12 replies to this topic

[Joven76]

Ok, here it is, late at night and I'm posting on Vending Chat... My wife has always says I have vending on the brain...

Here's proof...

Today I was thinking on how to vend Jolly Ranchers out of a bulk candy machine... People here from another vending forum who know me will vouch that I like to think outside the box when it comes to vending... I want to be different than the person who came in before me... Unique... I mean I figured out how to make vending doggy poo bags out of a Seaga Milleneia possible, but that's for another topic...

I personally have not seen Jolly Ranchers vended out of a machine before, so if you know of a better way, please let me know... But here was my thought... I was trying to figure out how to vend a Jolly Rancher properly with out them sticking together in the machine... The idea struck me when I was getting some toys ready for a machine in a children consignment store... The Jolly Rancher isn't that big... It might fit into a 1.1" capsule, and guess what... It does!!! Wrapper and all...

Next, I needed to do some math... Would this idea be profitable??? I went to my supplier that I get my toys from and found they also sell the capsules empty... A case of 2500 would only be 2.5 cents per capsule, including shipping ($61 to be exact)... Then I went to my local Walmart... I only needed a couple so I didn't feel it necessary to go to Sam's Club just yet... Afterall, if it didn't work, I'd still have the candy, just not a huge amount... I got 33 pieces all together from the smallest bag they had, which only cost me .04 per piece ($1.32)... So, rounding up, that would make the total cost per vend only .07... That's my average when I vend candy so I've placed my order for some capsules, which will hopefully be here by Friday, and will go and get my bag of Jolly Ranchers after they get here...

I'm working on 1 location right now in a local pizza place that is slammed every weekend, and will use it in my machine I take with me to my local flea market when my wife goes out there to sell her Avon... I know I won't have as many vends as I would from a full cannister of Reeses Pieces before I have to refill, however I think it's worth the risk...

Let me know what you think of this idea, or if you try it, let me know how it works...

Christopher
CA & T Vending

[caserri]

Ok, here it is, late at night and I'm posting on Vending Chat... My wife has always says I have vending on the brain...

God that sounds familiar!

Chris, That sounds like a decent plan. I would be very interested to see how it works out for you. I too have thought about vending non traditional items in bulk machines. I have a location that always asks for gummy type items. (worms, frogs and bears) I use the capsule method there and do very well however it is a requested item. I didnt really take a shot in the dark. Also I know the location pretty well and they collect the capsules for me to clean and re-use which helps alot.

Please keep us updated on this!

[coop229]

Hi,

Have you tried vending the jolly ranchers w/o a capsule by using a gumball wheel to see how many would drop with the wrapper still on? If so, what happened? I thought about vending Starburst too. Has anyone else? If this topic has been discussed already sorry I missed it. Thanks, any feedback is always appreciated.



Coop

[caserri]

Have you tried vending the jolly ranchers w/o a capsule by using a gumball wheel to see how many would drop with the wrapper still on?

Coop,

I've tried something like that in tests. It was very un-predictable sometimes you'd get 1 sometimes not. The ends of the wrappers (where they are twisted) like to get caught on things and jam the machine. Also they would get caught up on each other and form a "dam" and not allow anything else to pass through.

[Joven76]

Have you tried vending the jolly ranchers w/o a capsule by using a gumball wheel to see how many would drop with the wrapper still on? If so, what happened? I thought about vending Starburst too.

Hey Coop...

Yes, I did try to vend them with the gumball and candy wheel during my "experiments"... What I found with the candy wheel, is if the candy didn't sit flat in the cup or more than 1 dropped in, then the machine would jam... Also, because the wrapper is loose on the Jolly Ranchers, I had some where the wrapper came off and got in between the gears of the wheel and jammed it up that way... So the next best thing is to put it into a capsule...

I was thinking about Starbursts this morning... When I leave work this evening... I'm going to buy a small pack to try... I'm also going to buy some of the, and please forgive me that I don't know the proper name for this, pinwheel mints that you see at some restaraunts... I think those may work as well since some of my locations have been asking about mints...

I'll be testing a variety of other items and will try to keep this post updated with my findings...

Christopher
CA&T Vending

[caserri]

please forgive me that I don't know the proper name for this, pinwheel mints that you see at some restaraunts

They call them Starlites around here but I think its a regional thing. That would be a good choice as well. Keep us updated!

[Joven76]

Well... I have tried the Starbursts and the Starlite Mints in the 1.1 capsules... First off, they will definately fit 1 piece of candy inside the capsule... It would be a tight fit, but you can fit 2 pieces inside the capsule... I don't think though that the starbursts will be a good vend... For 1 piece it would be 7 cents per vend, 2 pieces would be 13 cents... But, you can get a pack of 13 pieces for $.58, and I believe that someone wouldn't pay a quarter for 1 or 2 pieces... But that's just me...

As for the starlight mints, a bag of 650 pieces is a little over $5 +tax... So if you can find a location that doesn't already supply those free of charge, with 2 mints per capsule, it's only 3 cents per vend... That will be my next venture, along with the jolly ranchers...

Once these are on location, I will let everyone know how they do...

Christopher

[coop229]

Hey,

Thanks for daring to be different. Good Luck!

Coop

[Dulin Time]

I tried the Jolley Rancher idea in one of my few three heads the other day. I don't know if it's just this particular location, but the response in just the first few days was insane. They're selling very well, and the profit margin is great. I bought a bag at Costco, and the price comes to under one cent each.

I don't know if these would work at any location, but I thought I'd just throw in my experience so far with them.

[Joven76]

Hey Dulin... That's great!!! I'm curious though... Did you use the 1.1" capsules??? If not, how are you vending them??? I've had nothing but problems vending them straight... Jams up the machine...

I'm also curious how you got it to vend for 1 cent... I have been unable to find capsules under 2 cents a piece... The cheapest bag of Jolly Ranchers was a 5lb bag for $14.95... with 378 pieces that came to 4 cents a piece... So it would cost me 6 cents per vend...

Also... I've had a single with Jolly Ranchers at a location now for a couple of days, a cell phone store... The first thing when the manager saw it was say, "Cool... I've never seen a machine that vends Jolly Ranchers..." I've been keeping an eye on it because if it's successful, I don't want it get too low...

Christopher

[Dulin Time]

Christopher,

The 5 pound bag I bought was only something like $5.78 (or something close to that). I already had the empty capsules on hand, along with pallets and pallets of other inventory from when I bought everything left from another guy's vending route he ran.

So yeah, I used the 1.1 inch capsules. I can't think of any other way that would be reliable. And I got that bag at Costco. I don't know if you have any of those or not, but that bag was dirt cheap.

[westlakevending]

dear vendors,
I see how the jolly ranchers could be a hit however, if you each jolly rancher is costing 4 cents and the capsule is 2.5 cents that 7 cents rounded up for a capsule and jolly rancher. To me i would not pay a quarter for one jolly rancher. If your having luck with vending one jolly rancher please me know.
Thanks
Shawn

[Joven76]

I seem to have some luck with them... I have 2 locations with these available... 1 is a cellular phone store, the other is a restaraunt... I go by and I see the level of them has dropped... I may go service within the next couple of days to see how they're doing... They've only been on my locations for 1.5 weeks...

I'll keep you up to date...

Christopher