Vending

Convenience services operators 'more than ready' for 2022 trade shows

Anxious to see new products, operators are looking forward to the opportunity for face-to-face meetings with suppliers, despite being short staffed on account of the nationwide labor shortage.

Image provided by iStock.

April 6, 2022 by Elliot Maras — Editor, Kiosk Marketplace & Vending Times

Industry trade shows are returning in a big way this spring following two years of sporadic, poorly attended events on account of COVID. Convenience services operators are expected to attend this year's events in greater numbers, as they are anxious to find new products as they work to rebuild their businesses.

Interviews with randomly selected operators indicate most are looking forward to the opportunity for face-to-face meetings with suppliers, despite being short staffed on account of the nationwide labor shortage.

Given the challenges of changing work habits, rising fuel prices, food inflation and the aforementioned labor shortage, operators are anxious to find new products for vending machines, micro markets and coffee service. The need is especially pressing given the move by food and beverage manufacturers to focus on core items as they struggle with supply chain challenges.

Product shortages abound

Matthew Marsh

"I'm looking for replacements for products for suppliers that can't get me product," Matthew Marsh, president of First Class Vending, a Los Angeles based convenience services operation serving Southern California, Nevada and Arizona, said in a phone interview. He noted that sales are improving overall, even though many employees in California have not yet returned to work.

Brent Cromer, president of Cromer Food Services Inc. in Anderson, South Carolina, agreed.

"I haven't seen a lot of product changes over the past two years due to suppliers not being able to keep up with their current supplies," said Cromer. "We've changed SKUs (stock keeping units), but it's been changes of existing products. You might offer a Famous Amos instead of a Sweet Serenity cookie, but it's still a cookie and it's nothing new."

C. J. Recher, vice president of marketing at Five Star Food Service Inc., Chattanooga, Tennessee, also agreed.

C.J. Recher

"A lot of our suppliers had to do some SKU rationalization during this past two years, in terms of what can they produce on a regular basis; what should they stock, what should they support, what should they produce more of," Recher said. Product suppliers have not hesitated to tell him they are focusing on supporting their core items.

For Adam Smosny, owner of Imperial Vending Co. in Cleveland, Ohio, the biggest problem has been getting cold beverages from his bottler suppliers.

"They're shorting us product since they're not making enough of it," Smosny said for the bottlers. "There are certain products they're not making because they're concentrating on core products right now."

Adam Smosny

Smosny, whose sales are currently 40% ahead of his pre-COVID numbers, was also among several operators interviewed who noted how difficult it is to make time for attending a show since he is short staffed.

His company has been particularly busy since a major competitor was sold recently, causing several of its customers to reach out to him for a service proposal. He's taken at least four of these accounts in the last month. Another factor is that many of the nursing homes that closed during COIVD are reopening.

Micro markets top of mind

Jared Detwiler

Unable to attend a show last year, Jared Detwiler, vice president of operations at One Source Office Refreshments in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, is looking forward to an opportunity to get up to speed on new products and technology. His major focus will be on micro markets, which has been the company's top growth segment.

"We've done a lot of conversion from vending to micro markets, (so) we're looking for both a cheaper and easier way to convert some of those smaller accounts to micro markets," Detwiler said.

The company is also looking at smaller vehicles to reduce fuel consumption.

A longtime vending technology pioneer, One Source Office Refreshments put its artificial intelligence subscription on hold during the pandemic, but has since restarted it as more accounts have reopened. The artificial intelligence allows the company to make better use of data

Kwik Kafe Co. in Bluefield, Virginia, hasn't been to a show in more than two years, said D.J. Campion, systems administrator, and is hoping to make one this year. Like Detwiler, he is interested in seeing micro market kiosk suppliers since micro markets are the healthiest business segment to date.

"Even in 2020, when things were going bad in coffee and vending, we actually ended up installing about seven markets that year," he said.

Campion also wants to get up to speed on vending management software, seeing that the company has been using the older Crane VendMax for several years.

Joel Skidmore, president and owner of J & J Vending Inc., Union City, California, is anxious to find better quality food for his micro markets.

One of the benefits of micro markets for vending operators is the opportunity to offer more fresh food. Unfortunately, there has not been enough high quality food available of late, according to Skidmore. He sources most of his from one independent commissary.

Skidmore has recovered 65% of his pre-COVID sales, a major improvement from the initial 75% setback. The company, 10 routes pre-COVID, is back up to four routes.

Where are the snack shelf pushers?

Gary Arwin

Gary Arwin, owner of Gator Vending, Orlando, Florida, is interested in finding micro market snack shelf pushers, which he currently finds hard to get.

"We keep having to go back to Trion (Trion Merchandising Solutions), and now their lead times are 16 weeks," Arwin said. "In this industry, you want to get a market out as fast as you can. If you don't install the snack shelf pushers, the markets do not look good after a short amount of customer use. With the product pushers, it looks a thousand times better and requires a lot less maintenance to keep it looking pretty good."

Arwin is also be interested ice dispensers for his office coffee service division, as he is not satisfied with the units that are available.

"Any kind of new technology, no matter what it is, I would probably look at," Arwin added.

Coffee brewer costs rising

Jerry Lisle

Jerry Lisle, owner of Master's Vending Service in Redlands, California, is looking for a more affordable coffee cartridge brewer as his coffee service business is slowly starting to come back. The brewer he was using has jumped in price, he said, which makes it less profitable.

"You can't put an $800 or $900 unit into an office with five or 10 people," Lisle said.

Lisle is also on the lookout for point-of-use water filtration systems since he has not been able to get the China-made unit he was using because of supply chain issues. The competitive units he has seen so far have been much too expensive.

In search of new technology

Zachary Oliver

Zachary Oliver, owner of Dependable Vending, Upland, California, is focused on finding new technology. He expects new technology to be introduced in light of the 365 Retail Markets/Avanti/ Markets/Lightspeed Automation merger this past year.

"I think it's going to be good for the industry in terms of the advance of technology in our space," he said.

While such mergers do reduce options, he said, "I think other solutions will come up like they always do."

Sales are currently growing with locations reopening, Oliver said, and has far exceeded the pre-COVID level.

"2021 was a record year for us and 2022 is shaping up to be a record year as well," he said. One reason is he has focused on e-commerce and distribution accounts.

Louis Baresh, sales manager at Executive Refreshments in Dallas, Texas, is also looking for technology to find new ways to innovate. The company has focused on expanding its pantry service, which Baresh sees as an entrée to getting more coffee service, the business segment that the pandemic hit the hardest.

Megan O'Neil, general manager at Daniels Vending, Trappe, Maryland, agreed that much of the difficulty getting product is caused by supply chain issues, but she has seen some recent improvement.

Ordering equipment also takes longer; she has heard stories of operators waiting as long as 15 weeks for equipment.

As for attending trade shows, "It's a great opportunity to meet with other vendors (and) with manufacturers," O'Neil said.

Photos: LinkedIn