Article

Super Bowl winner teams up with Healthy Vending kiosks

Seattle Seahawks fullback becomes healthy vending kiosk franchisee to support his healthy living foundation.

April 14, 2014

Super Bowl winning Seattle Seahawks fullback Michael Robinson recently inked a franchise deal with Fresh Healthy Vending International Inc., which focuses on healthy and affordable snack and beverage vending.

Robinson purchased 10 Fresh Healthy Vending Combo machines to start his Fresh Healthy Vending franchise, Healthy Treats, which he plans to use to complement his youth-oriented foundation, Excel to Excellence.

A 9-year NFL veteran, Robinson is a Virginia native and recently relocated back to his hometown of Richmond, where he decided to start his Fresh Healthy Vending franchise. In both Richmond and Henrico Counties, where he started his foundation in 2010, Robinson plans to begin installing all 10 Fresh Healthy Vending machines into schools, businesses and community centers by late spring, the company said in an announcement.

"I have always been a planner, so I had been looking into the healthy vending industry for some time, after an NFL-personnel friend of mine expressed his positive experience and success with a Fresh Healthy Vending franchise. For me, it was another business venture to pursue in the off-season, as well as think about for my post-NFL career," Robinson said in the announcement. "When I realized how directly related Fresh Healthy Vending's initiatives were to my foundation's, I began working on starting my own franchise, here in Virginia, where there is a need for not only educating our youth about healthy lifestyles, but providing them with the resources to make those positive changes possible. I am thrilled with the amount of support I have already received from the community."

Robinson founded the Excel to Excellence Foundation to address his concern for under-served children throughout the community; the foundation now provides additional guidance for students to be successful in academics, community service and extracurricular activities. As part of the non-profit, Robinson mobilizes his NFL teammates and friends to lead free youth football camps and incentive programs to increase attendance and grade point averages among kids and teens.

"A large part of my efforts are motivated from a health scare I experienced last year. After having a terrible reaction to a prescribed medication, my liver and kidneys began shutting down and I lost 30 pounds in just a couple of weeks. It was then that I truly realized what it means to appreciate good health," he said. "I want to be able to provide resources for good health to as many people as I can, starting with the youth in Virginia, and particularly in the underprivileged areas where they don't know anything better than junk and fast food. A lot is about to change here very soon; we're changing lives one snack at a time."

With an emphasis on educating youth about healthy choices, Robinson anticipates that his Healthy Treats franchise will expand outside of Virginia in the coming years, with potential partners in other regions of the U.S. already interested in the concept, according to the announcement.

"We're extremely honored to welcome Mr. Robinson to the Fresh Healthy Vending team as a new franchisee and know that his experience as a professional athlete and advocate for today's youth will aid in his success with this franchise," Fresh Healthy Vending CEO Alex Kennedy said. "We know that Mr. Robinson can make a strong impact throughout these first two regions, as he has already expressed the endorsement of both local school districts, as well as the Mayor of Richmond, all likely a result of the positive changes that have already materialized due to his localized efforts."

This May, Fresh Healthy Vending plans to sponsor Robinson and his NFL peers for their fifth annual youth football camp in Virginia, with more than 500 participants and more than 3,000 spectators.

Fresh Healthy Vending, based in San Diego, focuses on the concept of vending machines stocked with "tried-and-tested fresh, healthy" snacks and it working to capitalize on a growing market of health conscious consumers. The company has appointed more than 215 franchisees throughout the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and the Bahamas and is looking to partner with like-minded entrepreneurs who share its vision.

The company offers three different machines: The Healthy Vending Combo snack and drink machine; Healthy Vending Café that brews gourmet hot beverages in less than 40 seconds; and the brand new Healthy Vending Touch, a vending machine that integrates a 46-inch 3D interactive touchscreen.

The company said it has more than 2,500 machines installed in schools, universities, hospitals, community centers, military bases, airports, fitness facilities, YMCAs, libraries and other types of locations.

(Image from Fresh Healthy Vending on Pinterest.)