Vengo Inc Partners With Canteen To Place Compact Vending Machines Ramps Up Production For Sales To Operators

NEW YORK CITY -- Vending-focused tech startup Vengo Inc. announced today a distribution partnership with Canteen, the nation's largest vending machine company. Under terms of the agreement, Canteen, which maintains 200 branch offices throughout the U.S., has agreed to place Vengo's wall-mounted, compact vender in college and university locations.

According to Vengo chief executive Brian Shimmerlik, Canteen noticed early versions of the Vengo machine on the campuses of New York University and LaGuardia Community College, among other New York City-based schools. He said that Canteen recognized Vengo as a potential supplier of a unique product that could serve the national vending firm's higher education segment.

Vengo machines have been in the field for several years. They're designed to allow operators to add new offerings to existing vending locations, like college campuses, and to open the doors to locations where traditional vending machines are too large. Shimmerlik reported that Vengo's pilots on campuses have achieved a 100% success rate of converting to larger deployments. "Vengo has accumulated a ton of data over the past four years to maximize profitability," he said. "Operators can leverage Vengo's [knowledge] to achieve a payback period on the equipment of 14 months or less."

Vengo machines can be configured to vend candy, snacks, OTC medicines and electronic accessories, among other items. Vengo can also generate media revenue from its 21.5" touchscreen. The company is working with consumer packaged goods companies to create point-of-purchase marketing campaigns. Vengo shares media revenue with its operators.

For the past year, Hershey Co. reportedly has been selling Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and Ice Breakers mints through Vengo machines in office accounts. An Ad Age article cites a Hershey official stating that Vengo pay points have exceeded the candy company's expectations. | SEE ARTICLE

Vengo said its latest vending machine model will be produced by San Diego, CA-based D&K Engineering, an R&D and manufacturing specialist. The machines will be available to vending operators in February.

Vengo was founded in 2012 as Taxi Treats, which won the NYC Economic Development Corp.'s "Next Idea" contest that year. The original machine was intended for installation in taxicabs. Since its founding, Vengo has raised $5 million in funding from various investors.

PHOTOS:Vengo machines have been operating in a variety of location types in New York City and other markets, including Boston, Chicago and Florida, and abroad in Australian, Great Britain and Hong Kong. Pictured here are installations at NYU, Yotel, the Hudson Hotel, Grand Hyatt and Planet Fitness.