We have provided answers to many of the questions we receive on a regular basis. If you have a questions not addressed here, please feel free to contact us directly.
The Company
Questions
How long has Healthy YOU Vending been in business?
We’ve been helping entrepreneurs start businesses since 1999—more than 20+ years. We began in traditional vending, as the healthy vending market was nonexistent. We sold the nation’s first healthy vending machines in 2007 and have never looked back.
More than 20 years’ experience that important?
There’s a lot to be said for experience, frankly. We have built an all-inclusive program that provides a complete package to ensure healthy vending entrepreneurs succeed. From an excellent location-placement program, franchise-level training and top-notch software, to a fully dedicated coaching staff, supply channel connection for healthy products and, of course, an excellent machine with the best warranty in the vending business, Healthy YOU Vending provides a complete package for your success. These combined factors are the reason investors trust us as their healthy vending partner more often than any other company—in fact, more than all others combined.
Vending—it’s not what I imagined. Is it a real business?
Yes! This business has all of the components of any other consumer-focused company, minus many of the headaches. Real businesses solve real problems and meet the needs of real consumers. With this business, you essentially own and manage a group of self-operating “stores” that sell healthy snack options to an ever-growing consumer base. You manage inventory, pay attention to consumer product proclivities, do price-point sensitivity analysis and fill a void that’s been in the marketplace for years—delicious, healthy options that are better than the traditional junk food snacking options pushed by conventional vending. It’s a real business that addresses a real need! Our program has become a top choice for franchise seekers.
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Our Company and the Industry
Equipment/Technology
Questions
What happens if something goes wrong with the machine?
When a new operator comes to the Healthy YOUniversity training, they get hands-on experience with the machine, including how to load it properly, how to run diagnostic testing and how the machine is put together. We designed it to be modular, so swapping out components is quite simple and straightforward. Most “fixes” to the machine can be handled easily by the operator who gets instructions via a direct, factory support line. Support staff walks the operator through steps to assess the issue and, if necessary, change out a part. No professional technician is required to complete parts replacements with our machines. We’ve designed our vending machines to be operator-friendly.
What makes a Healthy YOU Vending machine the best?
Our machines are made in the U.S. and we offer a lifetime warranty in an industry where most companies only offer a one-year warranty. We also provide lifetime fire, theft and vandalism coverage. No other company matches our guarantee.
What is Remote Machine Monitoring (RMM) and how can it help my business?
Remote Machine Monitoring is the ability to remotely follow all activity that occurs within the machine. The standard in the vending industry is to receive an email each morning with dashboard info, which includes how many products were sold and how much revenue was generated. But Healthy YOU Vending machines go way beyond these basics.
eManage™ provides real-time, detailed inventory and sales information. For instance, eManage™ lets you know that you sold 12 Peanut Butter Crunch Clif Bars that you purchased for 94 cents and sold for $2.35; it tells you how many are remaining, how many bars you have in every machine in your business, how many you have in inventory, etc.
Lists can then be produced indicating what items need to be replaced to bring a machine back to Full. Operators put together a bin of products that matches what is missing, and then easily and efficiently fill their machines. eManage™ saves operators time, giving them time to develop product sales strategies that match what each location needs.
Lists can then be produced indicating exactly what items need to be replaced in order to bring a machine back to full. Operators put together a bin of products that matches what is missing, and then easily and efficiently go fill up their machines. eManage really saves operators time, as well as allows them to develop product sales strategies that match what each individual locations need.
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Made in America Quality
Why Operators Like Our Machines
Franchise Level Support
What support will I receive after making my Healthy YOU Vending business investment?
You’ll get the best support in the industry. Many people who have experience with traditional franchises say our training is complete—and more helpful to their business than in other franchises. And people are surprised that this level of support comes without franchise fees or royalties.
You’ll receive lifetime coaching and support, assistance choosing locations for your machines, access to the best prices on healthy products through our discount buying program, a 24/7 online support center, a website built specifically for your business and much more. And you will have the opportunity to attend Healthy YOUniversity, our intensive two-day training to learn everything you need to launch your healthy vending business and succeed. Held at least monthly, come and get no-nonsense, practical, hands-on experience with the Healthy YOU Vending machine and education about products, locations, software, business operations, marketing and much more.
Who helps me find the locations for my machines?
We do! We don’t delegate this vital task to a third party. We have helped our operators place more healthy vending machines than all other companies in the industry combined. Finding locations for healthy vending machines is very different than finding locations for traditional vending machines.
And while most companies say you should plan on paying at least 15% of your GROSS revenue to the location, to date, nearly 90% of the confirmed locations that our operators have secured DO NOT require any commissions! We understand that a zero-commission placement dramatically affects your bottom line and overall earning potential, which is why our placement experts work hard to help you secure the best placement opportunities.
