I’m not talking basic as in business fundamentals – I’m talking the Pumpkin Spice (PS) everything kind of basic. If you have a vending machine you need to have at least a couple of seasonal pumpkin spice flavored snacks and drinks in there at this time of year. For example, there’s pumpkin spice malt balls, pumpkin spice chocolate, and pumpkin spice goldfish, and even pumpkin spice Cheerio’s and Oreos. Of course, you could vend the classic Starbucks pumpkin spiced latte in its bottled form.
Seasonal items are a good way to tease out additional sales because people tend to like to try new things, especially if it’s a familiar flavor like PS. But don’t forget about pumpkin pie flavors too – Kit Kat and M&M’s are pushing pumpkin pie this year, and I am stoked. I’m a connoisseur of seasonal M&M’s, so I’m definitely going to grab a bag of those.
If you’re looking for other interesting flavors of snacks, you should definitely check out our Bussin Snacks Review, which is about a mystery box (not like the mystery vending machine) of international snack flavors or Rap Snacks, which has some interesting chip flavors. My favorite international snacks are Pim’s Cookies and Le Petit Ecolier cookies which are made by Lu.
Benefits of Seasonal Snacks
The other benefit to having seasonal snacks is that potential customers won’t wonder if your machine has been freshly stocked or if there’s just a lot of old stuff in it. If they see a few seasonal items, they’ll know you’re re-stocking the machine regularly.
Honestly, you could even throw a few PS candles in there, and maybe a scarf for shits and gigs, just to let your customers know you’re getting down with fall.
Adding new to the market snacks is also a good way to show that your machine is regularly re-stocked, and something like Oreo Cakesters could be the thing you need to boost sales.
To balance out some of the not so healthy snacks, you could try to sell some healthy snacks from your vending machine, especially if your vending machine is in an area that gets a lot of foot traffic from young families. For example, Chubby Snacks are a healthier grab-and-go PB&J option than Smucker’s Uncrustables, though both need to remain frozen until purchased. However, Peanut Butter and Jelly Frooze Balls are similar to Chubby Snacks, but do not need to be frozen and don’t have an artificial sweetener aftertaste (monk fruit kind of tastes like an artificial sweetener because there are sugar-alcohols in it).
Non-Pumpkin Spice Fall Flavors
In addition to pumpkins, fall also means apples and pears. So, apple or pear ciders would be good for drink machines, and though maple sugar is typically associated with the spring because that’s when the sap is collected, it is definitely most heavily used in cooking in the fall and winter. So, if you’re vending machine is in a bougie enough place for you to consider fancy candies, some maple sugar candies could be a good idea. Hell, you could have a Vermont themed vending machine that just sold candles, maple syrup and candies, flannels, pumpkin spice snacks, and cheese.
So, if you have a vending machine location at or near a Starbucks, then your patrons could buy their Starbucks pumpkin spice cold brew or pumpkin spice latte and enjoy all the other fall flavors that you have to offer.
I’ve never really been into Starbucks PSL (as the most basic of basics call them) or the PS cold brew (why is that not an acronym? Idk I’m not basic), but PS snacks are my jam. And so is PS jam.
Make Sure To Get Rid of Pumpkin Spice Snacks in Winter
If you have any leftover PS snacks in you vending machine come New Year, or god forbid, Valentines Day, you’re wasting space in you machine and not only losing out on sales because of that wasted space, but also because your vending machine is not going to be viewed favorably for having old items in there. So, as much of a boon as seasonal items can be for you vending machines, you need to make sure they are available in the right season and only the right season. Luckily, you can just eat any leftover items yourself because there likely aren’t going to be too many leftover.
Pumpkin Spice Squishmallow
Though you might think a squishmallow is a marshmallow, it’s actually a plush toy brand that comes in many varieties, some of which are food related. There’s a few of different pumpkin spice squishmallows that are available through Amazon and big box retailers, but they’re probably too big to fit in a regular vending machine. The squishmallows do look quite cozy though, and I would have no qualms about creating a squishmallow vending machine to put inside or outside of a bakery, coffee shop, ice cream shop, or candy store.
