What's the actual difference?
A vending machine is a closed cabinet with 30–60 SKUs, a selection keypad and a card reader. A micro-market is an open shop-in-a-shop: shelves, fridges, sometimes a coffee bar, and a self-checkout kiosk. Users pick up, scan, tap and go — like a small M&S Simply Food inside your building.
Head-to-head
Numbers matter here. The gap is bigger than most workplace managers assume.
- •SKUs: vending 30–60 · micro-market 150–400
- •Basket size: vending £1.80–£2.40 · micro-market £4.50–£7.50
- •Footprint: vending 1m² · micro-market 8–25m²
- •Fresh food: vending limited · micro-market native
- •Employee NPS lift: vending modest · micro-market strong
When vending still wins
Micro-markets need secure interior space and enough throughput to justify daily restock. Vending remains the right answer for 24/7 unsecured sites, sub-100 headcount, tight corridors, or amenity-only placements in transit, retail and industrial contexts.
Loss, trust and shrinkage
Micro-markets rely on self-checkout, which means some shrinkage. Well-run sites see 1.5–3% — comfortably absorbed by the higher basket. Vending has effectively zero shrinkage because the cabinet is closed.
Cost to your business
In both cases, revenue-share means zero capex. The difference is that micro-markets need more space, better power/water for fridges, and a cultural buy-in that the space stays clean and stocked.
Frequently asked questions
Are micro-markets more expensive to run?+
Not for you if it's revenue-share — the operator absorbs equipment and stock costs. The site pays in space and power.
Do micro-markets replace the canteen?+
For 100–400 person sites without a hot kitchen, often yes. For larger campuses they complement rather than replace.
What's shrinkage in a micro-market?+
Typical well-run sites see 1.5–3%, offset by 2.5–3.5× higher baskets vs vending.
vending.markets matches your brief to operators, formats and finance — neutrally.