april2024 - 48

" We prefer selling local and specialty
coffee, " he said. " We want our customers to
understand that the price between a value
brand and a premium brand, when you
break it down by the cup, is not much of
a difference. "
The company prides itself on carrying
brands that other vendors don't, including a
local Nevada roaster, Royal Coffee Roasters.
Despite leaving the coffee business
for several years, Matthew was not
intimidated by the changes his company
may have missed. " The coffee bean hadn't
changed, and the addiction to caffeine
hadn't changed, either, " he said. " What
had changed was the technology and
equipment, and it had only gotten better. "
He noted that the adjustment to the new
equipment and logistics was simple.
Michelle and Matthew Marsh in the warehouse.
do, " Matthew explained. " We service a high percentage of
restaurants with espresso, coffee and iced tea machines,
which makes us different from other operators. "
In addition, First Class Vending offers third-party
maintenance for restaurants that have their own
equipment, due to the acquisition of a local mechanical
OCS repair company. First Class Vending recently
opened a cafe in partnership with Death Wish Coffee in
a Las Vegas hotel, supplying the store a range of cups and
sugar to coffee and espresso machines.
Across the board, Matthew prefers selling quality
coffee and does everything he can to avoid selling
customers the value brand.
One thing he was sure to implement, however, was
having separate routes. " A true OCS operator cannot
throw coffee boxes in the back of a vending truck and
expect a vending route driver to deliver it, " he said. " We
have two separate routes, and we send two trucks to the
same location because they go on different frequencies.
Some of our coffee drivers are also really good at sales,
and they will help promote seasonal items that we have
and new products that come up. "
Today, the company has grown to more than 20
OCS routes in Nevada.
FRICTIONLESS STORES REMAIN
AN AREA OF TRIAL
Matthew and Michelle have always welcomed new ideas
and offerings, and that's what led them to First Class
Vending's first frictionless store. The company launched
Zippin, a checkout-free store, six months ago, and has
plans to open two more frictionless stores in the Harry
Reid International Airport in the next two months. As
with any new technology and offerings, frictionless stores
have proven to be a learning curve for the First Class
Jo Ann Lichtman
Manufacturer's Representative for Vending,
OCS and Micro-Market Products
2019 Forest Creek, Libertyville, Illinois 60048
(847) 680-4790 * 800-801-7453
(847) 680-4796 FAX
Email: joann@lichtmanandassociates.com
48 Automatic Merchandiser * April 2024
2403AUTM_LichtmanAndAssociates.indd 1
2/22/24 9:14 AM
Vending team. The barrier to entry so far has been cost.
" We are lucky enough to do a partnership with Mars,
so they are helping us test out these markets to determine
where they want to go with it in the future, " said Matthew.
" And we are trying to learn what systems work and what
doesn't work for us, as well as the ROI we are looking for. "
He believes that as more companies come out with
this type of selling model, the price will come down to
april2024

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