Singapore’s first vending machine café opened in Sengkang West on Sunday (Aug 7th), signalling the start of what could become a more familiar offer to meet shoppers’ ever growing demand for convenience.
Anchorvale’s VendCafe, operated by JR Vending, is a collection of six vending machines, along with stand-up. The vending machines serve hot meals, sandwiches, and freshly-squeezed juice all day. The meals are priced between S$3.50 and S$5, and the menu rotates between a roster of 30 meals.
It has been reported that there are plans to roll out more VendCafes in the coming year, which may involve other operators.
Besides offering convenience to shoppers, the project also aims to help the manpower-lean food and drink sector in Singapore to leverage technology. According to the café, there is no need for staff to be onsite, as food is prepared in a central kitchen before being packaged and chilled.
We have seen a number of vending solutions that have originated in Asian markets starting to be implemented across Europe.