We also help each operator develop a customized location strategy rather than use a cookie-cutter approach to their business.
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Franchise Level Support
Products
Questions
Where is the best place to purchase products for my Healthy YOU Vending machines?
We offer many different sources for your healthy products so that you can choose what is best for your local business. Due to the size of our business, we can connect you directly with United Natural Foods, Inc. (UNFI), the primary distributor to Whole Foods. UNFI carries over 2,500 products to choose from. You’ll get discounted pricing not available to others in the vending industry, and they deliver directly to you. We also teach you how to use local resources to get the best pricing. For instance, Costco and Sam’s Club both carry healthier vending products nowadays, but they come in variety packs of three to six flavors. The result is that you end up selling some flavors that do well, some that do okay and some that do not sell well at all. Shopping exclusively at these warehouse stores results in you selling what they carry rather than buying what sells best in your business.
Does the product choice really matter?
Product mix matters if you want to increase revenue. Some companies in the industry teach the simplicity of using location planograms. For example, they have a gym planogram that suggests that all of the gyms should have exactly the same products. While this makes the business easier to manage, most operators would rather spend a little extra time to maximize revenue. Using our eManage™ vending management software, you may try different brands and flavors in each gym so that each machine is filled with what sells best in that location. If you use planograms, you may do okay, but who wants to start a business just to make okay revenue?
How much product can each Healthy YOU Vending machine hold?
In its typical configuration, the machines will hold 325 products. But if needed, the machines can be customized to hold up to 429 products. This is rarely required, however, and most top operators keep the machines in their standard configuration.
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Healthier Products
How Other Companies Stack Up
Questions
How does Healthy YOU Vending compare to other companies doing healthy vending?
We have been in the vending space for over 20 years now, and more than a decade doing healthy-focused vending—in fact, that’s all we do now. In our years of experience, we have kept a keen eye on the marketplace. We’ve seen many companies come and go who tried to offer some version of a healthy vending business opportunity. We regularly review companies that offer similar products in the healthy vending space, so we know that we’re offering the absolute best option for investors. If you’d like to know how our company compares with any company you may come across, let us know and we’ll be happy to share our research results with you, using third-party information from Dun and Bradstreet, the Better Business Bureau and our own inquiries with other companies.
How does Healthy YOU Vending compare to a franchise operation?
We’ve made a comparison of the Healthy YOU Vending offerings versus a traditional franchise. And we’ve noticed that franchises often require a considerable time commitment—it’s like buying a job. Plus, franchisees are stuck paying the franchise fees and royalties. It’s like you work for them—because you do—and you pay them over and over. With our business opportunity, you own the equipment, you own the business, you work for yourself and you profit from your sales 100%. Our motivation is to help you succeed. We’re invested in helping you grow your business. When you win in your business, so do we. In the franchise world, you’ll often be tied into a long-term location lease. There’s nothing of the sort in a health-focused vending business. You are free to choose just how much time you want your operations to take, which is mostly a function of how many machines you decide to manage. As you expand your service where it makes sense, adding machines is easy and far less expensive when compared to adding a new franchise location, which is an arduous, costly and people-intensive process.
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Not Your Typical Franchise
Franchise vs HealthyYOU
Getting Started
Questions
What are the steps to determine if this is the right business for me?
You know your situation better than we do. And individual situations will largely determine what the best business is for you. But we do have first-hand knowledge of how others evaluate and choose Healthy YOU Vending. They call current operators and get first-person accounts of the actual day-to-day requirements and activities of the business—along with the return on investment (ROI) possibilities. They have a marketing analysis call with us to look at their local market. And they get buy-in from their partner(s) and other stakeholders—when required. If they determine Healthy YOU Vending is a good fit for their entrepreneurial needs and goals, they make a decision and act. It’s our goal to provide you with high-quality information and channels by which you can, in a timely manner, make a decision as to whether this is right for you. But we’re confident you’ll like what you learn!
Can I buy just the machine?
We built our business on selling a complete business opportunity solution. We don’t sell the machine as a stand-alone item without all of the support that is designed to help an investor be successful with healthy vending. See this detailed explanation of why we don’t just sell machines.
What are the steps in getting started after I invest?
Once you invest, you are immediately brought into our operator family and given access to our support portal. Conference calls are arranged between you and the coaching staff, as well as the location team. We provide you with a library of information to watch and access, and a roadmap of all the things you’ll be doing to get your business up and running. You’ll get scheduled to attend the next Healthy YOUniversity class, our two-day, in-person training in Utah. You’ll discuss with the coaching staff a number of details like product supply channel, setting up your company’s website and ideas and strategies for keeping your eye out for good location opportunities. After taking in all of the information provided by Healthy YOU Vending, you’ll be well underway with your new healthy vending business.
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Why HealthyYOU?
Why I chose to get started
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