Vending machines are convenient kiosks for those times when hunger pangs beg for a nip of chocolate, a bag of chips, or a sweet caffeinated pick-me-up. While it’s no secret that the food and beverages that come from vending machines are largely unhealthy, our fast-paced lifestyles have made vending machines ever-present necessities in office lunchrooms, hospitals, schools and health clubs. But what if vending machines ditched the candy and soft drinks in favor of healthier fare? Would increasingly healthy-minded consumers embrace the concept? So far the answer has been a resounding “yes.”
 
“Sometimes the world’s greatest problems have the simplest solutions,” commented Sean Kelly, CEO of H.U.M.A.N. Healthy Vending, a Los Angeles, CA-based purveyor of vending machines that are stocked with only healthy foods and beverages. “How can we expect to effectively fight obesity and Type II diabetes—two highly preventable diseases currently wreaking havoc on our society—if the average person doesn’t even have easy access to healthy foods and drinks? We can’t! Without access nothing else matters. Providing access to the solution is the first step.”
 
H.U.M.A.N., along with Vend Natural (Annapolis, MD) and Fresh Vending (San Diego, CA), is one of a handful of suppliers that are dotting the country with healthy vending machines.
 
With a background in health and nutrition and a degree in biomedical engineering, Mr. Kelly was working as a personal trainer while studying to become a surgeon. “During my sophomore year at Columbia University, I started to realize that solving the world’s largest health problems has more to do with preventing problems from occurring in the first place, rather than fixing them after they’ve already occurred,” he recalled. During a search for something quick and healthy after a grueling workout in 2003, he had an epiphany: to create a healthy vending machine.
 
Mr. Kelly surrounded himself with a health advisory board comprised of medical doctors, certified nutritionists, registered dieticians and public health specialists and set out to build a catalogue of 5000 different foods and beverages from which customers can choose from to stock their machines. “Every product mix, or ‘planogram,’ is customized per location,” explained Mr. Kelly. “Different people have different dietary needs. Therefore, we analyze each customer group prior to installing a machine at their location. For instance, we typically disallow the inclusion of any artificial sweeteners in products we offer at schools.”
 
Tasty Selections
 
Drawing on an extensive catalogue of product offerings ranging from all types of bars and snacks to beverages and fresh/hot foods, H.U.M.A.N. vending machines trend toward products that are all-natural, low in added sugar, include zero trans fats, are as low as possible on the glycemic index, and are high in fiber and quality proteins. It also takes extra steps to provide an adequate balance of organic, kosher and vegetarian selections.  

The products also go beyond food and drinks. H.U.M.A.N. machines placed in Anytime Fitness clubs around the country feature nutritional supplements such as fish oils, multivitamins, joint formulas and immune-boosters.
 
The company’s driving goal is to stock machines with good tasting options that encourage consumers to be “healthier” as opposed to all-out “healthy.”
 
“Health AND taste matter,” exclaimed Mr. Kelly. “If a product is the healthiest item in the world but tastes like cardboard, people won’t eat it. We focus on taste big time.
 
“Sure, we want everyone to be healthy, but everyone’s definition of what is healthy and what isn’t is different,” he added. “At the end of the day we need to make sure we’re always getting people to take a step in the right direction. Because this will lead to another step, then another, then another, etc. It’s a domino effect—a progressive program.
 
The cost of the products varies but items are usually on par with traditional vending machine fare. Snacks/bars (dry goods) cost $1.00-1.50 whereas beverages cost on average $1.50-2.00.  
 
“There is an inaccurate perception that healthy snacking and drinking costs so much more than eating and drinking junk food and soda (or traditional vending fare). That simple isn’t true,” Mr. Kelly said. “Most traditional vending snacks cost $1.00 whereas the traditional beverages cost $1.25 to $1.50. On average, our products will be $.25 to $.50 more expensive than their unhealthy counterpart.  We even have healthy vending machines where every single product in the machine costs $1.00. Eating and drinking healthier doesn’t have to break the bank!”
 
Not only does the machine’s content separate it from other vending competitors, it has a sleek, high-end look that adeptly advertises its healthier fare. “The H.U.M.A.N. automated retailers include digital LCD screens, internal PCs, infrared sensors, credit card readers and remote monitoring technology,” Mr. Kelly said.
 
The company currently has about 300 H.U.M.A.N. vending machines placed in the U.S. and Canada, and it is on track to hit 500 by year’s end, with between 1200-1500 units by the end of 2011. They are primarily found in health clubs, schools and community/recreation centers, as well as in office buildings, hospitals and other high-traffic public areas of gathering.