What is Fit Pick™?

Fit Pick™ helps consumers locate vending machine choices that support a healthy lifestyle. It is a simple, ready-to-use system of vending machine stickers that identify vended products which meet a standardized set of nutrition guidelines.

Fit Pick™ nutritional criteria are based on the recommendations of the:

American Heart Association
2005 USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans
Alliance for a Healthier Generation

Fit Pick™ products are lower in fat and sugar. Labels are available for two different categories of nutritional criteria. The most commonly selected criteria for adults is 35-10-35 which means no more than:

35% of total calories from fat
10% of calories from saturated fat
35% of total product weight from sugar

Fit Pick™ also offers stickers and clings for the Alliance for a Healthier Generation guidelines.

Fit Pick is easy to implement. It does not require any outright purchase by vending sites, does not usually require changes to vending contracts unless desired, and is easily installed and maintained.

Fit Pick™ is a national program. It is available for communities and vending operators throughout the nation. Fit Pick™ was developed by the National Automatic Merchandising Association (NAMA) and can be installed by most vending operators.

Please visit the Fit Pick website to read all about it and even if you don’t use the entire program that they offer it has a wealth of information about “healthy snacks”

BBB Vending serves your vending needs in south east Michigan

Financing your business is a  critical area of managing your business and you can learn more about it in this straightforward guide. It’s a short but powerful read.

If you would like to speak with someone about leasing after you have read this eBook please call 603-501-1009 with any questions you may have, Scott will be happy to help you,

Please tell him Cindy sent you.

Scott Lynch
Director of Client Services | Direct Capital
Phone# 603-501-1009

BBBVending serves your vending needs in south east Michigan

Under Section 179 of the current tax code, your able to enjoy huge tax savings in the coming year by deducting up to $139,000 when buying or leasing qualifying equipment for your business… But this deduction isn’t automatic, and regulations change from year to year. This is information that you need to know for the 2012 year.

To learn more, download the free eBook Section 179 for 2012 and work with your tax professional to take advantage of this lucrative incentive to invest in your business.

This is the link for the downloadable ebook.
allaboutthevendingbusiness.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Section_179_2012.pdf

Give that a moment to load, it really is information you NEED to know

Please feel free to contact them if you need more information or if you have questions. They are always happy to help.

Scott Lynch
Director of Client Services | Direct Capital
(866) 777-0117
direct.capital@directcapital.com

BBB Vending serves your vending needs in southeast Michigan

5-hour Energy has about 12 percent of the overall energy drink market, which is about $9 billion in sales. With an advertising budget of close to $90 million they don’t intend to be taken over any time soon

5 hours Energy contains 0 sugar and is manufactured in Wabash, Indiana. It is sold in 2-oz (59 mL) containers. They offer several flavors but the berry is the most popular. They also have a decaf version as well.

The video below is a story the CBS News did about 5-hour Energy drink.

BBB Vending serves your vending needs in south east Michigan

We usually hold back a chuckle and say, “if we only knew then what we know now.”

The only side of vending that most people see is being surrounded by junk food and collecting the money. Who wouldn’t want to be in the vending business if that is all there is to it?

Most people never think about the lifting, lugging and hauling. How to keep the chocolate from melting in the winter and keeping the soda from freezing in the winter. Where to store the products, how much to buy… you want a discount buying in bulk but there is a shelf life on what we use in our vending machines.

You have to get set up with good service people that will come and fix your machines quickly when they break down. An out of order sign placed on your vending machines doesn’t pay the bills.

And Stops…. where do you find stops that are going to be good ones. The business tells you it has 80 employees but you can only ever count about 15 cars in the parking lot.

Vending is like any other business… it is just that, A BUSINESS… it is not a hobby. You have to learn the business to make it profitable. You can learn it on your own through trial and error or you can read about it from someone who has DONE IT!

A friend of mine wanted her own vending route. She thought it would give her a bit of spending money. She just wanted a couple of stops to get her out of the house.

I tried to tell her about the lifting, lugging and hauling. I tried to tell her that if she only had a couple of stops her product may go bad before it is sold. I told her that the money that she collected had to not only pay for her vending machines but it also had to pay for her stock.

Did she listen?….
She did NOT, she thought it sounded like fun! A great way to have a bit of extra cash to spend.

The first stop she got was upstairs and the elevator didn’t work… and her new vending business was all down hill from there.

You simply MUST learn the vending business. You can do it 2 way. You can do the trial and error method and learn the ropes on your own or… you can read how to get started in the vending business from someone who wrote the book on it.

I thought about writing a book about the vending business but then I came across Dave Gieber’s book and it contained the exact information that I would have written.

I contacted Dave and told him what I thought of his book and that it could have been written by me. I told him I was going to share his information with everyone who had an interest in the vending business.

Click here to see a copy of the Table of Content.

Dave has loaded his book with great information from his personal experience as a vending machine operator.

If your toying with the idea of starting a vending business or if your already in the business and would just like a few pointer.. get a copy of the book “Vending Business Secrets The Untold Story” by Dave Gieber.

It’s a very informative read…

Once you have a business you will be asked to donate to many organizations. What I am about to share with you is coming from many years of raising money for a local group where I live. When I would ask for a donation and they said “no” I never took it personally.

Most of the time when someone said “no” it was just that their funds were tight. So please don’t think you’ll look like the bad guy if you politely say, “no”

The ones I liked the best were the ones who added… “good luck on your efforts” and they meant it.

When we as a business do donate we donate a basket of goodies.
I get a basket and fill it with chips, candy, crackers, cookies, ect. I always attach our business card so it does not get lost and try to display it so that you can’t miss who donated this great item.

For many years I always put together a huge basket for an annual fundraiser that was always held the day after Thanksgiving. Our beautiful basket was always held over for the live auction and the bidding was fierce. I was always pleased to hear that it brought a good price, always over $100.00.

I don’t donate to this local event anymore….WHY?
Because they don’t ask!… Silly People.

Be prepared to say “no’ to donation requests if you are not able. May I suggest the perfect donation would be a brandable product to YOU
when you can!

BBB Vending serving south east Michigan

Several years ago we got T-Shirts with the Hershey’s logo on them. We also got a decal that drew attention to the promotion we were offering. Anyone who found a Hershey’s sticker on the back of their candy bar would get a free T-Shirt. Sales were brisk especially since we put the first sticker on the second candy bar to vend.

Use your imagination.. you could put coupons on the back of your product, perhaps a joint venture with a local sandwich shop.

This also sparks interaction with people who work at your stops… and interaction is always a good thing.

Some of these people may leave and the place where they go may need a vendor….. Who do you think they will think of?   You!
Of course!

You might offer people a finders fee if they are able to find you a stop to place your machine. People know people… connections are a good thing to have.

We were at a stop and the manager kept getting moved to different location. We placed vending machines in every move he made. Gotta love connections.

Good will and interaction is always a good thing.

 BBB Vending  serving south east Michigan