Vending machine for selling or dispensing products (30, 31) to a user, comprising: a container for storing and displaying the products, and an aperture for removing one or more products by hand; wherein the container is carried by a stand including a vertical pole attached to the container, the container having outer dimensions not larger than 100 cm x 100 cm and 50 cm high; the container has a transparent portion in the form of a lid making the products visible from outside the container, said aperture being located centrally in the lid and with a diameter of between 15 cm and 30 cm; the vending machine further comprising: an aperture access enabling device for selectively enabling or preventing access through the aperture into the container, the aperture access enabling device including a piston, which closes the aperture by telescopically extending out from a cylindrical guidance towards or into the aperture and which opens the aperture by telescopically retracting from its extended state, wherein the cylindrical guidance is provided by the cylindrical inner side of the vertical pole; a recognition module configured to recognize each of the products (30, 31) in the container without relying on arrangement of products inside the container or tagging of products with physical means of distinguishing one product from another, the recognition module comprising at least one from the group consisting of: a camera based object recognition module, and a weight recognition module; wherein the recognition module is configured to identify a product upon its removal from the vending machine when the aperture access enabling device enables access to the products (30, 31), and wherein the aperture gives direct access to the products (30, 31). wherein the aperture access enabling device is further configured to: logically close the aperture by activating a detector mechanism which is capable of issuing an alarm when detecting that an object is entered through said aperture; and physically closes said aperture by activating an actuator that moves a door into a position which partly or fully blocks said aperture. a container for storing and displaying the products, and an aperture for removing one or more products by hand; wherein the container is carried by a stand including a vertical pole attached to the container, the container having outer dimensions not larger than 100 cm x 100 cm and 50 cm high; the container has a transparent portion in the form of a lid making the products visible from outside the container, said aperture being located centrally in the lid and with a diameter of between 15 cm and 30 cm; the vending machine further comprising: an aperture access enabling device for selectively enabling or preventing access through the aperture into the container, the aperture access enabling device including a piston, which closes the aperture by telescopically extending out from a cylindrical guidance towards or into the aperture and which opens the aperture by telescopically retracting from its extended state, wherein the cylindrical guidance is provided by the cylindrical inner side of the vertical pole; a recognition module configured to recognize each of the products (30, 31) in the container without relying on arrangement of products inside the container or tagging of products with physical means of distinguishing one product from another, the recognition module comprising at least one from the group consisting of: a camera based object recognition module, and a weight recognition module; wherein the recognition module is configured to identify a product upon its removal from the vending machine when the aperture access enabling device enables access to the products (30, 31), and wherein the aperture gives direct access to the products (30, 31). wherein the aperture access enabling device is further configured to: logically close the aperture by activating a detector mechanism which is capable of issuing an alarm when detecting that an object is entered through said aperture; and physically closes said aperture by activating an actuator that moves a door into a position which partly or fully blocks said aperture.