Micromarts Merge Food Service and Vending

Convergence is a term usually associated with communications, the blurring of lines between television, the internet, smart phones and the like.

Now convergence has come to corporate food service. The line between staffed employee cafes and vending is being blurred with the emergence of the unattended food service option called micromarkets.

The new concept provides fresh and packaged foods in a compact convenience store-style setting, but requires no attendant or cashier. Customers select their products from glass-front refrigerated display cases, shelves and racks, then pay for the purchases at a touchscreen kiosk, similar to those found at Home Depot and some supermarkets.

A surveillance camera monitors the space, discouraging pilferage. Current operators say their pilferage loss is about 2%.

The micromarket concept is designed for workplaces that are too small to support a staffed café and where vending is an inadequate solution, generally between 150 and 500 population.

The concept can supplement the corporate food service’s central dining center for a company whose population spread among several buildings on a campus. The compact units can be installed in buildings that are too far from the central dining center to be convenient to employees. It also would work for a company in a high rise where the employee café isn’t convenient to some floors.

It could be useful in a company that has a population in evenings, overnight or on weekends, when the dining center is closed. It also can replace the staffed company store or c-store, selling sundries and company-logo products in addition to light foods, snacks and beverages. These units usually are losers, because low sales can’t support the attendant’s wages.

Space requirements are minimal,. As little as a 20x20-foot semi-enclosed room or alcove is all that’s needed, enough for a two- or three-door refrigerated display case, shelving and racks for non-refrigerated products, a payment kiosk and surveillance camera.

The concept is gaining a niche in corporate food service. There were a total of 2,642 micromarkets in operation at the end of 2012, up by 170% from 2011, according to industry reports.

So far, independent vending companies that have fresh food commissaries and the national Canteen division of Compass Group are the ones promoting micromarkets. Vendors say sales double when a micromarket replaces a bank of vending machines. The low cost and ease of installation makes the option especially attractive.

There’s nothing to prevent a company or its food service operator from installing a micromarket, supported from the central kitchen instead of an outside commissary.

The key for anyone who wants to include a micromarket in its corporate food service portfolio is to ensure the food offered is fresh, appealing and well packaged. That means daily restocking and strict rotation of product. Just a few customers having a bad experience will be enough to destroy acceptance and sales. That’s why fresh food vending often is unsuccessful. Customers don’t believe the food is fresh.

Micromarkets are only one of many creative solutions Clarion Group can bring to your employee dining, executive dining, catering and other hospitality services.  To learn how we can improve value, increase sales and crate a more cost-effective food service program, contact Tom Mac Dermott, 603/642-8011 or Angela Phelan, 609/619-3295 or e-mail us at info@clariongp.com.  Take a look at our website, www.clariongp.com,