If there’s one thing that defines a good vending machine business, it’s location. Even an amazing machine with great products can fail to deliver a good ROI if it isn’t in the right place.
Imagine putting your snack machine in the middle of a busy college campus. You can easily net $2,000 a month in profit. Now, imagine that same machine in a small office with only a few employees. You might be lucky if you take home $50 a month.
It may sound extreme, but if you don’t choose the best locations for your vending machine business, you can wind up actually losing money from rent and operating costs. That's not what you want to do in a vending machine industry. Luckily, the easiest way to avoid this is by doing your research, knowing your market, and choosing the absolute best places to put a vending machine in your area.
How do you decide on the best locations? This guide is here to tell you everything you need to know to succeed in vending machine industry. In addition to exploring 15 of the best vending locations, we’ll show you how to find locations for vending machines, walk you through the process of pitching to business, and offer some tips for successfully setting up your machine in various spots and how vending machines provide sustainable sales in high traffic locations.
Where Is The Best Place To Put A Vending Machine?
Research is everything for a vending machine owner. Your vending business “office” is really wherever your vending machines are. You’ll find yourself on the move as you scout out potential spots, meet with prospective clients, and scour your target zip codes for great locations.
While it may seem daunting, there are several strategies professional vending business owners use to find the best locations. These techniques can help you find good spots faster while cutting back on stress, time, and commuting costs to look for good places to put your machine.
Use a Research Service
A professional vending machine locator can compile the top lists of the best selling vending machine spots in any given zip code. This can help narrow your focus in an urban area, or highlight hidden potential in more suburban and rural locations.
At vendinglocator.com, we don’t rely on stale lists and AI to build our jot-downs. Instead, an expert team of researchers hand-pick locations for your vending machines based on geographic location.
Use Google Maps
One of the easiest ways to learn about an area for your vending machines quickly is by taking a virtual tour on Google Maps. Hop over to the site, plug in a zip code or starting location, and start looking around. You can even filter by different business types by typing “hospitals” or “schools” in the search bar.
Instantly, the map will give you a list of locations matching your inquiry, along with contact information. In just 30 minutes, you could have a list of dozens of prospective clients to pitch your vending machines to.
Use Local Directories
This method may feel old-school, but that’s probably why it works so well. Back in the pre-Google era, people used phone books to find local businesses. These directories have been digitized in the modern age, so you can use them to easily identify lots of businesses in a particular industry.
For example, look up Google My Business, Yelp, and YellowBook.com to start finding businesses for your vending machines in your target industry. This could be healthcare practices, colleges, offices, fitness centers, or anywhere else you want to vend in.
Manually Look For Locations Within Your Area
Grab a drink, put on your favorite playlist, and start driving around the neighborhood. Note any places you see that would make good potentially profitable vending machine locations. Vending machines nearby your home can give a good idea on what local owners may be interested in a machine, and could potentially allow you to expand to other similar locations that may not have been tapped yet. The benefit of this method is that you get to see how many people are in a certain location and gauge its visibility.
Once you find a good spot, consider checking it out again at different times, too. You want a vending machine location with a steady stream of potential customers passing by throughout the day.
What Are The Best Places To Put Vending Machines?
Now that we’ve talked about how to find a profitable vending machine location, it’s time to look at the top-grossing vending machine location ideas for your vending business. These are the top areas to place vending machines that can earn you a lot of passive income with minimal upkeep and operating costs.
It’s a good idea to decide on location types prior to conducting extensive market research. You can go about this in two ways:
- Pick locations based on the type of vending machine you have
- Find great locations first, then choose the right vending machines for them
Whatever option you go for, this list of the best vending machine locations will tell you everything you need to know. You’ll see some expected mentions, like gyms and metro stations, but there are also some lesser-known vending business spots that could help you strike gold and attract more impulse buyers. As well for locations outside of this list, it never hurts to make connections with property owners to see if there are any unexpected high traffic locations in your area for place vending machines.
