October-November 2021 - 29

an unexpected event that dramatically
decreases or increases the need for
a product or service, usually temporarily.
Where COVID-19 grounded
airlines, for instance, it overwhelmed
customer-care centers. For vending,
micro market and office coffee providers,
which exclusively operate on
other businesses' premises, demand
almost entirely disappeared after midMarch
2020, after the official call of
the pandemic.
" While we kept things going, the
pandemic certainly slowed down our
plans, " Loughran said. " In the fourth
quarter of 2020 we returned to acquisition
mode. "
As was the case for many operators,
COVID shut down or greatly
reduced staff at many of Legend's
accounts. But the downtime also
created opportunities to improve its
internal systems and strengthen connections
with its vendors and partners.
" As a team, we were able to get into
the nitty-gritty of finding different,
more flexible ways to service customers
without the comforts of a healthy
market, " Koehr pointed out.
" COVID reminded us of how
impactful our product is, " he added.
" Anyone close to distribution and logistics
kept this country running during
the crisis. The essential worker supply
chain kept the heartbeat of this country
going and we fueled that. There's
patriotism in those efforts, and I salute
all the operators around the country,
including our teams here at Legend. "
A few months into the pandemic,
operators began getting calls from
locations needing food and beverages
as they began bringing back employees
in limited numbers. Many of these
businesses had reduced staff; and often
inconsistent schedules: on one week,
off the next, for instance. By rapidly
"
As I got closer to the
unattended convenience
space and better
understood its value, I
realized how impactful our
products can be. "
Nick Duda
Gathering for a company photo are
Linthicum Heights' warehouse and
office team members.
assessing demand and matching
supply, Legend was able to respond
to these calls. And its willingness to
break norms and find ways to provide
good service and operate profitably,
allowed it to deliver a vital service to
the workforce.
" Where a client might have had
300 employees, pre-pandemic, and
wanted to make a switch to Legend,
but now had only 40 people
in the office, " Adams observed, " it's
an account most people wouldn't
have taken previously, but now you
must figure out how to service that
account and work with the customer
as they scale back. Given our efficient
management model, we're able
to make decisions quickly and adapt
to the changing workplace as we
return to whatever the new normal
might be. "
The coronavirus also accelerated
balance in the business-to-business
dynamic, according to Duda.
" COVID-19 certainly makes
you think about the kinds of business
that operators are looking to
October/November 2021 * VendingMarketWatch.com 29
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October-November 2021

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