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Getting a high quality machine made in the US is the most important factor in the success of a healthy vending business. While manufacturers in China do a great job on many complex products (like iPhones and TV’s) they have a very poor reputation in the manufacturing of vending machines. In fact many vending technicians will not even work on Chinese-made machines due to the low quality and inconsistency of machines. A needed part may work on some machines but not on others of the same model. Getting tech support from the factory involves a middle of the night call due to the time difference and language differences that turn a simple phone call into a frustrating experience. This is all on top of the problems getting machines and parts into the US. Few people think the importing of machines from China is going to get better before it gets worse.
Our machines are manufactured in and shipped from Illinois. We have no shipping or location delays. H4U’s machines from Iowa and all seems to be well there. N2G on the other hand has a major backlog in getting locations and delivering machines. At the end of 2018 N2G changed from a US manufacturer to getting machines from China as they could drastically reduce their cost. Due to delays in getting machines, by the end of the first year they had collected more than $3.5M from new customers they owed machines and locations to. This situation has snowballed and from their most recent publicly available records they are $12M behind meaning they owe about 1,000 machines and locations to new customers. Their machines must travel 7,500 from Chongqing, China to their holding facility in Tennessee. We believe that if you have made a substantial investment YOU should have control of your machines (it’s the law in CA. TX, FL and many other states). Six weeks after your investment you have attended training, your machines have been delivered to a white glove delivery facility in your area ready for quick delivery to the end locations and you have your first machine in a location making money.
Every electrical appliance in your home is UL Certified. While not every location will ensure your vending machine is UL certified larger locations will ask for proof of certification. While most US made vending machines are UL certified most machines made in China are not. The machines from N2G are not UL certified.
Vending machines must meet the standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act in that a person in a wheelchair can reach every operable part of the machine. Our machine and the machine from H4U meet this requirement. The machine from N2G has been analyzed by a top engineer and declared non-compliant. You want to offer a machine that meets US safety standards and accommodates the disabled. Our machine does. Plus the larger the location the more likely they are to ensure the machine is UL certified and ADA compliant. You wont miss out on high revenue generating locations due to machine deficiencies.
The standard in the vending industry is to offer the location 10%-20% of the gross sales of the machines. If you look at the income projection spreadsheets of our two competitors you will see that they do this. It makes it easier for locators to get locations but it your money they are giving away. And it’s a lot of money – 15% of gross sales equates to 30% of your net. The vast majority of our machines are placed in locations with no commission. This factor alone creates a massive difference in the money to be made starting your business with our company.
Most of our business owners grow their business by getting location referrals from one of their machines. Here is a example of how this works. We help an owner place a machine at a busy gym. A hospital administrator working out at the gym sees the machine and thinks “Wow, healthy vending. We need that at our hospital.” They see the name of the machine owner on the machine and also sees a QR code with a message that says “Scan this code to discover how to get a FREE Healthy Vending Machine in your workplace”. The hospital administrator scans the code which links them to the web site we built for the machine owner. When the administrator gets back to the office they read about the benefits of giving their employees and visitors a healthy vending option. They then call or email the machine owner to learn more. The machine owner then meets with the hospital and lands a deal for three more machine locations.
Our machine is nowhere to be found on YOUR machines. On the other hand, our competitors put THEIR name on your machines. This makes it appear that you are simply a franchisee of the company whose name is on the side of the machine. If the hospital administrator see that machine could just as easily call H4U or N2G as call the machine owner. This creates the chance of losing referrals from your machine.
We are the only company to offer optional side units. Now you are able to sell not just drinks and snacks but entire meals. Your SmartMart will offer non-refrigerated soups, rice dishes, noodles dishes and more. In your Wellness Center you are selling over-the-counter medications that keep employees in the office when they are feeling ill but not sick enough to go home. Employers love these side units and in large locations you can even add both. Side units offer a whole new revenue stream for you and can add them later and you don’t need to order any upfront.
Our competitors sell glass front machines which are the typical vending machine you see around. We designed our machine to be different and better. This gives us and you many advantages. First, we designed our machine for the vending novice and not the professional vendor. You’ll be an expert later but your first months in the business are made much easier with our design. Our machines are plug-and-play making it extremely easy to replace any parts over the life of your business. Vending technicians are never needs with our machine. And our machine is much more energy efficient only cooling the drinks and not the entire machine.
The machine from H4U is a model sold by traditional vending companies. It is a standard Glass Front machine with a heated glass to keep it from fogging up. The machine cools the drinks along with the snacks. The machine sold by N2G is an elevator glass front machine so it has the heated glass along with the complications of an elevator. Instead of products going directly to the product door they are moved there by the elevator. The elevator is run by two large motors, one moving the elevator up and down and the other from side to side. If either of those motors fails the entire machine is out of order. Based on the poor quality reputation of Chinese-made machines it is risky to have the entire machine dependent on these two motors Also the machine has some conveyor belts in addition to more reliable coils. The conveyor selections must be painstakingly adjusted for product size and weight and the conveyor belts are extremely difficult to replace. Since vending technicians will not work on the machine the repair and replacement of conveyor belts is up to the machine owner.
Our machine is the easiest machine for new machine owners to learn and operate and the most reliable due to our unique design.
If you’re starting a business that you have no experience in, you need a business coach. Your HealthyYOU coach knows what will make you successful and what the pitfalls in the business are. They can guide you through startup and beyond. There is no need for you to make the rookie mistakes. We have a dedicated coaching department. Our support program is structured for the long run. We don’t have a cram session at the beginning of your business and then leave you without continual support. Your needs and your questions will change over the life of your business. We support business owners through every stage of their business, not just at the beginning.
H4U has no dedicated support employees but says that all seven employees (owners, sales and admin) all pitch in to help.
N2G connects you with an existing operator to be your “coach”. While they may have great experience in the industry they have just their own experience. Our coaches spend all day every day talking to owners around the country. They know what is happening in 2,500 businesses. They have heard every question – hundreds of times. Of course, our coaches also have their own healthy vending businesses so they have first-hand experience BUT you are not relying on just what they have seen in their own business. And our coaches all work in our corporate office in Utah. This allows them to not only meet together weekly in person but they can each drop in on another coach any time. N2G owners never meet their “coach” in person but our owners meet the entire coaching department at our healthy YOUniversity training and much of the training is conducted by these mentors.
We help each new business owner start their own independent business. We don’t have a corporate machine wrap that you have to use. We provide a choice of three different machine wraps and you can choose the graphic you like best. We are also the only company offering custom machine graphics. You can design your own wraps and we will produce them and ship your machines with your graphics.
We focus on shelf stable drinks, snacks, meals and medicines/wellness products that have a long shelf life – typically 3-12 months. N2G is the only company highlighting perishable food like sandwiches and salads. Our system is set up for you to stock your machines once/week. But because of the short shelf life of perishable food (2-4 days), N2G machine owners typically visit their machines three times/week to make sure they are not selling products past their Sell By date. This is three times the effort for no additional revenue.
Storing perishable food in a cooler at home opens you up to inspections by the county health department “any time during business hours”. We must also show that you have a portable vehicle cooler that keeps products at 41°F.
And by law the entire N2G machine must be kept at 41°F. If there is a power outage the machine goes into the “Out of Service” mode and no products can be sold until the machine owner resets the machine and throws away the perishable products. Since we do not sell perishable foods our machine after a power outage is immediately able to sell any product.
We are happy to provide a detailed head-to-head comparison with any other healthy vending company you are considering.