1. Schools
Whether it’s in the cafeteria or teacher’s lounge, schools are a great place for vending business to sell snacks, healthy snacks, sodas, coffee, or tea. You can also change the inventory based on the age of students. It's more likely your vending business will find success in a high school than an elementary school, for example, because teens have a lot more autonomy over what they eat and what they do with their money.
There could be some restrictions on vending to younger kids, especially if you’re selling candy or junk food. If you decide to reach out to an elementary school, consider marketing to the faculty instead. Because teachers often arrive at school early and leave several hours after their students, having coffee, snacks, and food on hand could prove profitable.
2. Apartments
Apartment complexes and apartment communities with multiple buildings on the premises, can be a great way to earn passive income as a vending machine owner. Whether it’s bottled water in the fitness center, snacks in the resident’s lounge or leasing office, or laundry detergent and dryer sheets in the laundromat, you have plenty of options.
Beverage vendors can be popular in apartment buildings because they appeal to tenants and staff alike. Leasing agents, maintenance crew, and contractors on the property will appreciate being able to grab something on the go without leaving the property.
Tenants can also enjoy enhanced amenities with vending machines that cater to their needs. You can even get creative and try vending household items, like toilet paper and pet food. It seems unusual, but these are things people need on a routine basis and often don’t want to have to commute for.
Whichever option you go with, apartment buildings are great places to put vending machines thanks to a constant stream of activity.
3. Motels/Hotels
A motel is much more affordable than a hotel, but no-frills accommodations also mean going without a lot of resources people need to feel comfortable. There are also many motels located off highways and somewhat secluded areas that leave people out of options when it comes to food and essentials, like shampoo, conditioner, soap, and even baby products.
In marketing, the people who need something only you can provide are known as a captive audience, and you don’t see this illustrated anywhere better than in a motel. Guests need comfort and convenience that a vending business can provide, and hotel lobbies and motels make for great locations.
Whether your vending machines sell snacks, hot meals, or bottled water and drinks, it is sure to generate a good cash flow on a location that has a revolving door of customers.
4. College Dorms
The stereotypical college student living off snack food and instant ramen isn’t entirely inaccurate. But you could also help infuse young adults’ diets with more traditional food by vending high-quality, tasty snacks that are low in sugar, sodium, and fat. You could even have fully vegan machines to cater to the plant-based students living on campus. Since nearby restaurants for college campuses tend to be minimal, vending machines can provide a similar experience and be entirely autonomous.
Dorms are always busy, and because students all keep different hours, you can expect ongoing vending business year-round. The only time you’ll experience a dip in income is during winter, spring, and summer breaks. Luckily, these don’t last too long, and your vending machines will be earning again before you know it.
5. Community Colleges and Universities
Beyond the door, you can vend on campus. Think about dining halls, study halls, libraries, student gyms, the bookstore, party rooms, and even the faculty lounge. There are plenty of spots on a campus that have a strong demand for good vending machine options.
In addition to students and staff, vending machines in common areas can also get business from parents, prospective students, and visitors.
6. Gyms
Anywhere people workout is a good place to sell healthy snacks, like protein bars, water, and sports drinks that restore electrolytes (think sugar-free Gatorade or vitamin-infused water), making them ideal for a drink machine and other similar machines to sell healthy products. Employees also tend to work long hours and will appreciate having easy access to healthy food options at fitness centers through gym vending machines. Gyms also tend to be high traffic areas, allowing for a large amount of vends in a secured area.
In locker rooms, you can also sell things like body wash, shower caps, travel-size deodorants, shaving cream, and feminine hygiene products.
7. Warehouses
Warehouses and manufacturing facilities tend to run 24-hours, and they have a rotational staff that ultimately means more customers for your vending machines. People in warehouses perform physically demanding work, and they don’t have long breaks. This means they want to easily get something to eat or drink when they take some time off their feet. Great opportunity for a vending business, right?
Another reason why warehouses and manufacturing facilities make great vending machine locations is their physical distance from restaurants, coffee shops, and even grocery stores. It’s harder for people who work in a warehouse to access other food choices close to their place of employment, which means it’s easier for you to market your vending machine as a huge benefit to the crew.
