The foods and drinks you can offer in vending machines depend on a number of factors, including product turnover and preferences of consumers, shelf life, style of the machine and whether or not refrigeration is available.
It is a good idea to survey the people who will use the machine to get an idea of their food and drink preferences and products that are likely to sell.
The tables below outline common foods and drinks for vending machines that are in the GREEN (best choices) or AMBER (choose carefully) Victorian Government’s Healthy Choices guidelines.
You can also find healthier products on FoodChecker. Search the database to find drinks, snacks, and classified as GREEN , AMBER or RED.
Get started at www.foodchecker.heas.health.vic.gov.au.
| GREEN – best choices |
AMBER – choose carefully |
GREEN or AMBER options1 |
| Non-refrigerated foods |
|
|
-
Plain unsalted nuts, seeds or legumes
-
Plain, air-popped popcorn (unsalted)
-
Fruit tubs in natural juice
-
Porridge or oats
-
High fibre cereals that are low in sugar
|
- Dried fruit
- Some salted or flavoured popcorn1
- Some crisps, chips, crackers and pretzels1
- Some cereal-based, fruit-filled or fruit and nut bars1
- Some instant noodles1
- Sugar-free mints or chewing gum
|
- Fruit and nut/trail mixes
- Tuna and cracker snacks
- Tuna and rice or beans
- Packaged soups
|
| Refrigerated foods |
|
|
- Reduced fat yoghurt tubs or pouches
- Reduced fat cheese and crackers
- Reduced fat dip and crackers
- Sandwiches, rolls or wraps (if suitable for the machine)
|
- Regular fat yoghurt tubs or pouches
- Regular fat cheese and crackers
- Some reduced fat dairy desserts1
- Some ready-to-eat meals1
|
- Sandwiches, rolls or wraps (if suitable for the machine)
|
| Cold drinks |
|
|
- Plain water (still or sparkling)
- Water flavoured with natural essence
- Soda water
- Reduced-fat plain milk
- Calcium-fortified milk alternatives (including rice, soy or almond milks)
|
- >99% fruit juice with a maximum serve size of 250ml
- Regular fat plain milk
- Some regular fat flavoured milks1
- Artificially sweetened drinks
- Kombucha with 0g sugar per serve and no more than 0.5% alcohol
- Coconut water with no added sugar and <300kJ per serve
|
- Reduced fat flavoured milks1
|
1 Use FoodChecker to determine classification. www.foodchecker.heas.health.vic.gov.au.
