How the Micro Market is ready for a post-COVID world right now.

Following on from our recent article detailing how vending could help pave the way for a safer workplace both now and in a post-COVID environment, we wanted to detail how the advanced and hygienic Micro Market will also have a key role to play. 

The Micro Market is regarded as the revolution in workplace refreshments. It’s unlike anything ever seen before and is still way ahead of its time. There are plenty of reasons why the market is already promoting a safer, more hygienic workplace. And the list of reasons may just continue to grow moving forward. 

If there is one good thing to come out of 2020, it’s emphasising the long-standing importance of hygiene. Perhaps more specifically, the importance of using hygienic facilities housed within a clean, hygienic workplace.

We all know that we need to maintain good personal hygiene, including washing our hands, as a way to fight the COVID-19 virus. But keeping our workplace clean maybe doesn’t receive quite as much attention. This is a grave error, considering we will spend an average of 90,000 hours of our lives at work.

Even prior to this pandemic, we have always understood the importance of hygienic workplace facilities. Take our food hygiene standards, which go above and beyond to deliver our highly regarded fresh food service to both our fresh food vending machines and the Micro Market.

But the advanced characteristics of the market can also promote a safer working environment, even if this in an indirect benefit.

For example, the open-plan design makes it easy to social distance with colleagues. Whilst the 24-hour availability takes this even further, as it’s simple to stagger your break times accordingly.

Then there’s the self-service cashless payment terminal, which eliminates the need to come into contact with the germs that lie on coins and notes.

And as the world looks set to change forever in a post-COVID world, the Micro Market may just become even more convenient and deliver even more reassurance.

How the Micro Market can be the “go-to” solution in a post-COVID world.

It’s forecast that one of the industries that will have to adapt the most is retail. This is because the lively nature of shopping centres and the high street could become a hotbed for the virus.

The Micro Market is already keeping workforces around the region on site with a collection of refreshments including healthy meals, snacks and cold drinks. Many of our customers also have an office coffee machine housed in their market that delivers premium hot drinks, which therefore eliminates the need to visit the coffee shop off site.

But whilst the market is a great solution for larger sites that don’t have quality refreshments available off site, it may just be required for larger sites regardless. After all, why head off site into the uncertainty of the high street for quality refreshments when they’re available in your place of work?

And, who knows, this argument could be strengthened in the future. At the moment, our Micro Markets deliver fresh food, snacks, confectionery and hot and cold drinks, but we already try and cater to your requirements. The convenience store-like design can indeed offer more niche products if we see a demand.

Having everything you need available on site isn’t just convenient. It’s reassuring, too, which is an emotion we’re sure nobody will ever underestimate again.

The Micro Market delivers another benefit. The opportunity to push flexible working. This is something that all communities will see a rise in moving forward, as a way to reduce the number of staff on site at any one time.

As we get more accustomed to flexible ways of working, it is also likely that core office hours and designated breaks will be a thing of the past, to enable employees to maintain the autonomy they have got used to while working remotely. With this in mind, it is important to implement workplace catering solutions which can keep up and the Micro Market is an accessible and progressive option for workplaces of the future.

Certainly more so than the canteen, which could get phased out as workplaces hunt for a more advanced – and more importantly a more hygienic – refreshment solution.

Contact us today about experiencing a safer workplace.

The Micro Market is created to be a workplace refreshment solution that’s tailored to you. Your shape and size. Your branding. Your products. Contact us about getting your workplace prepared as the country looks for a way to adapt to the “new normal”.

Coinadrink Ltd

10-11, Maple Leaf Industrial Estate, Bloxwich Ln, Walsall WS2 8TF
01922 640777

The post How the Micro Market is ready for a post-COVID world right now. appeared first on Coinadrink.

source https://coin-a-drink.co.uk/how-the-micro-market-is-ready-for-a-post-covid-world-right-now/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=how-the-micro-market-is-ready-for-a-post-covid-world-right-now

The appeal of vending machines in a post-COVID world.

