Where to install a coffee machine. Your own business: how to make money from coffee machines

Evgeny Smirnov

Bsadsensedinamick

# Business ideas

Realities of the vending business in Russia

Coffee and food vending machines will soon appear on commuter trains. This suggests that the market is developing and demand is growing.

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• Features of the coffee vending business
• Place for a coffee machine: choosing the right one
• Coffee machines for business: choosing equipment so you don’t regret it later
• Registration and running a business
• What do coffee machines “fill” with?
• Staff
• Maintenance
• Business plan for making money on coffee machines
• Monthly expenses
• Profit per month on coffee machines
• Payback of a coffee machine
• Business development for installing coffee machines
• How many machines do you need?

Among all the vending machines, coffee machines stand apart. It is believed that they are the most profitable, and many people primarily associate the word “vending” with coffee. Such a business seems very simple, but this is not entirely true. Yes, there are not very high risks here, under certain conditions you don’t need a lot of starting capital, but, as they say, the dog is in the details. And the coffee machine business has more than enough such nuances.

Features of the coffee vending business

The most important features include:

• Possibility of easy and quick start.
• Possibility to get by with a small investment.
• Very large selection of equipment and ingredients.
• Even in large cities you can find places without competition (although we note that among all areas of vending, coffee has the greatest competition).
• There is no need to look for highly qualified and experienced personnel.
• Low rent for space. Coffee machines occupy a small area.

These are the features that can be considered positive. But there are also negative (or best case scenario neutral):

• There is a very strong dependence on a good location; this is what determines the profitability of each individual coffee machine.
• In large cities there are large companies that do business aggressively, pushing out small competitors. They are capturing more or less promising areas for sales.
• Possible damage to equipment. Sometimes even intentional, on the part of competitors. This also happens, although rarely.

Also, at the very beginning of the article, we will immediately tell you the most important things. We will talk about choosing a location and other nuances below, but all this will not matter if you are offering a product of poor quality. And this depends not only on the machine itself, but also on the ingredients you buy.

The thing is that often the majority of sales are repeat sales. And if a person really didn’t like your coffee, he will never make a second purchase. Yes, there is a category of places where there can be new clients every day, but the number of such places is very limited. And coffee machines are often located where there are regular visitors (for example, office premises). That's why for successful business on coffee machines the product must be of very good quality. It may not be like in a cafe (where the cost is several times higher), but it’s definitely better than regular instant coffee from a can.

Place for a coffee machine: choosing the right one

The list of places where coffee machines can bring good profits is long. The important thing is that the best places are not those with very high traffic, but those where people stay for some time, albeit short:

• transport hubs (stations, airports);
• hospitals;
• Gas stations and car washes;
• educational institutions;
• trade and entertainment centers(this also includes cinemas);
• business and office buildings;
• canteens of industrial enterprises;
• government agencies.

These are traditional places, but it is always possible to find other options. The main thing is the crowd of people. Sometimes you can find completely unobvious places that turn out to be very profitable. For example, you placed a coffee machine next to a small office building where only fifty people work. But your coffee is so delicious that almost all of these people drink it every day. And the income from one glass is from 20 rubles, so do the math yourself.

If you decide to start a business with coffee machines, then be prepared to experiment. You can do without them, but this way you risk not finding the best places. You can always try to install the machine for a short period of time and look at the level of sales.

To the place under coffee machine there are the following requirements:

• possibility of connecting to the electrical network;
• free access;
• It is highly desirable to install it in a safe place (protects it from vandals).

The required area is about one square meter. Most property owners are not against it additional income and easily agree to install machines, but there are exceptions. They may charge very high prices or refuse to rent out a place for other reasons. You should also be prepared for this.

It is advisable to carry out space for coffee machines, as well as negotiations with the owners of the premises before purchasing machines. Otherwise, it will be like starting to build a house without a plot of land.

How to test a location with minimal cost and maximum accuracy?

It is always better to check the point and only then enter into a long lease agreement. This is easy to do, but only if the owner of the premises meets you halfway. Agree with him on a trial period, which can be paid even double (in case of failure). It will be much cheaper than signing a lease for a few months and ending up with a bad place.

Calculating and testing a location is very simple. Any machine has the ability to collect statistics. The minimum period for testing is a week. Sometimes on some days sales can be very high, and on other days, on the contrary, low. Therefore, seven days is the minimum reasonable period that will allow objective testing. It makes no sense to install the machine for more than 14 days. If there are no sales, then there won’t be any.

After the test, it is necessary to analyze sales statistics and compare them with the specifics of the location. It's easier to explain in specific examples, for this we will make a table.