8. Factories
Just like warehouse staff, factory workers have demanding schedules and multiple shifts that don’t usually give them enough time to commute for a meal. Whether they need a bottle of water, a good lunch, or want to grab a hot cup of coffee before heading home, your vending machines can provide what they need on site.
Many factories are also located in remote areas, and rural settings tend to require lengthy drives to simple conveniences like a Starbucks. For this reason, hot coffee vending business can be popular in these locations for vending machines, along with selling snacks (junk food and healthy snacks), salads, and even full meals.
9. Nursing Home
Staff, residents, and visiting friends and family can enjoy the accessibility of vending machines in a medical facilities. One of the reasons nursing homes are great locations for vending machines is the fact that they are open 24 hours a day year-round. There is always a staff on-call, so you will always have potential customers on the property.
Working long and multiple shifts at a nursing home also tends to come with limited break time; a vending machine in a break room could be the perfect way for staff to grab a cup of coffee, healthy snack, or quick meal between caring for patients.
Vending machines can also go in common areas or a waiting room as a fun way for seniors to buy a healthy treat, as well as provide a good location for other vending machines that may cater more specifically to the elderly.
10. Malls
Shopping malls see hundreds, if not thousands, of people each day, which means there will always be an audience for your vending machine. You can sell refreshments, snacks, or even small toys for people to grab as they walk by to standard retail stores.
Even though most indoor malls have other food courts, the high prices can deter them from buying a drink or something to eat, even when they want it. They’ll love the option to grab something quickly at a more affordable price and enjoy it while they take a quick break from shopping.
In outdoor shopping malls, vending machines can also be a great offering to people who are passing through and want to refresh with a cool drink or refuel with a snack they can easily munch on as they window shop.
11. Car Dealerships/Auto Shops/Gas Stations
People spend an hour or more on average waiting at a car dealership. They can also spend a long time waiting for their vehicle to be served in an auto repair shop. To make their wait more comfortable, a vending machine can offer a selection of tasty drinks and snacks for them to enjoy. Parents with small children will also appreciate having something yummy to keep their little ones busy while they wait.
12. Amusement Parks
Amusement parks are great because they have a diverse market with clearly defined needs. People walking around the park grounds are often hungry, thirsty, or in need of items like a rain poncho or sunglasses. You can easily target them by providing affordable refreshments that are cheaper than the expensive fare found in restaurants and sold by stands. Drink machines tend to be the highest performing machines you can place in amusement parks.
13. Office Buildings
A office building is an excellent place to vend food, including ready-to-eat meals, sandwiches, salads, and hot dishes. People who work in office buildings only get an hour for lunch, and most employees don’t want to spend their only break commuting to a restaurant or visiting other nearby machines outside. Large office buildings with multiple companies on site make for even better, being locations foot traffic tends to congregate around and also make for good micro markets.
Vending machines in a office building offer easy access to a quick snack and afternoon pick-me-ups, too, and also provide an inclusive high foot traffic location if they are the only vending machine in the building. Employees working in a office building tend to use a vending machine regularly, making them very consistent in terms of sales. Whether someone wants to get an iced coffee to wrap up their day or a granola bar for breakfast, you machine could give them plenty of options to make their workspace more comfortable.
14. Laundromats
A trip to the local laundromat or your nearby laundry rooms might be just another part of someone’s routine, but that doesn’t mean waiting for their clothes to dry ever gets any easier. Instead of traveling to and from their house and wasting money on gas, a lot of people choose to wait out their wash and dry cycles in the laundromat.
That being said, it can take several hours to wash loads of laundry, and people will often want something to eat or drink during that time. You could also make passive income by vending laundry essentials, like different types of detergent, dryer sheets, and laundry bags. This makes for a great location, as laundry rooms are high traffic locations in urban environments.
15. Bus and Train Stations
If you want a prime location for vending machines that has a nearly constant flow of high foot traffic, bus stations and train stations are a great place to put a vending machine. Travelers are either in a hurry or facing a long wait time at the station, and many bus and train stations are in remote outdoor location. In both cases, people appreciate having easy access to a quick snack and drinks they can enjoy while they’re there and take with them on their trip.
