News

Fresh Healthy Vending launches healthy micro market

May 21, 2014

Fresh Healthy Vending International has launched the Fresh Micro Market, an unstaffed, automated self-checkout retail market which is stocked regularly with healthy snacks and complete meal options that can be customized to support company wellness programs and meet employee preferences.

The San Diego, California-based healthy vending franchisor's Fresh Micro Market option is now available to all existing and future franchisees via its www.freshmicromarket.com website for placement in corporate break rooms and other building locations.

“This is a high-growth, exciting but untapped industry segment for us and our franchisees," Nick Yates, vice president of corporate operations at Fresh Healthy Vending, said in a statement. "Our market and product research and due diligence review of third-party industry options, including a possible acquisition, led us to develop and manufacture the new proprietary micro markets.”

Fresh Healthy Vending worked with Reliable Contractors and VirtueBuild, both based in San Diego, to develop the hardware and software for its Fresh Micro Markets product, Yates said.

The self-checkout Fresh Micro Market features cashless payment options such as credit/debit card, prepaid market loyalty cards, Google e-wallet and payment platforms such as PayPal that are most often installed in corporate locations.

Fresh Healthy Vending said Fresh Micro Markets take up the same size floor space as full-size vending machines and allow for multiple product purchases in a single transaction.

“Nick Yates and I visualized creating a sleek, consumer-focused, healthy dispensing system that is automated and comprehensive but simple to operate,” Shawn Bonneau, vice president of Reliable Contractors and VirtueBuild, said in a statement. “The look and function of the Fresh Micro Market is unlike anything else out there and is in line with the future direction of American workplaces that are shifting to make employee amenities and other benefits a top priority. It’s the ‘iPhone Era’ where everything must have both a clean and crisp look, but wedded with simple-to-use features and high functionality. We believe this is precisely what the Fresh Micro Market proclaims and brings to companies now.”

Fresh Healthy Vending said it will supply Fresh Micro Market franchisees with its expertise in product development, location procurement and technical support, as well as access to franchise coaching and franchisee mentor services.

Fresh Micro Markets parallel a retail store by offering extensive transactional data processing, including day-part metrics, business analytics and merchandising strategies, as well as Internet connectivity for open-system, electronic payment processing and transaction tracking, the firm said.