Christopher Blomquist, Director of Marketing at Parlevel Systems, and Dustin Seetoo, Director of Product Marketing at Premio, Inc., spoke on this episode of MarketScale’s Food and Beverage Podcast about the emergence of micro markets in the self-service vending machine industry. Technology and the increased desire for healthier choices are two drivers of micro markets.

“Micro markets came from being able to offer more diverse and healthier options,” Blomquist said. “Micro markets are different in vending in that it’s an open-product concept, including self-checkout with flexible storage to store items such as salads and sandwiches.”

Seetoo highlighted what’s at the heart of these micro markets.

“The back-end business analytics tied to the hardware are driving the whole micro-market industry,” he said.

The collected data helps determine customer purchasing behavior and which food and snacks make the most sense to stock. This information is essential when stocking quick-spoil items, as it is critical to know which of these items will sell quickly and which will not.

Blomquist saw the growth in micro markets leading to a movement toward self-service as a whole.

“Our company goal is to connect multiple areas, where one may purchase individual food and beverage items at one self-service kiosk,” he said.

Beyond food and beverage, Blomquist believes other services could be ordered through micro markets, as well.

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