Supporting Small Business Through Boston Vending Machines

Our Story

Take 5 Vending first started as one man business back in 1980, founded and run by Ross Almquist, who continues to be the sole owner today. Throughout the last 40 years many things have changed in the vending industry, but one thing has not: Take 5 Vending has remained committed to providing the best vending solutions for businesses and schools around the Greater Boston, South Shore Massachusetts, Fall River, New Bedford and Rhode Island areas. Over the past few decades, we have seen a lot of changes in the vending industry from the emergence of card reader technology to the disappearance of cigarette vending machines. Sadly, we have also seen many of our competitors either go out of business or be bought out by nonlocal businesses.

We pride ourselves on being a family + locally owned and operated business based in Bridgwater, unlike our competitors who are now owned by national conglomerates.

Ross Almquist, Owner of Take 5 Vending

Supporting Small Business Through Boston Vending

If you are thinking about bringing a vending machine service into your business or school, please consider choosing us over other larger national companies. Although there are many more reasons that three, we’ll lay just three of them out right here:

-We aim to bring you the best customer service possible, with a real human answering our phones on the first call (during business hours of course).

-We support our local community through not only hiring local talent, but also through working with and donating to charities around the Bridgewater, Massachusetts area.

-We keep up on the latest beverage and snack food trends, aiming to fill your vending machine or micromarkets with the most popular and tasty treats on the market. We also take requests so that your workers can have exactly what they want in their breakroom.

Want to Install a Vending Machine?

To get started on setting up a breakroom service in your office, warehouse, or school reach out to us for a free consultation so we can see what option would be best for your space! Always feel free to give us a call at 508-697-0800 or reach out to us via our contact form on our website here.

Worker at Take 5 vending located in Bridgewater Massachusetts

Simple Ways To Get A Vending Machine In Your Office

Simple Ways To Get A Vending Machine In Your Office

While it may be relatively easy to get a vending machine in your office, it can be significantly more difficult to keep it there—particularly as an effective productivity tool. Here’s what you can do to simplify the process of getting a vending machine, maintaining it, and ensuring it boosts employee effectiveness.

Why Add Vending Machines?

Successful companies add vending machines for the same reasons they add other office tools, such as computers, comfortable seating, and ergonomic desks; It can boost productivity. When considering the simplest ways to get a vending machine, the underlying reason, productivity, serves as the foundation of your strategy.

A vending machine in the office can:

  • Keep employees from leaving your location. You’d be hard-pressed to find an employee that’s both happy and hungry. A vending machine keeps them from satisfying their hunger off-campus. As a result, they stay within a few steps of their work instead of going around the corner for a bite.
  • You provide a quick, easy, and cost-effective solution. Employees love fast, simple, inexpensive solutions and a vending machine checks off all three boxes. You save them both time and money, and that leads to a more content workforce.

Should You Purchase And Self-Fill Or Use A Service?

As mentioned above, getting a vending machine can be less complicated than maintaining it and making sure it helps productivity instead of hindering it. That is why many winning companies choose to use a service to fill and maintain their vending machines, making a provider like Take 5 Vending a simpler solution.

For example, picture the following scenario: Your employees are absolutely loving a hot new energy bar in your vending machine. They’re literally, well, eating it up. It’s a big hit around 10:00 am and 3:00 pm when people need a little boost to stay productive and on-task. But you run out. One by one, your workers start drifting out the front door and to their cars to get that energy bar somewhere else.

You can feel your productivity slipping, so you rush out the door to your local Costco, white-knuckling through the 20-minute drive. Costco has what you want and what feels like an impossibly long line. You finally check out, then drive another 20 minutes back to the office.

You then wrestle with the vending machine, opening it up, and shoving the energy bars in there. You close it up, muscle it back into place, then return, sweaty, to your desk.

How much time did you lose? How many employees left anyway? The opportunity costs of self-managing a vending machine can skyrocket over time.

