We are living in an age where technology has crept into every aspect of our life. Everything ranging from food industry to the space industry, has seen an unimaginable revolution.
Of the many technologies that have influenced the food and catering industry, one is the vending machine.
People in India have started loving high tech gadgets and it paves way for the vending machines. Further due to shortage of time, people love getting their food items quickly and it can easily be done through the vending machines.
What Is A Vending Machine
A vending machine is an automatic machine that sells food items like snacks, juice cans, cupcakes, pizzas or tickets etc. to the customers. It is like an ATM of food items and tickets, in which food items and other items are loaded by the owner for round o clock availability to the consumers.
In a vending machine one pays money through coins, notes or cards and against that a desired food item is dispensed by the machine, without any human help.
Each vending machine has a specific button for each item, which when pressed makes the machine dispense the very selected item.
Why To Start Vending Machine Business Idea In India
If you are wondering, why you should start vending machine business in India, then the following points are enough to motivate you;
- It is an emerging business in India and the early runners will definitely have an advantage.
- It is a very innovative way of selling things and is very suitable in the fast moving world where people do not have enough time to wait for their food items.
- Vending machine business is a very convenient way of doing business. Here, the owner just needs to fill the machine and the machine will take care of the rest.
- Starting a vending machine is very simple. All you need to do is to find some space and install a machine, apart from filling it with the stuff everyday.
- It is a very flexible business. Once you fill the machine with the necessary items, you can use the rest of your time in other jobs.
- Vending machine business idea is very profitable in nature. It can serve as a good source of side income.
- You can run many vending machines at different places, which is not possible in case of a full fledged shop.
How To Start Vending Machine Business In India
If you are motivated enough to start your vending machine business in 2023, then you can do so by following the steps given below.
1. Select Your Target Consumers
This is the first step towards your vending machine business, and it will determine your future course of action. Check whether you want to target the school going children, the gym going fitness freaks, the travelers at the airport and metro stations, or the shoppers in a mall.
Once, you have decided who your target consumers are, make a list of items that will be consumed by your target consumers.
2. Prepare a list of items
After selecting your target consumers, now is the time to sell our products to them. Load your machine with only such items that suit your target.
For example, if you are targeting school kids, then you will load snacks and other nutritional foods in your machine. Similarly, if you target consumers are the travelers, then you should put meal like products in your machine. In the same way, if you are targeting gym going people, then you should load protein shakes, protein bars etc in your machine.
3. Select a proper location
This is also of very high importance in vending machine business. A good choice of location will determine the chances of your success.
How to choose location for vending machine
While choosing your location, keep the following things in the mind.
- select areas with very high footfall. Select only such a location where your targeted audience is huge in number.
- areas where permissions are granted. In order to set up your machine, you will require permissions from various government offices. Select only such places where getting permission will be easy.
- Choose such locations, where people have to wait. If people have to wait at any place, the chances of using a vending machine increase.
- Select such places, where there are no food stalls already. It will increase the chances that people will buy from your vending machine.
- Choose only such places that are easily accessible and nearer to you. This well make the maintenance of vending machine easier for you.
- choose only such place where your vending machines will fit. the location should have enough space to fit your machines.
The space required for this business depends upon the type and number of vending machines that you want to install. You can get an idea from the table below;
| Type of vending machine | Space required |
|---|---|
| Small Snack Vending Machine | 5 ft by 4 ft |
| Large Snack Vending Machine | 6 ft by 4 ft |
| Beverage vending machine | 6 ft by 4 ft |
| Hybrid Vending Machine | 6 ft by 4 ft |
From the above table, you can very well guess the space that you will require for running vending machine business.
4. Choose the type of Vending Machine
You can choose the type of machine based upon your budget and targeted audience.
There are usually three types of vending machines, and they are:
1; Bulk Vending Machines: Such machines store a single product in bulk, and then dispense a certain amount on every transaction.
2; Mechanical Vending Machines: They require human help, and usually cost around 1000 USD each.
3; Electrical Vending Machines: They are fully automatic and have touch screens. They are the most advanced vending machines and usually cost around 2000 USD each. It has multiple payment options also.
In addition, the vending machines can be divided into snack vending machines, beverage vending machines and hybrid machines.
If your budget allows, you should get electrical hybrid vending machines. They are highly dependable and user friendly, and will make huge sales for you. The multiple payment option associated with such machines ensures that all kinds of customers, whether they are carrying the cash or not, are served.
5. Stock your products
If you have completed the above 4 steps, then the next step is to purchase the selected food items.
You should purchase your products in bulk because;
- You should never leave your vending machine empty.
- Buying in bulk will help you in cutting costs.
- Stocking products will save you from the market fluctuations.
- It will give you peace of mind and save your time for other jobs.
6. Marketing of your Vending Machine Business
This is a very important step for your initial success in this business. You will get customers to your vending machine only through the proper marketing, which you can do through the following ways:
- Give some opening freebies to attract the people.
- Make accounts on social media to let people know about your vending machines.
- Raise a big hoarding outside your machine area.
- Talk to the local schools, businesses and ask them to give your vending machine a try.
Once your machine starts witnessing some footfall, the news will spread by the word of the mouth also. And then there will be no looking back.
Cost Of Vending Machine Business In India
While calculating the total cost of this business, you will have to consider the factors tabulated below;
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Vending Machine | 1.4 Lakh Rupees |
| Refiller’s Wages | 10000 Rupees |
| Rent for space | 1000 Rupees per month |
| Software charges | 1000 Rupee per month |
| Payment gateway charges | 1% of the sales per month |
It means, that initially you should have at least 1.4 lakh rupees in your hand to start this vending machine business.
Raw Materials and Machinery Required.
In order to run your vending machine business successfully in India, you will require the following machinery and raw materials;
- Vending machines.
- consumable items like snacks, drinks etc.
Where can I buy vending machines?
You can buy vending machines from different sellers, which include Alibaba, India Mart etc.
Profit In Vending Machine Business
This is a very profitable business, but the profits generated depend upon the following factors;
- Location and sales: It will dictate how many sales you will make and consequently impact your profits.
- Expenses: If you manage your expenses b cutting the costs, your profits will increase.
- Types of items: Some items are there that have good margins than the others. So profits will vary here.
In general, a vending machine will make a profit of around Rs 10000 to Rs 25000, per month, depending upon the above factors.
Challenges In India
The vending machine business in India is fraught with many challenges. They are:
- Vending machines require fresh and untorn notes, and it may sometimes ruin the user experience.
- It is a very costly investment. Right at the start, you have to invest at least 1.5 lakh rupees.
- Risk of damage to the machine, and chances of theft of the products.
- Proper availability of electricity for beverage vending machine.
- people still not accustomed to such machines, may find using them a difficult job.
So this was all about this business idea. We are sure that you would have loved reading this article. Share it with your friends.
Also Check: How To Start Papad Making Business In India.
FAQs
Yes, vending machine business is very profitable in nature. With a single machine doing good business, you can earn a monthly profit of more than ten thousand rupees.
Yes, you should start vending machine business in India. It has its own advantages and disadvantages. The advantages include using it as side business, it being emerging and innovative in nature, convenient to do, The disadvantages are that people are not yet used to such machines and there are high chances of theft and machine damage. However, the pros outweigh the cons. So, you should start this business in India, if you want so.
In future, vending machines are going to witness an exponential growth. It is because people have started to have paucity of time and they love dealing with smart machines. In addition, people are slowly getting accustomed to such food dispensing machines, more so after Covid 19. Hence, there is no doubt that vending machines are going to see a boom in near future in India.