Day of the week	Office building (number of sales)	Car wash
Monday	15	24
Tuesday	36	26
Wednesday	47	29
Thursday	17	28
Friday	14	36
Saturday	3	18
Sunday	2	23

Now let’s decipher the received data. The drop in sales over the weekend in an office building is completely logical, but we should be wary of something else: a sharp drop in sales on Thursday and Friday. What could this mean? Most likely, people tried the coffee but didn’t like it, which is why we can see a drop in sales. It is also possible that the price was too high. In this case, it is advisable to conduct a survey and identify the real reason.

Everything is more even at the car wash, with the exception of a completely logical drop in sales on Saturday. There can be no questions here: the place is suitable and successful. But even here you can talk to the staff and find out what kind of feedback customers left.

Coffee machines for business: choosing equipment so you don’t regret it later

The cost of coffee machines ranges from 40 to 500 thousand rubles. The average price for a new and good coffee machine is 200–240 thousand rubles. It is often recommended to buy used or cheap equipment made in China, but this is a bad idea for obvious reasons. However, here you need to make a decision yourself; if you only have enough money for used coffee machines, then you can buy them too.

The difference in the cost of devices is caused by the following reasons:

• machine quality;
• assortment of drinks;
• menu type, presence of screen;
• payment methods.

Also, modern coffee machines can be equipped with additional useful functions. For example, the ability to remove all data from it (remaining ingredients, etc.) remotely via the Internet.

It is difficult to give specific advice on choosing equipment; here, focus on your own financial capabilities, as well as what you want to get as a result. However, there are three points to pay attention to:

• Possibility of service, as well as the presence of a service center near you. If a coffee machine breaks down, it will be very expensive to transport it thousands of kilometers. This question needs to be clarified before purchasing, especially if we're talking about about new models.
• Warranty period, possibility warranty service on the spot.
• The maximum ingredient load size may be important if you don't plan on serving them very often.

If you want to buy old model, then we recommend looking for reviews on the Internet (of course, not on the websites of companies that sell coffee machines). Sometimes you can find very useful information, which will make you refuse to buy one model in favor of another.

Registration and running a business

The optimal form of registering a business on coffee machines is individual entrepreneur. Taxation system - simplified tax system or UTII, or patent system. OKVED code: 47.99.2 (this is new code, which appeared in 2016).

No other permits or licenses are required, but please note that according to the rules, people who service machines are required to have a health certificate. You may also need permission from the SES and fulfill a number of conditions if the equipment is connected to a water supply system, but such models are practically never found in Russia.

What do coffee machines “fill” with?

The coffee machine uses the following ingredients and consumables:

• Coffee. Usually ground or in grains. Soluble is practically never found.
• Different types of tea (by the way, buying a coffee machine that does not have the ability to make tea is very unwise).
• Cocoa and hot chocolate.
• Sugar.
• Milk and cream (dry or granulated).
• Water.
• Cups and spoons for stirring.

You don’t need to invent anything: all the ingredients are sold specifically for coffee machines, you just need to buy them. They are not exactly the same as those sold in regular stores. In particular, they dissolve faster and absorb moisture less well. Ideally find permanent supplier and work only with him.

You determine the dosage yourself, but usually it is about seven grams of coffee per glass. With every machine you should be given detailed instructions for setup and dosage recommendations.

Water is collected from springs or tap water is used, but it must be filtered. Don't forget that bad water can negatively affect the taste. It must be clean and without the slightest content of foreign impurities.

Staff

High qualifications from the personnel are not required, although the person must be able to carry out simple repairs right on the spot. But this can be solved by training. Each machine comes with all necessary instructions, in which they talk about eliminating the most common problems. Most often these are problems with software or minor breakdowns (the hose has come off, etc.), which are easy to fix yourself.

If you have a small number of coffee machines, you may not need to hire staff at all, but you must be prepared to work for your business seven days a week. A rather controversial option, but with 2-3 machines, hiring staff will be really unnecessary. Set your salary based on the realities of your city.

Maintenance

One person a day can service from 10 to 15 coffee machines, it all depends on how far they are from each other. The frequency of service depends on the number of ingredients that can be loaded and the number of sales. On average this is three days, but sometimes you have to do maintenance every day.

Since you have to carry not only consumables, but also water, you will need a car. By the way, when drawing up a business plan and planning expenses, this is very often forgotten, and they don’t mention it on other sites, but a car is really required. At least a passenger car. The issue can be resolved in two ways:

• Hire employees only with their own car (and reimburse them for gas costs).
• Buy a used and inexpensive car, which will be comparable in cost (or even cheaper) to one coffee machine.

We have already written about breakdowns above. It is also necessary to periodically wash coffee machines and carry out preventive maintenance (all this is included in technical documentation). Money is withdrawn once a week. You can do it yourself, or you can trust your employees. We have one comment regarding this.

On the one hand, modern coffee machines have the ability to collect all the statistics on money, which makes theft problematic. No, of course they can steal (if they get the money themselves), but it will be difficult to go unpunished. On the other hand, you always need to leave coins in the machines for change, which makes petty theft possible, which cannot be immediately detected. Therefore, a complete inventory is carried out once a month.