On the other hand, by using a managed vending machine solution, you don’t have to worry about running out or managing the restocking process. This is because:

  • Your vendor makes sure you have the stock you need
  • Your vendor can use predictive analytics to figure out when an item is likely to run out ahead of time
  • Your vendor handles the resupply process

How To Enhance Your Vending Machine Solution

There’s a lot you can do to optimize the effectiveness of your vending machine solution, making it a flexible resource with a ton of upside potential. For example, you can:

  • Strategize the best possible location for the machine based on foot traffic and space. For instance, while a breakroom may be a strong option, another space, such as your front welcome area, may get even more foot traffic.
  • Provide funds for your employees as a perk. You can give each employee vending machine credits, encouraging them to use the machine while simultaneously showing appreciation for their hard work. The productivity pay-off can more than cover the few bucks you give each employee.
  • Issue a survey regarding the kinds of items employees want in the vending machine. Their top picks may surprise you, and you demonstrate a genuine interest in their opinions.

Getting A Vending Machine The Simple Way – What It Looks Like

With Take 5 Vending, the processes of getting and maintaining your vending machines come with only one action step on your part:

  1. You connect with Take 5, and our professionals handle the rest, including a site survey, installation with a 30-day turnaround, stocking, restocking, and maintenance.

Take 5 Vending’s machines send reports regarding current and projected inventory levels, which are used to automatically schedule resupply trips. Maintenance calls are taken care of via whichever means you prefer: email, chat, or a phone call. To learn more about how simple it is to get a vending machine in your office, connect with Take 5 Vending today.

 

Vending Machine in Warehouse

Subsidized Vending Can Be A Great Cost-Effective Solution For Offices

An Intro to Subsidized Vending

At Take 5 Vending, we provide healthy snack and beverage delivery to Boston-area companies. But while some of our clients are willing to foot the entire bill for the healthy products their employees consume, others are looking for a more cost-effective solution. And we have one: subsidized vending.

How Does Subsidized Vending Work?

Here’s how it works: we install a vending machine at your company (which can vend both snacks and drinks) and you decide how much of the product cost your company would like to pay. Maybe it’s 30% or 50% or $1.00 off everything in the machine.

Whatever you decide, employees will still be getting access to healthy, delicious products and they’ll be happy to be getting items at a discount.

At the end of each month, we send you an itemized bill with what employees consumed. We do find it’s better to start with a smaller subsidy and increase it later once you see what employee demand is like. That way, you’re not in the position of taking something away from your colleagues that they’ve gotten used to.

Want to Learn More About Vending in the Boston Area?

If you’d like to learn more about our subsidized vending program or about our healthy snack and beverage delivery to offices in the Greater Boston area, please contact us. Wondering why you should care about having vending in the workplace? Checkout this article on the top benefits of having vending machines at the workplace.

 

3 SUMMER BEVERAGE TRENDS TO TRY ON YOUR BOSTON COFFEE BREAK

Employees love new summer beverage trends. It lets them embrace summer with every sip and discover new flavors. Plus, trendy drinks promote hydration. This helps your team feel their best and beat the heat. Here are three trendy drinks to offer in your Boston break room this summer.

1. ICED COFFEE AS GOOD AS DUNKIN

Hot days are no reason to kick your coffee habit. Iced coffee will keep you cool. It’s also delicious and energizing. Plus, there are tons of summer trends to try. For instance, add some lemon juice to your cold brew. You’ll love the sharp morning burst!

Iced coffee options are available with single-cup office coffee service. But you can also make your own! Simply brew strong coffee or espresso over ice. Then, add creamer, syrup, or sugar. You’re in for a real treat.

2. ICED TEA: A POPULAR SUMMER BEVERAGE

Iced tea and summertime go hand-in-hand. Enjoy this classic drink in the break room. Our Boston office coffee service makes this easy. Brew an iced tea coffee pod in your single-cup brewer over ice. Voila! You can now enjoy a fresh and delicious drink.

