Producers offer self-service
Farmers milking the vending machine idea!
A milk vending machine. picture: Risto GbR
Many farmers are thinking about how to make their direct sales to the customer easier and better.
Large agricultural cooperatives and small farmers alike do not want to be dependent on wholesalers – they prefer to make decisions about prices of their products themselves. More companies are selling their products direct “from the farm” – in farm shops, in cooperation with local shops or at markets in the region. And a by-product is the vending machine. Why is that?
When it comes to fresh milk, there are quite a few companies who offer vending machines which can hold a few hundred litres. These machines are hygienic and have the right temperature. There is no need to involve a dairy company for milk from the vending machines because there is no need for pasteurisation. That is the difference between these machines and the simple cooling vending machines with milk in drink cartons that you often find in schools and other places. The farm can reach customers directly without investing in a farm shop and sales staff. This is a great idea, especially for pure dairy farms which would mainly sell products from other producers in a farm shop anyway. Importantly, they are not dependent on varying prices from dairy companies.
These vending machines are already common in rural areas of France and Switzerland and more and more in Italy and Spain. It doesn’t matter whether you position the vending machine in a supermarket, next to a bakery or at the farm – it is a new way for dairy farmers to get started in the direct sales business without high operating costs. There are a few farmers in Germany who would like to give those vending machines a go. But here you are only allowed to sell raw milk at the place of production. Due to hygiene restrictions, transporting to a vending machine in another area is not allowed.
Veggie vending machines
But it is not only milk vending machines that are finding more and more friends abroad. In Japan they already have the vegetable vending machine. In down-town Tokyo you can buy your vegetables around the clock from a vending machine. In Holland, those vending machines have been installed in schools to get children interested in vegetables. Maybe this is an idea for German farmers. Or do you think there is a greater need for milk-vending machines?