Vending snacks in a vending machine is a great business, if you start out the right way.

Please realize that the location, your business skills, your people skills and your product selection are as important as choosing the type of style of machine. Usually new vendors get so caught up with the machine that they lose sight of the rest.

Make sure you use brand name products. Large companies have already done the advertising for you. I constantly see vendors putting in "no name" products because they are a few cents cheaper. You customer doesn't want "no name", they want the famous vending snacks.

And while I'm on the topic, there has been a shift towards healthier snacks in machines. Granola bars and peanuts are selling better in snack machines, but, when push comes to shove MOST of your customers will still by chips and bars.

Don't tell your customers what to buy, offer a selection, and let them tell you what they want with their wallet. Let them decide your selection of vending snacks.