Now milk and ice cream processors are finding opportunities in vending. The machines can be modified to reflect a diary s brand, strengthening the product s identity in the minds of consumers. Through vending machines, cookies could be offered in conjunction with milk, creating a snack break. Improved technology has updated milk and ice cream vending machines, eliminating much of the problems of the past, such as spoiling, leaking and melting. Through vending machine sales, dairy processors can directly participate in retail sales, which yield more profits than wholesale.
V ending machines offer a tremendous opportunity for branding because they re like mini-billboards.
It s like a national paid sampling program, says Ken Reuter, foodservice marketing manager for Wells Dairy Inc., Le Mars, Iowa. B ut that s not enough, industry experts say. Now is the time for dairy processors to deliver milk to consumers using a new avenue of distribution. G iven all the research, it is becoming clear what this industry has to do to make a difference. Processors have to get involved in keeping milk a viable beverage.