Vending has certainly adapted a lot over the years, with grander designs, more intuitive user interfaces and higher quality hot drinks. And as the world looks set to change forever due to COVID-19, Coinadrink has explored how vending may look once the pandemic has ceased. Whenever that may be. 

The hygienic foundations of a vending machine.

In many ways, vending was as well prepared as it could be prior to the pandemic. Certainly, using a vending machine contains fewer touch points than using the kettle, and the rapid dispense times ensure there’s no congregating around the machine.

Then there’s contactless payments, which had already made an appearance prior to the pandemic. As of the time of this article, the total value of contactless transactions in the UK stands at 662 million. The progressive nature of vending means you can enjoy this convenience on your machine.

Backed up by our own stringent hygiene standards, we ourselves have always emphasised that vending remains a safe entity for the provision of food and drink. And this is a statement backed up by the Automatic Vending Association, which speaks volumes.

How will vending machines change in the future?

Business Reporter states that retail in particular will be significantly affected in a post-COVID world. With greater demand for hygienic facilities and solutions, this may mean more people turn to the convenience and safety of a vending machine.

Let’s go back to cashless and contactless payments for a second. As of 2020, 36% of all vending machines now take this form of payment. This is important, especially when you consider that The World Health Organisation (WHO) stressed the importance of cashless and contactless payments.

Vending has made real strides in other areas, too. Despite the common perception, vending machines are incredibly advanced. Stylish designs incorporate intuitive user interfaces, whilst an enticing drinks menu replicates the quality you’d expect in your favourite coffee shop.

Then there’s product scope. Vending machines have always been associated with “bread and butter” items such as cold drinks and snacks, but they can now offer a wider and perhaps more niche range of items in addition. And thanks to touchscreen interfaces and video capability, vending machines put the consumer at the heart of the experience. Now you can see more information about what you’re buying.

The flexibility of vending machines means they can cater to a wide range of products. These include jewellery, mobile phone accessories, books and a whole lot more besides. Just take a look at one of our blog posts which explores some of the weirdest yet most wonderful vending machines around the world!

And sure enough, we have only been too pleased to get on board with this expansion ourselves. Coinadrink has put our name to a fair few projects over the years helping farms and organisations have a fresh milk vending machine installed, whilst the pandemic saw us start to offer PPE vending machines.

This has been a lifesaver for many businesses who perhaps work in “high risk” areas and require added reassurance.

Product scope, then, is another reason why vending machines may be a golden solution for consumers moving forward. There is now less reason to head off into the nervous uncertainty of busy shopping centres.

How Coinadrink has embraced the future of vending.

Those of you who have kept an eye on our social media platforms this year will know that we have embraced the future of vending in line with consumer demand.

The vending industry on the whole identified the importance of reducing the already few touch points a vending machine requires. In fact, with contactless vending equipment such as coffee machines and water coolers, it went further, and we were only too happy to add much of this to our offering.

Distance Selection, available on a variety of Vitro coffee machines and the Neo hot drinks machine, senses your finger up to 2cm away from the machine, so you can vend your hot drink without interacting directly with your equipment. Then there’s a collection of contactless water dispensers, which you can use with a foot pedal or a smartphone.

We also touched on our new range of PPE vending machines above, which have been very popular.

Arguably the biggest arrival, though, has been Purezone antimicrobial technology, which can be applied to a variety of our existing equipment.

The film reduces the presence of a variety of bacteria and viruses, and works continuously for three years from application, unaffected by cleaning protocols.

We believe that this is a major breakthrough in the vending industry. It only emphasises the safety of using a vending machine.

To conclude, it’s easy to predict that more consumers may prefer to use the safety and convenience of a vending machine in the future, but only time will tell.

Coinadrink Ltd

10-11, Maple Leaf Industrial Estate, Bloxwich Ln, Walsall WS2 8TF
01922 640777

The post The appeal of vending machines in a post-COVID world. appeared first on Coinadrink.

source https://coin-a-drink.co.uk/2020/11/2020-11-the-appeal-of-vending-machines-in-a-post-covid-world/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=2020-11-2020-11-the-appeal-of-vending-machines-in-a-post-covid-world