How do I get my vending machine in a business?
Once you’ve decided on buying a vending machine, the real challenge is figuring out how to actually start a business. First things first: you have to set up your vending operation as a legal entity. That means settling on a name and registering as an LLC in your state. Here’s our complete guide on how to get a vending machine license.
Make Sure You Have a Good Pitch
After formally establishing your vending business, you’ll need to create a pitch deck that will help you present your company to potential clients. Businesses want to know things like what you vend, how much it will cost them to host your machine, how much you’re willing to pay in rent or commission, and what benefits your vending machine presents to their employees/customers.
To understand your market, you’ll want to create a buyer persona. This helps you better understand your audience. Personas are fictional characters that represent the average customer you want to target.
It’s helpful to create a buyer’s persona for each business you plan to target. You can do this by asking questions like:
- How old are the people who go here?
- What age is someone interested in my machine likely to be?
- What types of vending machine products would someone in these locations for vending machines be most interested in?
You’ll often find that there are many different types of customers who would be interested in your vending machine—and that’s great! Part of the reason why vending machines make such good business ideas is that they appeal to a wide number of people.
You can cast a wide net and sell to everyone from children to seniors in various locations, because everyone gets hungry and thirsty. Selling soft drinks or snacks is often the easiest way to break into vending, and if you want to further your vending operation, you can later look into specialty vending.
As a new vending business founder, you’ll want to be certain that you understand the audience in all locations for vending machines. Even if you’re selling snacks that most people love, it will go over well with potential clients to see that you’ve put time and thought into understanding their business.
Remember: Your client’s market is your market, too.
Selling products to employees presents different benefits than vending items to a business’s customers; you want to personalize your presentation so the prospective client feels like you have taken the time to truly consider their needs.
Once you’re confident in your vending business model, it’s time to choose from the various methods of actually reaching out to potential locations. Let’s look at each one more closely.
1. Door-to-Door
Marketing your vending business can’t get more straightforward than walking into a location and pitching your vending machine. Ask to speak with the manager, and make sure you have a business card to leave with them.
If they can’t speak with you at that moment, your vending business card will give them easy access to your contact information. You could also include a one-page hand-out that summarizes the details of your pitch, and leave it with the business for them to review.
Going door-to-door can be a nerve-wracking experience for a lot of people, but think of it this way: the worst case scenario is that someone says they aren’t interested. Not that bad, right? You just thank them for their time and move onto other locations for vending machines.
Plus, the more businesses you walk into, the more confident you become! You might be turned down many times before you land a meeting, but that makes presenting your vending operation even easier. Through multiple pitches, you refine your approach and gain confidence in marketing your business to other people.
Here are some tips for success with the door-to-door approach:
- Greet whoever is at the front of the location with a smile, and let them know you’re a vending operator that would like to talk about placing vending machines at their business.
- Ask if you could speak with the manager, and if they aren’t available, ask if you can leave a business card for them to contact you later.
- Be respectful of people’s time; keep your pitch short, but concise, and leave room for the manager to ask questions.
- Always thank whoever you speak to for listening, and if they give you contact information, send a follow-up email.
- Accept “no” as an answer. Some businesses simply may not be interested in having a vending machine; it’s not your place to convince them otherwise, and it can reflect poorly on you as a vending operator if you don’t respect their stance.
- Stay motivated! You can feel defeated if you’re turned down at multiple businesses, or talk to a lot of managers you never hear back from. Remember this is part of the job and know that it will pay off if you’re persistent!
- If you’re repeatedly turned down after pitching your vending business, revisit your pitch and ask what you could improve; consider asking friends and family to take a look and offer suggestions. You can even do a mock pitch to them and get helpful feedback on your presentation.
2. Cold Calling
Cold calling a property owner is much more convenient than traveling from one location to another. Some businesses also prefer being reached out to by phone or email instead of having someone try to sell directly in their business.
