The History of Vending Machines

Currently, the vending machine industry alone creates several billion in revenue each year. Today, we install vending machines in our offices, schools, hotels and restaurants, as well as at events and festivals, after making a purchase or opting for vending machine hire.

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Surprisingly, the history of vending machines can be traced back to ancient times. If you are wondering how the very first vending machine was invented and has since evolved over the years, continue reading.

First Century

The earliest vending machine was invented by a man named Hero Alexandria in the first century. Hero Alexandria, a Greek engineer and mathematician, created a machine that accepted a coin, before dispensing holy water. At the temples where citizens worshipped, this device ensured that people were not taking more than their fair share of holy water.

When users inserted the coin into the machine, it would land on the pan which was connected to a lever. The weight of the coin on the pan would be heavy enough to pull on the lever, enabling the valve to open and flow holy water. The pan continued to slant until the mass of the coin would drop. When the coin had completely fallen off the pan, the lever retracted, and the valve would close.

18th Century

It wasn&#;t until the early s when society embraced Hero Alexandria&#;s ingenious invention. In , an English bookseller named Richard Carlile came up with a newspaper dispensing machine. In , Simeon Denham won the British Patent no. 706 for creating the first fully-automatic vending machine, dispensing stamps.

In , Percival Everett was the first man to introduce a modernised vending machine, which dispensed postcards. His vending machine became very popular and was soon after installed at railway stations and post offices. Percival Everett&#;s vending machines were able to offer customers notepaper, envelopes and postcards.

In , Thomas Adams was the first person to build a vending machine that dispensed chewing gum. The gum, named Tutti-Frutti, was available around New York City subway stations.

In , a German chocolate manufacturer called Stollwerck sold their chocolate via 15,000 vending machines. Besides chocolate, their other vending machines sold chewing gum, cigarettes, matches and soap products.

19th Century

Beverage machines that dispensed soft drinks into cups were devised in the early s. This idea flourished a few decades after, whereby vending machines started offering bottled drinks to their customers. Coca-Cola was the first company to sell their bottled drinks through vending machines.

In , coffee vendors were developed, followed by refrigerated sandwich vendors in . Several decades later, in , Automatic Products International Ltd. introduced a vending machine which could ground coffee beans and produce fresh brew.

20th Century &#; Present Day

Nowadays, we have a wide range of vending machines which are able to dispense all manner of things, including; snacks, fresh food, hot and cold beverages, electrical items and more. Vending machines are found all across the world in various commercial and non-commercial environments.

Back in the day, vending machines would only accept coins, as it was easier to identify counterfeit coins than notes. Older vending machines would often take counterfeit notes because they could be easily imitated to look like the real deal. Today, vending machines are advanced enough to be able to recognise real coins, notes and give the right amount of change when the user makes the payment.

The technology can compare physical characteristics, such as the diameter, thickness and the number of ridges on the edge, to detect and verify coins. Newer, advanced vending machines can determine the chemical composition of coins and use optical scanning to identify notes. Some vending machines have miniature digital cameras which scan images of the notes and verify whether the real currency was inserted, by looking for specific patterns. Other vending machines use an ultraviolet scanner to authenticate real notes by measuring the amount of glow that&#;s emitted. As genuine notes contain fluorescent ink, it will glow when ultraviolet light shines on it. Also, many vending machines use a magnetic reader to authenticate the notes because real bills are printed using magnetic ink.

As we now live in a digitalised environment, vending machines are continuously getting smarter and smarter. Companies have successfully implemented credit card readers, as it is rare to find people carrying a lot of cash on them these days. The rise of Apple Pay, Android Pay, and other mobile payment options make customers more inclined to make a purchase, as well as helping vending companies boost their sales.

From Holy Water to iPads: Vending&#;s Year Timeline

We&#;re all familiar with the modern face of vending, with sophisticated currency or card operated systems dispensing consumer favourites such as snacks, beverages, alcohol, cigarettes and lottery tickets at the push of a button.

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But did you know that vending is a people-pleaser dating back to first century AD Greece, over years ago?

The Hero of Vending
We owe the first known vending system to the engineer and mathematician, Hero (also known as Heron) of Alexandria. His coin-operated Holy Water Dispenser was an ingenious contraption that allowed a measure of water to flow out for ritual washing in Egyptian temples.

17th Century England:
Where There&#;s Smoke, There&#;s Brass : Our famed pub culture started early and was a hotbed of vending with portable, coin-operated brass machines dispensing tobacco. It seems vending had begun to cater for more secular needs than those irrigated by Hero&#;s Holy Water.

19th Century England: Vending Makes the Media
: Vending diversified further with the likes of English bookseller, Richard Carlile, and his newspaper dispensing machine. The sole purpose of this was to peddle banned works &#; blasphemous writings that could be purchased without risk to the seller. : Stamp vending systems were introduced by Simeon Denham and the first fully automatic vending machine. : Percival Everitt was responsible for the first postcard vending machine.

The First Vending Company
saw the Sweetmeat Automatic Delivery Company established in Southwark Street, London. The company was responsible for handling the installation and maintenance of vending machines.

America Keeps It Sweet
: The first vending machines arrived in the USA, thanks to the Thomas Adams Gum Company and their Tutti-Frutti gum machines, located on the elevated subway platforms in New York City.

France First for Alcohol
: The first beverage vending machine was opened in Paris, with a civilised range of of beer, wine and liquor.

The First Automat
: The Horn & Hardart opened in Philadelphia, the world&#;s first nickel-operated, fast food &#;automat&#;. Its 60-year life was largely built on cash-strapped members of society such as aspiring actors and songwriters.

: America&#;s round, candy-coated gumball and gumball vending machines arrived, opening the floodgates to products that could be purchased through vending machines.

Early s
The first automatic vending machines dispensed sodas into cups. Beverages are still king of the vending scene!

Ciggies On Tap : We have American inventor, William Rowe to thank for the arrival of the cigarette vending machine. However, its hold on the US populace was undermined by concerns over underage buyers. Some counties circumvented the problem by requiring age verification such as a driving licence or bank card to be inserted before purchase. Cigarette dispensing machines are still common in Germany, Austria, Italy, Czech Republic and Japan.

Japan: Land of the Rising Vending Machine
Renowned for its technological innovation and excellence, not to mention its fast-paced city living, Japan has the highest per capita rate of vending machines in the world. Whatever you want, there&#;s a vending machine that sells it, from fresh fruit, vegetables and hot foods to batteries, flowers, clothing and national favourites such as sake and sushi.

China: A Chilling Development?
The oddest of vending systems can be found on a street in Hangzhou, the capital of east China&#;s Zhejiang province. It sells live crabs, chilled, but very much alive, and sold for between 20 and 60 yuan (c. £2 and £6.20, depending on size).

What&#;s Next for Vending?
There&#;s a whole raft of new-generation vending machines pandering to our every consumer whim, with techno-features such as biometric payment, touchscreens, digital downloads, wireless communications, solar power, and hyper-efficiency. On offer is much more than the standard range of snack foods (which shows no sign of losing popularity). Wine&#;s big on the vending scene (although Paris was ahead of its time with this one), plus consumer electronics such as iPads and mobile phones, and even medication.

What&#;s Next for Bettavend?
Always arms-wide to space-age vending systems, our Coffee to Go concept will soon be available. Delivering an immediate, authentic coffee-shop experience, it kicks-out kettles and long queues in coffee shops, providing supreme hot and cold beverages (yes, even milkshakes &#; another vending first) via a 21&#; touchscreen, with HD promotional/informative videos streaming while refreshment is dispensed.

So watch this space!

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