthy Vending, a turnkey healthy vending machine franchise, recently announced that Fresh Healthy Vending, will be incorporating USAT's ePort® and ePort Connect® service for cashless payment and telemetry in the launch of their latest Fresh Healthy Vending Café machine, an innovative solution that combines specialty coffee service with healthy snack and drink options. Through its franchisee network, Fresh Healthy Vending already has over 2,000 machines on USA Technologies' service.
"No one should have to settle for unhealthy food anymore," said Alex Kennedy, Vice president of franchise development for Fresh Healthy Vending. "The fact is that there is a growing need for healthy options in vending machines — they are the fastest growing segment of the healthy food category in North America. Our latest franchise opportunity, Fresh Healthy Vending Café, was developed as a result of the growing demand for both healthy snacks as well as fresh, organic coffee choices. The franchise incorporates groundbreaking equipment—our Fresh Healthy Vending Café machine—that is exclusive to Fresh Healthy Vending and, of course, cashless and telemetry by USA Technologies."
The Fresh Healthy Vending Café machine grinds whole coffee beans, extracts espresso, froths the milk, and disposes of spent grinds in fewer than 40 seconds. The bottom of the machine is chilled, for products like smoothies, granola bars or natural sodas.
"Our commitment to USA Technologies as our cashless and telemetry partner was an obvious strategic choice for us," added Ryan Ball, operations manager for Fresh Healthy Vending. "We have tested a few other names in the cashless and telemetry market, but USA Technologies has proven to us that their support and service are superior. Their unique turn-key system also makes it easy for us to provide a plug-and-play solution to our customers and franchisees.
"In addition, our franchise operators understand the importance of data in monitoring sales activity, inventory needs and machine status. And, they recognize that cashless payment options can optimize transaction yields through multi-vend choices while also enabling support for the premium price associated with our more gourmet options," concluded Ball.
"We are very pleased to be a partner of choice for Fresh Healthy Vending as they continue their impressive growth track," said Mike Lawlor, Senior vice president of sales and business development for USA Technologies. "We look forward to working with them to capture the synergies we believe cashless and healthy choice vending can generate, particularly through multi-vend purchases and higher priced products."