With cold calling, you call an establishment, and ask to speak to a manager. Then, you give them a short telephone pitch with the hopes of arranging a meeting in person. You will need to be comfortable speaking to strangers on the phone, and it can take practice to really perfect your pitch.
Don’t worry; it will come more naturally as you progress, and it gets easier with every call.
3. Cold Emailing
Not a fan of calls? You can make your vending machine pitches even easier with emails. Once you have a list of potentially profitable locations, you can find their email, send over a short pitch introducing yourself, and leave your contact information.
When it comes to writing successful cold emails, keep it short and sweet. Long-winded emails or lengthy pitches will ultimately cause someone to hit “delete.”
While it’s okay to use a template for your email, make sure you customize each one as much as possible. For example, try to reference the business specifically by name, mention something about its services, and comment why you think a vending machine could be a valuable addition to the business.
You should also have your own professional email address to contact potential clients. You can easily make a free email account with your business’s name as the address. This instantly makes your company seem more legitimate.
If you have a website, include its link in your email signature, which should also have your name, title (such as business owner and CEO), and business contact details.
4. Identify the Decision Maker of the Business
The first three methods we’ve discussed don’t always put you in touch with who’s in charge at a location. If you want to boost your odds of success from the start, you can look online and find out who makes important decisions in a business.
For local businesses and small companies, the business owner will likely be who you want to speak to. In larger businesses, seek out a manager.
In many locations for vending machines, a property manager is the ideal person to speak with about placing vending machines.
5. Make Contact With the Decision Maker
Whether it’s by phone or email, reach out to the person you’ve identified as the decision maker. Let them know a bit about your vending business and express interest in discussing more with them.
Be sure to only use appropriate channels to contact this person. Their business email and telephone number are the only means you should use to reach out. Never contact them on their personal social media accounts if they come up in an internet search.
6. Schedule a Meeting With the Decision Maker
Once you reach out to the decision maker, you want to arrange a time to speak with them. Once you’ve secured an official meeting, you’ll want to prepare a presentation. The pitch you deliver should include a cover letter, an About Us slide for your business, details about your vending machine (like a tour of its product selection), potential benefits for the client, maintenance responsibilities, and any interesting details or features you can include.
If you’re interested in free vending machine placement, then you’ll need to really drive home the benefits of your machine. You might also consider making it a charitable vending business to entice the decision maker more. For every $5 spent in your machine, you could donate $1 to a good cause (for extra brownie points, make it a charity their business endorses, or let them pick the organization).
Meetings can take place in person, via telephone, or video chat. If you can, try to get a meeting that’s face-to-face, whether that’s at the business location or over Zoom. It’s better to connect with the person on the other end as much as possible.
Make sure that you have a legal contract drawn up prior to meeting with them as well. You can find many vending machine contract templates online, but it can also be helpful to reach out to a small business attorney near you.
A lawyer can help draft a contract template that includes all the essential details to protect your vending operation; you can use it as a template and modify its contents to suit each client’s business.
How to Put a Vending Machine in a Mall
Malls are a great place to put a vending machine, whether it’s inside or outside. But who owns a mall, anyway? And how do you get in touch with the right people? It’s as easy as these four steps:
1. Read Your State’s Local Vending Laws
Research local government regulations and your state’s laws regarding vending machines. You may need to acquire a seller’s permit before you can even place a machine on a business’s property. There can also be unique requirements for vending machine placement depending on where you want to put yours and what you plan to sell, so take time to learn everything before you reach out to the mall.
2. Identify the Mall Manager
Mall managers are in charge of coordinating all of the operations that go on inside large shopping centers. Many malls have a management office located inside of them; you should also be able to find details by Googling the name of the mall you’re interested in plus “mall manager” or “management contact.”
3. Reach Out to Management
Personalize your vending business pitch for a mall, and prepare to meet the manager. Learn as much as you can about the mall beforehand, like how many customers it has each day or some of its most popular attractions.
You can use this knowledge to your advantage. You want to show the mall manager how your vending machine could improve the business. A major selling point is often the rental fee you’ll pay, and how many sales your vending machine is likely to generate each month.