Business plan for making money on coffee machines

Vending business with coffee machines does not require complex and basic research, however certain planning necessary. At a minimum, you need to determine a list of promising places, study competitors, find suppliers of ingredients, and determine optimal prices.

Monthly expenses

TO monthly expenses worth mentioning:

• rent;
• consumables and ingredients;
• staff salaries.

This is something that money will have to be spent on. Additional costs may also arise, for example related to repairs, but they cannot be planned.

Also, at the expense planning stage in your business plan for coffee vending, you need to determine the cost of each item in the machine. This is very easy to do if you know the consumption and prices of ingredients.

Profit per month on coffee machines

It is impossible to predict monthly profit, but at a minimum, you can calculate the break-even point for each machine separately and for the entire business as a whole. Let’s say the cost of one item is on average 5 rubles, and the average price is 30 rubles. You have five coffee machines, monthly expenses:

• salary for one employee: 20 thousand rubles;
• rent: 15 thousand rubles.

Now we divide 35,000 (20,000+15,000) by 25 (30 rubles – 5 rubles) and get 1,400. Thus, 1,400 sales is the break-even point, and everything above is profit. By simple calculations, you can find out that each coffee machine should have 9.3 sales daily.

Payback of a coffee machine

Here the calculations are exactly the same, but you need to add the cost of the equipment, after which you will get the necessary numbers. In general, the payback in this business is usually about a year, sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less, but you need to focus on 12 months. Let's look at our example.

Your devices cost 600 thousand rubles. For them to break even in one year, you need to sell 24,000 more glasses of coffee or tea. And this is another 13.1 glasses per day for each machine. Thus, we get 13.1 + 9.3 = 22.4 glasses that need to be sold daily, which will allow us to return starting investments within 12 months and start making a profit.

Business development for installing coffee machines

The good thing about business is that it is easy to scale. Do you have some free funds and have you found another promising place? You can buy a machine in one day, install it and it will start making a profit. In this sense, it is difficult to find another business like this.

However, the market still has a certain capacity. The difficulty is that it is difficult to determine the potential number of consumers. It's not even possible. In one city with a population of 100 thousand people, 50 coffee machines may operate successfully, while in another, with the same population, 25 may not be profitable. This happens even within the same city (in one area everything is good, in another everything is bad, while the flow of people is approximately the same).

If you see that some coffee machines are not profitable, then you should start looking for other places for them. In such cases there is no need to wait; the situation in practice never changes. Or you can try to reduce prices. Business development in coffee machines means constantly searching for new locations, optimizing prices or expanding the range.

How many machines do you need?

And here it is very difficult to give specific recommendations. Simply because no market research has been conducted in Russia, so there is no data for analysis. You should start from the ratio of the number of promising places for installing coffee machines and financial capabilities. If you have money, you can try to capture all suitable places before competitors appear.

It all depends on what monthly income you plan to achieve. If it is more than 100 thousand rubles, then even in a very good place it is impossible to get that amount from one machine. From two it is still possible, but only if the places are really very good.

IN different regions In Russia the situation is different, but it is believed that a profit of 25 thousand per month from one machine is already a very good result. You can focus on this figure, but we repeat, it is impossible to predict the profitability of a particular place in practice. This can only be determined experimentally.

With the development of technological progress, modern aspiring businessmen have ample opportunities to start their own business with small investments. Good one An example is the installation of vending machines. Trade equipment is very popular in the West. In our country this type business is just beginning to gain momentum. Let's find out how much you can earn from snack machines and what you need for this.

What is a vending business?

Literally, the word “vending” means trade. In this case, we mean the sale of goods at retail through special machines. Seller how individual however, it is missing.

The devices can be installed anywhere, with their help you can buy not only drinks, snacks and small-packaged products, but almost everything you need: books, hygiene products, ready-made meals, ice cream, peeled drinking water and much more.

We have greater demand for vending machines for food and drinks: snack and coffee machines.

The main advantage is the compactness of the devices. Due to their small size, they fit everywhere: in shops, shopping centers, underground passages, gas stations, offices, train stations, airports. Wherever there is a good flow potential clients and where the installation will be in plain sight.

Features of the vending business

The advantages of working with vending machines for selling coffee and snacks are:

• quick and easy start;
• small initial capital;
• wide range of equipment;
• variety of ingredients;
• a large selection of installation locations with minimal competition;
• no need for hired personnel;
• low rent.

The machine combines a counter, a seller and cash register. He never gets tired, is able to work around the clock without breaks or weekends and bring profit to the owner 365 days a year. At the same time, there is no risk of being deceived, either from the client or from the owner.

The largest selection of snack machines is presented

Speaking about the benefits, one cannot fail to mention the disadvantages, or those points that may raise doubts.

