A brief history of Vending:

The first vending machine is said to have been invented around the first century. This vending machine accepted a coin and then vended a small amount of blessed holy water. When a coin was deposited, it fell on a pan attached to an arm. The arm opened up a valve which allowed a small of  water to flow out. The water would pour onto the pan until the coin fell off it, when a counter weight would seal the arm back into place. Vending machines as we know them today, began in the late 1800’s before they became popular.

The first modern coin operator vending machines were introduced in England in the late 1800’s  by the Thomas Adams Gum Company selling gum on city train platforms for a penny. The idea of adding simple games to these vending machines as a further incentive to buy came in the early 1900’s, when the Pulver manufacturing Company added small figurines which would move around when somebody bought some gum from their vending machines. This creative idea  invented a new type of mechanical vending machine known as trade stimulators. The birth of the modern pinball machine is in part due to these early vending machines.

In the United States, vending machines generally serve the purpose of selling snack vending products and drink vending products. Items sold in vending machines change by the country or the region in which they are placed. Some countries sell alcoholic beverages such as beer through vending machines, while others countries do not allow this. Cigarettes were commonly sold in the U.S. in  cigarette vending machines. This has become limited because of the concerns of underage buyers. Sometimes a pass has to be inserted a cigarette vending machine, so that the vending customer has to prove their age. In Europe cigarette vending machines are still common place.

Starting in the 1950’s Life insurance policies were sold at airports thru vending machines. Insurance Companies sold policies up to the mid 1980’s when the industry did away with such vending machines, because of the tendency of the courts to strictly enforce such policies against the insurance companies.

Vending customers insert money into a vending machine, which allows a vending product to become available by the vending machines, allowing it to fall into an open catch area at the bottom of the vending machine or into a vending cup, or by opening a vending drawer containing the food products. Sometimes the vending product is not just released , but prepared by workers on the other side of the vending machine door. This vending style was first created in the 1950’s in major metropolitan areas and is the beginning of fast food as we know it today. This is the case with such vending machines as Coffee vending machines and food vending machines.

An example of  vending machines giving access to all vending merchandise after paying for one item is a newspaper vending machine.

A full line vending company can install several types of vending machines that sell a wide range of vending products. The types of vending products included offer a wide range of different vending foods and drinks. These products can vend from various types of vending machines that include coffee vending machines, snack vending machines, cold food vending machines, soda vending machines, and glass front bottle vending machines. Almost all vending machines accept dollar bills with more and more vending machines accepting five dollar bills and even in some cases up to twenty dollar bills. This is a great advantage to the vendor because it virtually eliminates the need for a company with a food vending service. Vending companies that offer both have a competitive edge in acquiring vending accounts because it makes it much easier to deal with one vending company for all their vending services.

The first vending machine in Japan was made of wood and vended postage stamps and post cards. About 80 years ago, there were vending machines that sold sweets called Glico. In the late 60’s the yen coin was distributed, and vending machine sales exploded overnight, vending a vast variety of vending products everywhere.

Most vending machines are operated by vending companies that offer a variety of services. The big bottling companies like Coke and Pepsi, also own, supply and service a great number of soda vending machines. They do not supply snack vending machines to the locations that have their soda vending machines. This leaves an opportunity for the independent vending machine owner operator to get these locations. There are a large amount of vending machines that are owned by the independent vending machine operators, who buy several vending machines and create their own vending routes or by store owners. The vending industry is a very profitable industry in U.S. and the rest of the world, and is still growing. The vending industry is a Multi Billion dollar per year Global market.

With vending customers wanting quick and convenient access to vending products, the vending industry has seen a healthy growth every year since it was invented. Vending machines offer business minded persons a way to start a business which can start small and quickly grow large within a few years. Snack vending machines, beverage vending machine, bulk candy vending machines, coffee vending machines, and food vending machines continue to be the most profitable in the vending industry. New vending machines include such modern ideas as internet kiosks, DVD vending machines, filtered water vending machines, and fried food and even pizza, which can be placed at heavy traffic areas and offer the vending customer many more options. Cashless vending now allows the vending machine consumer to use credit cards or debit cards fort he vending machine customers added convenience. Vending is a Multi Billion dollar industry.  The vending industry has grown since the day it was invented and is still growing today.