If you’re selling small toys, stickers, soft drinks, or snacks, these are hot-ticket items for malls that managers would probably expect to see a high ROI on.
4. Set Up a Formal Presentation
Once you’ve gotten in touch with the management, arrange a meeting at the mall so you can go over the vending machine proposal in detail. Bring a contract that you would like to use, and review it with management. Be open to make modifications, so long as they still uphold any relevant vending machine laws and regulations.
Can I put a vending machine in a park?
You can place a vending machine in a park, but it can be difficult because of a few factors, like security, weather threats, and electrical supply. Furthermore, most parks are public property, which means they’re government-regulated and have unique rules you have to follow.
If you want to place a vending machine in a public park, contact your local department of parks and recreation. They can give you information about leasing requirements and permits.
Private parks have management groups, so you’ll need to get their information and reach out to them. You would then have to pitch to them like any other client. There may still be unique regulations on park grounds based on state laws, so make sure you do your market research.
How to Get a Vending Machine in Schools
There are three ways you can get a vending machine in a school, whether you’re selling to students, faculty, or both.
Do Market Research and Outline the Key Points
Hop online and research the schools you’re interested in leasing a spot from; you should note how many students they have, what their operating hours are, the number of faculty members, and staff members (like maintenance, security, and janitorial employees) who you may sell to.
You’ll also need to make sure that your vending machine offerings are catered toward healthy eating. Look into the USDA Smart Snacks in Schools standards, which regulate the dietary value of foods sold in schools. There are nutrient requirements that help protect childrens’ health and ensure the ingredients in food they’re offered is good for them.
Look for Other Vendors’ Experience
There are online communities for vending machine owners that can make it easier for you to learn about how to get your machine placed in a school. See if anyone has gotten their vending machines in a school near you, and ask about their experience.
Get Permission
Schools are highly regulated, so you’ll need to make sure you follow all local, state, and federal vending machine rules. Speak to the school administrator about putting a vending machine on-site.
While the administrator will likely be able to tell you a lot about what you need to lease a spot in their school, you should be fully prepared ahead of time. Having a solid understanding of the process and unique school vending machine regulations will make you look more professional and reliable.
If you're looking for more vending machine ideas, here's our recent piece to sift through for inspiration.
What makes a vending machine location good?
Even though there are a lot of places to put a vending machine, some are more successful than others. You may realize that even though a business looks good on paper, it lacks enough potential customers to deliver a good ROI.
While there are ways to increase vending machine profits, like buying bulk vending machine supplies, the best thing you can do to boost sales is to make sure you pick the perfect spot.
Let’s talk about what to look for in a vending machine location.
Foot Traffic Areas
A small business should still have enough foot traffic to give your vending machine lots of potential customers. A good location will have at least 50 people walk past your machine each day. Any less than this ultimately leaves you at a disadvantage.
Number of Employees
Just like foot traffic is important, the number of people who work at a given location affects how many potential customers you have. The more people that work on a property, the more likely you are to get a higher ROI.
Security
Consider how safe a location is for your vending machine. For a vending machine outdoors, you may want to invest in a vending machine security cage to prevent theft and vandalism. You can also request permission from the business owner or manager to install security cameras around your machine.
The best locations will keep your machine safe because they’re thoroughly secured at night.
Indoors
An indoor vending equipment generally requires less maintenance and has far fewer security threats than any machine outdoors. Indoor locations mean you won’t have to worry about finding a power source or dealing with damages from poor weather. Extreme cold, heat, rain, or snow can all damage your machine, sometimes beyond repair.
We suggest picking an indoor location because it’s all-around easier on you as a vending machine business owner and better for your machine.
Find the Best Vending Machine Locations in Your Neighborhood
No matter where you are in the United States, we can help you find the profitable locations. You give us a zip code, and we do all the rest. Our team are vending machine experts who all personally research each location to find the best spots for your machine.
We’ll send you a list of potential customers, along with their contact information, so you can start pitching right away. Learn how it works.