For example, in this business, success largely depends on a well-chosen location. This fact largely determines the profitability of each individual device. At the same time, a well-chosen location will bring a stable, guaranteed income.

If competition doesn’t scare you, you should boldly get down to business. The main thing to remember is that product quality is important here. Even the most modern and functional device will not boost business if the ingredients are of poor quality.

No one will buy tasteless coffee or stale snacks. Therefore, you should purchase products that are fresh, aromatic, and of high quality.

Starting capital

You can start a business with one or two machines selling coffee or snacks. The cost of a vending machine varies between 50 thousand - 300 thousand rubles. depending on size and functionality.

If we consider a full-fledged business project, this will require 10 machines, which will cost approximately 2 million rubles. Let's add to this the rent for retail space in the amount of 80 thousand rubles, the cost of ingredients and consumables - 100 thousand rubles, as well as the costs of registering a business - 50 thousand. The result is a sum of 2,230 thousand rubles.

Average earnings

Preliminary calculations show that average bill coffee machine is 30 rubles. One installation can sell about 80 cups per day. 10 such installations will sell an average of 800 drinks per day. This amount will be 24 thousand drinks per month.

As a result, the average monthly revenue will be equal to 720 thousand rubles.

We calculate the payback

The numbers are approximate; the final economy depends on many factors.

To calculate the payback of a project for the purchase of 10 vending machines, let’s calculate the fixed costs per month:

• rental of retail space - 80 thousand rubles;
• the salary of the operator who will service the machines is 15 thousand rubles. (at the initial stage, you can carry out this process yourself, this will reduce costs and allow you to become more familiar with the process and the business as a whole);
• loan repayment (taking into account payment of 40% own funds, and 60% - borrowed for 5 years at 15% per annum) - 19.7 thousand rubles;
• car expenses - 20 thousand rubles;
• depreciation - 10 thousand rubles;
• other - 15 thousand rubles.

Result: 164.7 thousand rubles.

To this amount should be added the costs of purchasing ingredients and materials, which amount to approximately 25% of income - 150 thousand rubles.

The average monthly income was 600 thousand rubles.

600 thousand rubles. - 164.7 thousand rubles. - 150 thousand rubles. = 285.3 thousand rubles.

We subtract taxes (USN and 15% on profit), we get 242 thousand per month.

Profitability is 77%.

With such calculations, you can return your investment after 10 months of active sales.

What to choose: snacks or coffee?

Many entrepreneurs face a difficult task when choosing a vending machine. What is more profitable - a coffee or snack installation? Experts assure that with proper management and the right choice of point, both devices will bring high profits, and they will be the same.

But it is better to familiarize yourself with the nuances of the operation of each of the machines before purchasing.

Let's consider the main operating parameters of snack and coffee installations:

• Margin. For coffee, the margin ranges from 200% to 400% (the cost price is about 10 rubles, with the cost of the finished drink being 30-50 rubles). For snacks, the selling price can be two to three times higher than the purchase price (margin up to 200%).
• Seasonality. Coffee is actively sold from autumn to summer. From June to August there is a period of calm. Snack products are suitable for any season: in the summer - water, carbonated drinks, snacks; during the autumn-winter-spring period, snacks are bought as an addition to hot drinks.
• Assortment. The coffee machine is configured exclusively for the sale of coffee drinks. In snack machines the range is limitless and you can sell anything you want.
• Packing. Coffee installations do not provide this function. For snack machines, you can make bulk purchases of goods, pack them in your own packaging and sell them with a higher margin.
• Cleaning. Coffee machines require weekly maintenance as they quickly become dirty from pulp, water and soluble ingredients. To wash cars, the owner must hire a person or do it himself. Snack machines do not require cleaning.

Before starting a vending business, an entrepreneur must decide on the direction of his activity. One will be interested in selling popular coffee, while another will like selling snacks.

Do you dream of opening own business, but don’t feel like you have the strength to regularly carry out complex economic calculations and accounting? Today this is no longer a problem. Coffee machines as a business are becoming increasingly popular. At the same time, hot drinks are sold out very quickly.

But the financial investment in such a business is not that big. At the same time, the profit will not only quickly recoup all the funds spent, but will also soon become a real stable income.

Situation today

A coffee machine appeared in Russia relatively recently. In the 20th century, you could mostly find machines on the streets dispensing sparkling water with or without syrup. But today you won’t find them during the day, but machines selling hot drinks are common.

Meanwhile, judging by the statistics, this market segment has not yet been completely filled. Competition, of course, is present, but not as intense as in other, more complex types of business. Therefore, each coffee vending machine pays for itself perfectly and brings its owner a good income.

But before you organize your own business selling hot drinks, you need to calculate a few little things. Besides detailed consideration everyone financial investments in coffee machines, a business plan will help you carefully consider ways to reduce production costs.

Why drinks?

In fact, there are quite a lot of similar devices. But experts recognized those that sell coffee as the most profitable. Why is this so? It's all about the product itself. People don’t buy newspapers so often, and they are accustomed to buying them at ordinary kiosks.

