907 Sweet Treats Selling Honey via Vending Machine

A single refrigerator-sized box is also cheaper than paying rent on a mall kiosk. And Heise believes the machine is more convenient for customers too. “You don’t have to search around for what you’re looking for,” he explains. “You don’t have to wait for that farmers market or that craft show to open. You can show up during mall hours and get whatever you want out of the machine.”

Finding the right hardware was not easy, given the merchandise comes in glass jars. “We ended up finding a company out of Colorado that was at our price point,” says Heise. Via conveyor belt and elevator, the machine delivers merchandise to the dispensing slot. Heise adds, “They still have a small drop because that will always happen no matter what. But you’re talking a quarter of an inch which, for a Mason jar, is not going to do any damage to it. It’ll probably break the machine before the jar.”

Honey might not be the usual sweet treat from a vending machine, but Heise notes that the famously shelf-stable foodstuff does well in a machine that’s serviced only periodically. He also buys himself some time between visits by not accepting cash or coins. “We’re selling a jar for $30; someone’s going to stick in two 20s and get $10 back in quarters? We didn’t really want to deal with that, and I didn’t want to fill the quarter hopper up all the time,” Heise says. Therefore, the machine takes credit cards only. As Heise puts it: “Collect some miles, get some points, get some honey. You’re good to go.”

In exchange for hosting the machine, the landlord collects a percentage of total sales. Heise says he chose Midtown Mall because it attracts enough traffic to cover the landlord’s desired share. “Midtown Mall is actually pretty good about getting foot traffic in there,” says Heise. “They have farmers markets going on inside during the weekends right now, the craft shows that happen during the holidays, and the summer markets that happen all summer long. I mean, they actually are getting a lot of people in that building.”

A Growing Thing

The 907 Sweet Treats machine is located near the REI store in the Midtown Mall, a few steps away from a dispenser of bottled drinks made locally by Pure & Pressed Juice Company. Heise observes that vending machines are gaining popularity among small businesses; indeed, Alaska is relatively late to the trend, which is firmly entrenched overseas.

“In Japan, you can get ramen, you can get all your drinks—and they’re not just soda; you’re getting healthy drinks out of them,” he says. “Down into the states, you will see vending machines full of things other than chips and soda. I mean, you have vending machines that are full with eggs from farms. You have vegetables full of them.”

Heise realizes that January, after the holiday shopping season is over, is a difficult month to start a new venture. But he believes the results by summer will show whether 907 Sweet Treats should invest in a second vending machine. He’s interested in the Kenai area, provided he can coordinate with beekeepers there to restock the machine without him making the trip.