Vending fills many roles on campus, including providing some type of food service in buildings
that lack other options and as a source of quick,
on-the-run nourishment for students between classes.
But according to Dawn-Michele Moros, an analyst with
Management Science Associates (MSA), its primary role
on campus is to satisfy students’ late-night cravings.
"I believe they are being used to satisfy late night
bingers," she said. "A lot of campuses do not have a
place close by where they can go and get food. So
once [other options] close, they are living off of what
they can purchase in the vending machines, whether
that is beverages or snacks."
That is really no surprise. As anyone who has spent
any amount of time on a college or university campus
knows, 18-24 year olds live by a different clock than
most others. Late nights or all-nighters, be it for study
or play, are a regular occurrence. So are hunger pangs
at hours when most of us are safely tucked in our beds.
That’s why vending remains an important resource for
students and a significant revenue source for the
schools. According to MSA, colleges and universities
account for 11 percent of the entire vending market in
the United States. MSA is a Pittsburgh, Pa., based
market-research company. Among their products are
VendScape, a machine-level sales-data reporting system
for the vending industry, and a vending-industry
Internet portal, www.allaboutvending.com.
Moros notes that MSA’s research indicates that
while product popularity in the college and university
vending segment has many similarities to that in other
segments, there are some noteworthy differences,
particularly in the area of beverages. "Soft drinks are
by far still the most popular, but water has become
increasingly more popular," she said.
Looking at market share by dollars, according to
MSA’s VendScape data, water is now the second most
popular vended beverage both on and off campus, but
it performs particularly well at colleges and universities.
By the numbers, in the United States as a whole,
water represents just under 7 percent of the vended
beverage market, but at colleges and universities, it
accounts for just over 12 percent, up from 10 percent
last year. Other beverages that perform better on campus
than in the United States as a whole are juice drinks
and juice. All other product categories are slightly
weaker on campus than elsewhere.
In the snack arena, on-campus popularity closely
follows that of other market segments, but a closer
look at market share by dollars shows some interesting variations. Of note,
while salty snacks are the top
seller both on and off campus, their dollar |
market share
on campus is significantly lower. In contrast, all other
snack categories with the exception of nuts and seeds
show at least a marginally higher dollar market share
on campus. Interestingly, while the gap between salty
snacks and bakery goods is over 19 percent off campus,
on campus it shrinks by nearly half to just 10.55
percent. Other strong on-campus performers include
chocolate and crackers.
While setting the right product mix is important,
other factors can play a role in determining how successful
a vending location might be. Of note, Moros
said that MSA has done some research that indicates
that placing snack and beverage machines together is
more effective than having only one or the other at a
given location. "It lets the consumer satisfy two cravings
at the same time," she said. "If students can get their
snack and their beverage at the same place rather than
having to go to two different places, you are going to
capture more sales."
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