And on machines that dispense food or various snacks (chips, crackers, nuts), you cannot make a 100% markup on the product. Coffee machines as a business are very profitable. After all, preparing one cup of a hot, invigorating drink is a maximum of half of its selling price to the buyer. And in some cases, savvy entrepreneurs manage to make much more money.

Where will we sell

The profitability of this business is influenced by several factors. But the most important thing is the location of the machine. The volume of sales and the amount of profit in the end directly depends on it.

Where is the best place to place this technique? Of course, where a lot of people regularly pass by. The most advantageous locations are airport premises, train stations, secondary and higher educational institutions, large shopping centers, as well as buildings with a large number of offices.

The first two objects are the most successful in terms of sales of coffee, since there are always many people there who are forced to wait for their transport. Moreover, many of them need to warm up or somehow wait out half the night if the plane or train, say, is delayed. And coffee vending machines are becoming a real salvation.

This drink is no less popular in higher educational institutions. After all, students have to come to class very early. In most cases, the pairs end around 3 o'clock in the afternoon. Therefore, it is almost impossible to sit without a cup of hot coffee. This is where your equipment will be in great demand.

It is also very important to install coffee vending machines in close proximity to office buildings. Early arrival at work, as well as stressful mental activity negatively affect the performance of employees. Your coffee will help them come to their senses and cheer up with minimal investment of time and money.

Under no circumstances should such equipment be installed somewhere under the stairs or in a nook. People simply won't notice your unit or won't want to approach it. The machine should be in a prominent place and attract attention with its bright design.

How to care for equipment

Don't forget about maintaining your device. The profitability of a coffee machine very much depends on how attractive it looks and how smoothly it works.

If equipment for preparing hot drinks is not washed from time to time (every 3 days approximately), it will emit a rather unpleasant odor. It, of course, only pushes customers away. In addition, you need to constantly ensure that the device does not run out of ingredients. Otherwise, it will cease to be in demand.

Be sure to check all systems for technical failures, errors and breakdowns. Ideally, you should hang a sign next to the machine indicating a contact telephone number for complaints and claims and asking you to call with any questions that arise. This will help you have good control over your own business and troubleshoot all problems in a timely manner.

What types of coffee vending machines are there?

There are several varieties of this technique. And all of them are very relevant and profitable today. But there are a lot of differences.

The first factor by which coffee machines are sorted is size. Some models cover approximately 1 square meter of area, while others cover 2-2.5 times more. The first ones are more convenient to place when there is a lack of free space. The latter are very relevant in the case of neighbors with competitors. The more variety of drinks a machine can offer, the more attractive it is in the eyes potential buyers.

The second factor can be safely called the country that is the manufacturer. The set of functions, cost, and quality of the equipment often depend on this. Devices from Italy, as well as other European countries, have the highest prices. At the same time, domestically produced equipment is inferior in cost, but not by much. The average price of a coffee machine today varies between 100-300 thousand rubles.

Against the backdrop of another wave of economic crisis, the government once again thought about preferences that would attract the maximum number of people to small and medium business. They are guaranteed numerous advantages in matters of its organization and management. It remains only to consider those types of entrepreneurship that will be equally successful both if the promised benefits are actually provided and in a situation where real help will not be so significant. Many market analysts for individual entrepreneurs, small businesses and joint ventures recommend paying attention to the vending business, which is constantly gaining popularity in recent years regardless of external macroeconomic and microeconomic factors.

Types of vending business and its popularity

A special feature of this form of business is the ability to minimize the costs of maintaining staff and renting premises. Most likely, everyone remembers the very first examples of this production - vending machines for soda water, metro tokens, and railway tickets, which appeared back in the 70-80s of the twentieth century. Moreover, the first automatic machines ready to sell various goods appeared more than a thousand years ago in China. A prototype of vending equipment found by archaeologists sold pencils. Waves of development of vending were noted at the end of the 19th century - in the 20s and 30s, such machines offered cigarettes and matches to customers on the streets of Moscow and other Russian cities.

Modern technologies have made it possible to make such equipment more advanced and visually more impressive. Today, such equipment allows us to offer customers a wide variety of products. They can be either packaged or bottled. General principle it becomes possible to make a substantial profit from using a device installed in a high-traffic area. Moreover, this profit actually goes solely to the owner of the vending machine. After all, its purchase fits within the budget, installation requires a minimum area, the device works independently without the participation of an additional hired salesperson.

Where to start a vending business?

Only at first glance it may seem that in order to start a vending business and receive a stable income from it, you don’t need to make any effort at all. This option is small or individual entrepreneurship in fact, it is quite accessible and simple in procedure, but it will still require certain financial investments and an assessment of market risks.

