August 2023 - 22

HEALTHY CONVENIENCE
food solu t ions
F
OOD SALES BY CONVENIENCE SERVICES
operators are showing another year of
improvement, and fresh food in micro markets
is gaining more acceptance. Today, clients are
increasingly willing to pay more for high-quality foods.
FRESH FOOD SUPPLIERS
One option for operators is to use local
commissaries that deliver daily and to
explore local partnerships with wellknown
brands within their area and on
the regional scale. To provide quality
fresh food, a strong relationship with
local food suppliers is important.
Equally important is that each location
requires careful analysis to determine
the right mix.
Operators report that some locations are
vend the meal within seconds. Customers can also
recycle empty jars back into the Fridge or toss them
in a recycling bin. Recently celebrating its 10-year
anniversary, today, Farmer's Fridge has more than 600
of its Fridges in the U.S. in airports, hospitals, office
buildings and universities.
Consumer
preferences continue
to shift toward
fresh, frozen and
healthier options.
By Molly Rogers,
Managing Editor
insistent about the availability of fresh food for their
employees and, in some cases, are willing to subsidize
the spoilage. Often, support comes from a cooperative
relationship between the operator and the client.
HEALTHY MEAL VENDING
Chicago-based Farmer's Fridge offers refrigerated vending
machines that dispense salads, wraps and snacks made
with high-quality and often local ingredients. Fridges
are temperature-controlled and stocked with a variety
of meals and snacks. Customers tap the screen to start
browsing through the menu, and can click the image
to view its description, dietary restrictions, nutritional
facts and the full list of ingredients. Once the item has
been selected, the customer views the cart and checks
out by simply swiping their card. The Fridge will then
grey_and/Shutterstock
22 Automatic Merchandiser * August 2023
FROZEN TREATS SEGMENT
Automatic Merchandiser's recent State
of the Industry report showed that ice
cream and frozen products increased
in 2022 from $0.3 billion to $0.6
billion in revenue for combined
vended and micro market segments.
Mars, a leader in the ice cream category,
recently announced its ambition to
grow Mars Ice Cream business to $1
billion by 2030. Mars holds several topselling
products in the U.S. frozen novelty category
including Snickers Ice Cream Bars, M&M's Ice Cream
Sandwiches, Twix Ice Cream, and Kind Frozen treats.
Reaching $1 billion in sales would place Mars Ice
Cream among the company's 12 other billion-dollar
brands. According to Fortune Business Insights, the
global ice cream market is projected to hit $104.96 billion
by 2029, up from $73.62 billion.
" At Mars, we see an opportunity to grow our ice
cream business not only in North America, but around
the globe, " Anton Vincent, president at Mars Wrigley
North America and head of Mars Ice Cream globally,
said in the company announcement. " We're innovating
with a focus on product and purpose and expanding our
global manufacturing capabilities to ensure we can meet
rapidly rising consumer demand. "
August 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of August 2023