Iced tea can also be super healthy. For instance, it has antioxidants. These support brain health. Antioxidants also help your body fight diseases. Additionally, iced tea is good for your heart. It also prevents tooth loss. Just skip the sugar! Instead, try lemon crystals or honey. These make your drink extra special. Yum!

Want more healthy drink options? Call Take 5 Vending today. We have tons of better-for-you options. For example, we carry vitamin water and energy drinks that pack a nutritious punch. We’ll help you find the best products for your needs.

3. SMART SPARKLING WATER

Personalized water is extremely popular. As part of our Boston water filtration services, we offer smart water dispensers. These let you customize your drink. For instance, add a fruity flavor to your water, like blueberry or coconut. It’s perfect for summer! Or try enhancements, like vitamins to help you stay healthy. Don’t forget carbonation. Fizz is always fun!

Smart water supports workplace wellness. Employees will stay hydrated and have more energy. Drinking water also improves your mood and sleep quality. Therefore, employees will stay sharp. This can boost productivity.

CELEBRATE THE SEASON WITH SUMMER BEVERAGE TRENDS

Transform your Boston break room into a beach! Your team will love these summer beverages. Iced coffee keeps ‘em energized. Personalized water is a real treat!

Take 5 Vending carries these trendy drinks and more. We also have seasonal creamers and syrups. We’ll help you find the perfect products for your office. Call us today at 508.697.0800 to learn more. Keep your team cool all summer long!

Benefits of a Micro-Market in Plymouth

Do you wish you could offer your employees something bigger than vending machines in the break room? A micro-market is the perfect solution. It offers a wider range of snacks, beverages, and fresh food in open-front coolers and on free-standing racks. Your break room will become a welcoming space for everyone.

Here are three reasons why you should upgrade your break room with one of our micro-markets.

Flexible Plan of Attack

Each company’s break room needs are different from the time of day employees visit the break room to the room’s layout and physical location. To help meet your needs, we will customize a solution that fits your company.

For example, a neighboring business might be open during regular business hours. But your business might have a second or third shift. It doesn’t matter which shift your Plymouth employees work. A micro-market is open 24/7. It’s accessible to all employees, even those who work the second or third shifts.

Do you have a large break room that serves hundreds of employees? Maybe your company is smaller with limited space, or perhaps it’s somewhere in between. We can customize a plan that works for you. For instance, the layout of your open-concept market will be designed based on your physical space and number of employees. Is your company growing? No problem, your micro-market can grow with you.

Micro-Market Technology

In today’s changing work environment, technology must adapt to meet new demands. Likewise, technology in the break room must also adapt. Our micro-markets include state-of-the-art tools designed to create a seamless experience for your employees.

An important piece of technology is the self-checkout kiosk. Unlike a store, a micro-market doesn’t need a cashier. The kiosk also offers other features such as a touchless checkout process using mobile payment options. It can also share promotional and rewards programs with users.

Carefully placed security cameras help deter theft and keep an eye on the space. In addition, wireless technology helps us track inventory and equipment status. We use the real-time data to keep everyone’s favorite products in stock. The data also helps us figure out when it’s time to introduce new products.

Snacks and Drinks

The main purpose of a micro-market is to offer great-tasting snacks, beverages, and pre-packaged fresh food. Access to delicious on-site choices means your employees don’t have to go off-site for their lunch or coffee breaks. And, as a result, staying on-site creates many benefits, from unplanned team work to increased output.

Part of our job is to make sure your employees have the options they crave, whether it’s the latest energy drinks or specialty waters, the latest snack trends, or delicious fresh food. But don’t forget the coffee service. With most Plymouth adults drinking coffee every day, access to freshly brewed and flavorful coffee or tea is a benefit your employees will love.

For more information about our micro-markets, coffee service, and vending options, please contact Take 5 Vending at 508-697-0800 . We look forward to hearing from you.