So, how to open a vending business? The first step for each future recipient of profit from using an automated trading device is a clear assessment of the potential demand for its offer to customers. To evaluate, you will need to understand where the machine can be installed, what is the social and demographic spectrum of consumers of its services.

Currently, there is equipment on the market that is ready to provide services to consumers, offer industrial goods and food products. From the point of view of making a profit, it is food products that are in stable demand among any buyer. Moreover, here too there are leading directions.

The highest profitability indicators are shown by equipment offering hot and cold drinks. Considering the obvious seasonality of supply, soft drinks are most in demand during the hot season, which in our latitudes rarely lasts longer than three to four months. But it can be difficult to refuse a cup of coffee, tea or hot chocolate in any weather.

How to open your own vending coffee machine?

Regardless of the choice, the next step is to evaluate potential locations for the proposed equipment. And in order to install a coffee machine, you will need to register as an individual entrepreneur, a representative of a small or medium-sized business.

The simplest option is registration or PBOLE, depending on the experience of activity and the intended use of a convenient taxation system.

By switching to the “simplified tax system” (USN), it will only be possible to sell bags, chewing gum or chocolate bars.

Why do experts recommend choosing coffee vending equipment to start a business?

Equipment for vending services appeared on the market as a convenient and inexpensive alternative to going to a cafe. And today, this purchase option is most convenient for those who are not ready to set aside time in their busy schedule for a long trip, even to a restaurant. fast food. It is also convenient to combine a light snack and a sip of an invigorating drink with your usual activities.

Experience in using vending machines has shown that coffee is in maximum demand in such situations. It is not such a simple and familiar drink as, for example, tea. Carbonated drinks are harmful to health, and hot chocolate often finds its admirers among children and visitors to women's cafes. However, in pleasant cafeterias, waiters usually bring hot chocolate for the fair sex, and its connoisseurs choose to relax at a table or bar counter.

Coffee brings almost everyone together. This vending machine is equally popular in the office, shopping center and just on the street near the metro or at the station. Considering the variety of options for drinks that a coffee machine can prepare without the participation of a barista, it makes it possible to get a pleasant moment of relaxation during a working day or a trip.

Where to put the coffee machine?

However, the success of a future enterprise depends not only on the choice of drink or food and the choice of a vending machine that is ready to provide both. It’s worth immediately understanding where such a compact “point” catering» convenient and appropriate placement. It becomes a win-win situation when the device was installed in an office center. Moreover, not only in the dining room or dining room, but simply next to the offices of office employees. In such a situation, its services will be readily used by the employees themselves, who will definitely prefer the opportunity to use the machine to simply throwing a spoonful of instant coffee into their cup.

In an office meeting room, this equipment will defuse the most difficult negotiations, and in the reception area or next to it, management visitors can while away the hours of waiting.

Waiting areas generally become an appropriate option for placing a vending machine for preparing instant or natural coffee. Today such equipment can often be seen at airports, railway and bus stations. Ease of use and affordability ensures a constant flow of people who want to diversify their time waiting for departure or arrival with a cup of coffee. It is convenient to place machines here that are ready not only to offer coffee, but also to provide the opportunity to buy already packaged goods. Today, the choice of such machines is large and varied - from options that provide the opportunity to buy a pack of chewing gum and a chocolate bar, to equipment that is ready to send a heated sandwich, a package of salad or even soup in a plastic container to the acceptance box.

Is the vending business profitable in a movie theater, in a hall where slot machines are located, in a shopping center? Undoubtedly. Coffee machines are increasingly being installed in waiting rooms financial organizations, at the post office. What all these placements have in common is a large flow of people passing by or, even better, waiting.

It is important that the machine is located indoors, since such equipment is ready to operate successfully only at temperatures from -4 to +40 degrees Celsius.

Coffee machine installation and maintenance

Installing a coffee machine does not require any special skills. All you need is a dedicated, level place and the ability to connect to an electrical outlet. In the future, such a device is ready to work independently.

The involvement of a specialist will only be required at the time of assessing the successful operation of the coin acceptor and bill acceptor. Exactly how successfully they operate and how well the relationship is ensured with sending an amount of funds to the receiver and receiving finished products, becomes a guarantee of receiving a stable profit.

It is advisable to refill the devices and remove the received funds daily., monitoring the quality and condition of the products in the device. Today, as an additional service, many owners of vending systems install reading devices that allow them to pay for food products received using bank cards.

How many machines are convenient for running a vending business?

The first assessments of the prospects for using different numbers of devices can be made already at the stage of choosing their location. In this situation, the flow of potential buyers and the willingness of the future “king” of vending to work with several types of products or goods at once are calculated.

At first, experts recommend limiting yourself to installing one vending machine or a maximum of two. This applies equally to those entrepreneurs who are just starting their own business in this area, and to those who are trying to explore new territory.

Experts recommend not taking into account the profit of the coffee machine for the first two months when assessing further business expansion. It is either excessively high (due to the new offer to clients), or, on the contrary, it is small, since the client is not yet accustomed to the new type of service.

