Vendomatics Prize Zone Vending Machine Wins Innovation Kudos

FREDERICK, MD -- Sometimes innovation requires just the tools at hand and a little imagination. That's the case with Vendomatic's Prize Zone, a bulk vending concept that's as simple as it is enticing.

Here's how Prize Zone works: Among the capsules in a bulk head, Vendomatic places one containing a key that unlocks a nearby unit that has been modified to display and store a removable plush toy. The winner of this capsule uses the key to retrieve the prize, then relocks the door and drops the key in a return box located on the side of the machine. Of course, some patrons may make multiple purchases in the hope of winning the plush toy.

Vendomatic's concept has several benefits for operators. Most of all, the machine-mounted signage that explains the Prize Zone offering, and the encased plush toy, can draw customers to the entire machine rack. After all, it's not everyday you see a single plush toy in a bulk vending machine.

Other operators seem to agree that the concept has genuine merit. A peer vote during the National Bulk Vendors Association's 2015 convention in March awarded Vendomatic with NBVA's Most Innovative Operator Award and a $300 prize.

According to Vendomatic's Don Goletz, Prize Zone has been on location since April, and the initial results seem to be encouraging. "My route guys think it's helping sales," he said, "so we're putting more out there. We're putting them in supermarkets and dollar stores -- places where we don't have a crane machine, but we can offer a piece of plush."

Prize Zone works particularly well in locations where space is at a premium, according to Goletz. "We were sitting on some idle machines in our shop, and I was thinking how we could get more out of them for little cost," he said.

In the spirit of encouraging and celebrating operator innovation, Vending Times invites bulk vendors to share their concepts with the vending community in the pages of the magazine and online. Email Nick Montano at nick@vendingtimes.net.