april2024 - 24

SMALL OPERATOR SPOTLIGHT
Small operators
fuel the growth
of vending as they
chase the
American
drea m
Largely driven by promises of riches on social media, vending
is becoming a popular side hustle. But for small operators like
Nakia White-Hazel and Anthony Cuccolo, vending is a hands-on,
legitimate and serious business that they maintain with pride.
By Bob Tullio, Contributing Editor
A
RECENT ARTICLE IN THE WALL STREET
Journal, " Chasing Passive Income, Americans
Turn to Vending Machines, " points to vending
as a strong investment trend of the 2020s. There
are plenty of slices of the vending pie to go around, as
the article notes that " America has 3 million vending
machines, an $18.2 billion industry, with the average
machine generating about $525 in monthly revenue,
according to the National Automatic Merchandising
Association " and that " more than half of operators bring
in less than $1 million a year, " according to Automatic
Merchandiser's State of the Industry for Vending and
Micro Market 2022 report.
" Vending machines might seem an unlikely candidate
for a trending investment of the 2020s, but the idea has
captured the imagination of Americans dreaming of
easier money, " Joe Pinsker writes in the Journal article.
" Some pursue chips and soda as a side hustle because their
regular paychecks aren't enough for them to get by. Others
bet on vending machines as a ticket to upward mobility, to
quitting their jobs and becoming their own boss. "
24 Automatic Merchandiser * April 2024
FINDING A SERVICE NICHE
Al Hernandez of ACS will confirm that there are many
new entrants into the vending and OCS business. After
more than a decade with Royal Cup, Hernandez started
his own company in October 2020, which specializes
in providing installation and service support for
predominantly small operators in the Southeast, mostly
Georgia. Currently, ACS serves 150 operators, offering a
much-needed solution for small operators who are often
short on time and staff.
Hernandez acknowledged that his company has found
a nice niche, often responding to service calls in just a few
hours, giving even the smallest operators a much stronger
service department than they could have on their own. He
also offers a warning for entrepreneurs who are attracted
to the vending business. " There's a lot to learn - it's not
as easy as some of the YouTubers make it seem, but we've
seen companies that started just three years ago, and now
they're doing really good, so there's always the possibility
of success, " Hernandez said. " But you are going to have to
work really hard if you want to succeed. "

april2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of april2024

Editor's Note – Visit us at NAMA 2024 in Dallas
Industry News
OCS Update: How to use the simplest, most powerful business sales tool
2024 New Products of the Year
Small operators fuel the growth of vending as they chase the American dream
Dedication to excellence
Success Story – How First Class Vending became an industry disruptor
Social Hubs
april2024 - CoverTip1
april2024 - CoverTip2
april2024 - 1
april2024 - 2
april2024 - 3
april2024 - 4
april2024 - 5
april2024 - Editor's Note – Visit us at NAMA 2024 in Dallas
april2024 - 7
april2024 - Industry News
april2024 - 9
april2024 - OCS Update: How to use the simplest, most powerful business sales tool
april2024 - 11
april2024 - 12
april2024 - 13
april2024 - 2024 New Products of the Year
april2024 - 15
april2024 - 16
april2024 - 17
april2024 - 18
april2024 - 19
april2024 - 20
april2024 - 21
april2024 - 22
april2024 - 23
april2024 - Small operators fuel the growth of vending as they chase the American dream
april2024 - 25
april2024 - 26
april2024 - 27
april2024 - Dedication to excellence
april2024 - 29
april2024 - 30
april2024 - 31
april2024 - 32
april2024 - 33
april2024 - 34
april2024 - 35
april2024 - Success Story – How First Class Vending became an industry disruptor
april2024 - 37
april2024 - 38
april2024 - 39
april2024 - 40
april2024 - 41
april2024 - 42
april2024 - 43
april2024 - 44
april2024 - 45
april2024 - 46
april2024 - 47
april2024 - 48
april2024 - 49
april2024 - Social Hubs
april2024 - 51
april2024 - 52
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https://www.nxtbook.com/endeavor/automaticmerchandiser/april2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/endeavor/automaticmerchandiser/Automatic_Merchandiser_February-March_2020
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https://www.nxtbook.com/endeavor/automaticmerchandiser/octobernovember2019
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