On average, with the right placement strategy and type of product, the payback period for a coffee machine is from 1 to 2 years.

How can placeable coffee vending machines work?

Most vending coffee machines have quite significant dimensions. The height of each type of equipment is comparable to the average height of a person. It is determined by experience of use. After all, it is more convenient for the buyer to pick up the purchased drink without bending or jumping. It is for this reason that the window in which the purchased drink is displayed is located approximately one and a half meters from the floor surface.

The outer bar of the device is equipped with buttons that allow you to select up to 13 types of coffee. Milk can be immediately included in the drink preparation or additionally poured from a separate tank. Depending on this, the coffee machine can be programmed to produce a variety of coffee options. For ease of use, the equipment is equipped with coin acceptors, bill acceptors and devices that read the amount from a bank card.

Profitability of coffee machines

The multifactorial components of the potential success of such a business include a large list of parameters. It will allow you to compare them accurately or personal experience, or marketing research. But a minimal idea of ​​the potential profit can be obtained based on the simplest financial calculations.

An average vending machine of this type costs its owner from 1,500 to 5,000 US dollars. The variability of cost ensures both the complexity of the model and the possibility of choosing used equipment.

The purchase of coffee for one medium-power machine will require from 150 to 200 dollars per month.

Approximately the same amount will be required to purchase tea and hot chocolate.

An average portion of coffee in such a machine costs the buyer from 10 rubles. On average, the machine dispenses from 40 to 120 cups of plain coffee per day. Even such minimum indicators guarantee the owner a monthly profit of at least 12,000 rubles. Even such modest results, plus the amounts received from the sale of portions of coffee with additives and food products, will increase this amount to 20,000 per month.

Excluding from such profit the costs of servicing the coffee machine (no more than 2,000 rubles per month) and the purchase of ingredients (from 4,000 rubles per month), net profit for each machine per month will be at least 5,000 - 6,000 rubles.

Protection from vandals and hooligans

Vending market specialists point out that the most serious cause of damage can be a machine breakdown due to the actions of hooligans.

To exclude this possibility, it is important to pay attention to the placement of equipment in a crowded place, preferably in places where it is located in the field of view of representatives of security services, and also to carefully monitor the availability of everything declared in the assortment and the serviceability of coin and banknote acceptors. Failure to do so may result in a deliberate attempt to damage the equipment. Most modern equipment options are equipped anti-vandal protection.

Today, the vending business is just beginning to develop in our country, although throughout the world it has long become a noticeable player in the market for making pleasant and simple profits. It is this, coupled with the relative cheapness of equipment and components to support the work, that becomes a good basis for using this type of activity as a successful option for obtaining a virtually guaranteed income.

Sometimes entrepreneurship can be built on things that for some reason simply do not come to mind from the very beginning. For example, a business on coffee machines: how long does it take to pay for itself, reviews from other entrepreneurs in this business, what are the risks and disadvantages of the business, as well as other aspects of such a project will probably interest you.

Coffee is a popular drink, on par with tea and hot chocolate, which is why its sale is one of the most profitable. Well, a coffee machine allows you to do it without direct human intervention. Let's take a closer look at the coffee project.

Advantages

The undoubted advantages of this project are:

1. Relatively small investment for opening from scratch.
2. Possibility of opening in a small retail space.
3. There is no working staff as such; the business can be managed independently.
4. No expenses for marketing campaign, the coffee machine will become popular almost anywhere.
5. Possibility of moving the machine to another location.
6. Extremely high profitability project.

There are some disadvantages to using coffee vending machines as your main source of income. The most obvious of these is strong competition. There are machines of this type almost everywhere, so it’s difficult to find a room where you can put yours. The problem is that the most profitable places, from a commercial point of view, are occupied, and in order for the project to pay off, it is important to search for a suitable premises for a long time.

The second extremely unpleasant disadvantage is the activity of vandals. Of course, in lately Such people are already extremely rare, although in the regions there are still a sufficient number of them capable of opening the device without a key. Therefore, it is important that the installation is located in a protected area or in the field of view of surveillance cameras.

Registering a business

To legitimize it, it is enough to register you as Individual entrepreneur. This is done with the help of the tax office, where you also need to choose a tax system: UTII or simplified tax system.

Personally, as a novice entrepreneur, you should turn to the first system. You don’t have to license anything; you just need a quality guarantee for fillers obtained from suppliers.

The following documentation will be required:

• Agreement with authorities local government, received by any vending machines.
• SES permission.
• Fire department permit.
• Space rental agreement.

