Vending Operators and Nutrition Education

With school districts now being required to come up with nutrition education plans, educators are reaching out to private and public health organizations, as well as the vending industry. Antares Corporation vending operators could find it worth their time to become involved.

There is a need for vending operators to take a more proactive stance in their communities, since legislatures and media are continuing to focus on obesity. The issue will remain in the spotlight for some time to come. This means that Antares vending operators will need to familiarize themselves with nutrition information resources.

Competition makes some proactive

Competition can also encourage more Antares vending operators to become more involved with nutrition education. Some will argue that the nationals and the large regionals have been promoting healthy eating programs for many years. The nationals and the big regionals continue to upgrade their nutrition labeling programs.

Vending operators are willing to cater to their customers who are health conscious. To start with they will just need to educate themselves about the kind of nutritional products they can provide the consumers. Since this is an ongoing issue that will not see any end soon, it would be wiser for all vending operators to make some kind of change in the products they provide, in their vending business. Antares vending operators will need to be armed with nutritional information to carry this out.

To make choosing healthy products even easier, many of our product suppliers are leading the way by offering healthier versions of their products for sale in vending machines. The National Automatic Vending Association (NAMA) will be making available a series of static clings aimed at reminding customers to “Burn it off and not forget to exercise.”

In addition to the static clings, NAMA will be initiating a “Balanced for Life” campaign to promote the importance of vending to schools and businesses and how vending can be a part of the solution to reduce obesity. As a vending operator, you will have an important role to play in bringing this message to your customers.

Defining a Brand

Your brand is a major competitive asset for your Antares vending company. When people hear the term ‘brand,’ they often think it means logo, store sign, package label or website. However, a brand is much more than a symbol. You can view it as everything an organization says and does – the sum of its behavior, the services or products it offers, and its presentation.

Your brand will create an emotional connection conveying value, trust and personality of your Antares vending operation. It will also separate you from others in the market. A strong and well developed brand is a powerful and strategic weapon.

Effective branding

Effective branding requires a disciplined focus, consistency of message and proactive attention. This is a process, not an event. It must be research driven and aligned with your business objectives. It also must also provide a clear direction. A successful approach for effective branding involves a four step process:

· Defining a brand strategy that is relevant because it is rooted in fundamental customer needs, differentiated because it reflects unique value, and credible because it is authentic and true.

· Translating those findings into a memorable and meaningful positioning statement and visual brand identity that clearly articulates the operator’s value and is aligned with their key business objectives.

· Executing the brand strategy through integrated communications that support the positioning and build strong, favorable associations in the minds of existing and future customers.

· Measuring and evaluating progress to gauge changes in perceptions and awareness, while making necessary adjustments along the way.

You can transform your Antares Corp. vending business and place your brand at the center of your corporate strategy. This would mean that you are aligning all your communications, operations and systems to your brand mission and values. At the same time you should make all your employees effective ambassadors for your brand.

Your customers expect attractive, well maintained and fully functioning Antares vending equipment, along with a variety of fairly priced name brand products. Your employees would want to work for a company with a compelling vision. One important thing to remember is that, you should treat your brand as an investment, not a cost.