Choosing a suitable place

As mentioned above, before opening, it is important to find a suitable location by commercial standards. The most suitable premises for such trade can confidently be called the following traditional places:

1. Train stations, bus stations and other route stations.
2. Airports.
3. Hospitals and clinics.
4. Other government agencies, for example, centers social services, tax inspectorates, departments of the state road inspection, etc.
5. Banks.
6. Educational institutions - schools, universities, colleges, etc.
7. Cinemas, theaters and similar recreation centers.
8. Trade fair centers, markets, wide supermarkets, etc.
9. Business business centers.

Unfortunately, each of these places probably already has its own vending coffee, so the search will be quite difficult. Of course, some entrepreneurs decide to compete with an existing machine, and this is also the right approach with proper strategy planning.

Try to experiment: if the machine in a given location is inferior in profit to a similar competitor, try to change the supply of the product or move the coffee machine to another location.

The most low prices will almost always be in educational institutions and shops. You can also agree to pay the lessor not a fixed rent, but a percentage of sales, which is extremely beneficial for a novice coffee machine owner.

Selecting the machine model

It is important to find a device that does the job well, but is not too expensive. You can purchase both a domestic version and a foreign brand; it is always difficult to understand which model will ultimately perform better.

It may be worth investing in a more expensive model that has a good reputation and performs more functions, such as green tea or mulled wine, in order to quickly pay back the business and make more profits in the future.

Try to monitor the quality of work of models located in different places in your city. Some work more efficiently and offer more services. Be sure to read reviews on online forums about the model you want to purchase. Don't get hung up on expensive options and pay attention to the following signs:

• Are there service centers of this company in your city?
• Is it important for you to overpay for vandal-proof protection of your device?
• How long are the guarantee periods?
• How much will the device and its maintenance cost?
• Is the model you have chosen widespread on the market and how long has its production been in existence?
• Which varieties, ground or instant, of coffee are used in making drinks.
• Exactly how many servings of the drink the coffee machine is ready to dispense before the next refill.
• How strong technical specifications has an automatic for its price.

Service

It is recommended to refill the machine once every three days. In the beginning, it is better to ensure its operation with frequent presence, because, unfortunately, it is impossible to predict how well the machine will work. It is the first days that influence the future reputation of the place.

Keep the machine clean; there will probably be dirty coffee stains or just unpleasant stains. Dirt may well scare away the client, so it is necessary to wipe the device and clean around it. Periodically you need to collect the proceeds from the machine.

Also, sometimes you will have to fix various kinds of problems at the manufacturer’s company; they are the ones you should contact to troubleshoot problems. It is for the availability of such services that it is important to buy a new, and not a used device.

Internal filling

It is important to find truly delicious coffee that would be in demand among customers. Therefore, it is worth testing each option yourself. Those working in the vending coffee market have long been well aware that varieties that are classic and have been sold on the market for quite a long time will pay off better. Remember that you need to purchase the following products:

1. Bean or ground coffee of a couple of varieties.
2. Black and green teas, as well as fruit-flavored teas.
3. Hot chocolate.
4. Cocoa.
5. Filtered water.
6. Powdered milk powder for additives or hot milk.
7. Dry cream.

You will also need disposable cups and spoons for stirring. You also need your own fillers that differ from store-bought options. Such ingredients are stored longer, have a non-stick consistency, are not able to absorb foreign odors, do not absorb moisture, and dissolve much faster than standard ones.

We select staff

On ready business you will only need two workers, and it makes sense to do both of your jobs yourself at first. The first vacancy is a manager responsible for purchasing fillers and other goods, relations with suppliers, etc. organizational issues. He must monitor the business project, plan its work, identify what is most profitable in at the moment, as well as keep track of documentation and money.

You can remain in this position permanently. In addition, you need an employee to service the coffee machine itself. He must have a driver's license, and it is also important to have knowledge of the city in order to navigate to different machines.

Calculating expenses

Expense line		Amount of costs, thousand rubles.
1	Rent of space	2
2	Coffee machine with advanced functions	200 x 2
3	Delivery of the device to the site and its installation	2
4	Public utilities	1
5	Preparation of documentation	3
6	Purchase of beverage refills, sugar and water	5
7	Purchase of cups and other equipment	2
8	Service employee salary	10
9	Taxes	3,5
10	Unforeseen expenses	10
Total:		436,5

It is not necessary to buy two machines at once, and in this case the amount of expenses will be only 236 thousand, which is really small for a business project. Remember, in addition to starting capital will have to invest monthly, paying taxes, rent and public utilities, as well as purchasing some materials and paying wages.

What is the yield?

Calculations show that on average the cost of one serving of a coffee drink should be 35 rubles, tea – 25 rubles, and cocoa or hot chocolate about 30 rubles per glass.

It may seem that the prices are quite low, but a machine in a place with a large flow of people will sell 70-100 portions, making a monthly profit of 50-120 thousand rubles. The most minimal income after paying expenses will bring about 30 thousand rubles in profit. Increasing the number of machines will bring greater profitability, but even one machine can pay for itself in 7-8 months.

Video: coffee machines as a business.