Readers Respond posts comments and responses to the VendingMarketWatch news and Automatic Merchandiser vending related articles published on AMonline.com.

Do you have any sugar free chocolate bars?

Looks like a great expo and St. Louis is great. The Saint Louis Science Center is well worth a visit.
http://slsc.org

I have been searching for Hydrox cookies for years! What great news!!! Now can someone tell me where I can find them??? I have been on the lookout for them and so far cant find them!!! Help!!!

school lunches prices

I am wondering how they are still in business

Im interested in the Green Machine collection depot. Id like more information.
Michael Schon
55 So. Garden Ave
Roselle, Illinois 60172

I love the Diet White Berry Tea with Honey and I cant find it anymore...

I drink at least 3 bottles of tea every day but I get tired of the same one. I can only find the Diet Green Tea with Citrus (which is just ok) or the Diet White Rasberry (which I like quite a bit.) Please bring this other one back!

have bottle caps that says uwin

I find it very disturbing that the CEO of pepsi blames the market makeup for the downturn in beverage sales, I think she only needs to look at Pepsis increases prices for the answer.

Oh boy , Candy that taste like cardboard, when will they lean this suff dosent sell. Kids dont get fat from what we sell, they get fat from the lack of parenting, and Ninetndo...:-)

I bought a digital camera from the zoom system. the box was not sealed. and the picture comes up so bad. so now I wanted to return it, but they tell me I cant, its been opened. they don??t believe me they sold me a open box. I feel like I been in a total fraud here. Who ever buy anything from that machine be careful, they maybe selling used item in there. I hope no one makes the same mistake like me buying from zoom system at Macys.

I am soooo frustrated! Where did they go? For the past two months, I have not been able to find Flaky Flix anywhere. Why? These were my favorite cookies, EVER! Please bring them back for good! All-year round!

We appreciate the efforts of both The Willam B. Clinton
Healthy Alliance, and ABA in reducing calories per serving to our youth. My concerns are linked to additives contained in these types of products and long-tern use. Hopefully manufactures
will recognize the need to switch out chemicals that
may have some harmful effects especially when consumed by yound adults who are still growing. Exercise is still an important component in the health and well being of everyone.
c

not only are food prices going out of sight. according to news reports it is causing problems with a lot of engines that arent used everyday.

I purchase the Mrs. Allisons Iced Oatmeal Cookies for my husbands daily lunches. Previous to a couple of months ago, I could buy them in an 24ct package (13.5 oz) for $1.19 (approx. $0.05/cookie). Then I found them in packages with 32 cookies in them (18 oz) and selling for $2.50 on sale (approx. $0.08/cookie) but now for regular price of $3.49 (approx. $0.11/cookie). (My husband also said that they tasted different and that they are harder.) This increases the individual cookie price $0.06 each! This is ridiculous!!! I asked the store owner and they said that they do not set the prices but that the distributor does. Ive worked for several companies that rearrange packaging and slightly increase the cost per piece, but never at this steep increase!
What do you think or what have you heard? Any comments would greatly be appreciated. Thanks.

How could you hire somebody who bunlged and mis-managed a great old company like Chicago Lock? Everybody who worked there to the end knew what a incompetent individual Dale was. What happened to System 64? What happened to Bar Lok? Nothing, thats what, thanks to Dale! And now hes a manager of Camlock Systems US? Well, good luck with that! Perhaps you should have checked on his performance record a bit closer.

I find it all so interesting that whenever the talk starts about the waste impact , the first thing attacked is the bottle water industry. We all know that bottle water is packaged in a plastic bottle, but what most people dont realize is that the bottle water industry is the most pro active in constantly minimizing the amout of plastics used in their products. Just in the past 2.5 years our industry has cut the use of plastic in half, by using new technology and lighter weight plastic products. Before you slam the bottle water industry look around your home and work place and start counting the various daily products you use that are in far heavier plastic products than bottle water. All cleaning products, all dairy and juice products, and not to mention 90% of all clothing products and electronics sealed in the heavy need a knife to open hard plastics. The bottle water industry has created the safest and most healthy componet to our food supply in years. Not to mention the sanitation and conveinance of a product. Un like the soft drink and alchol industries, bottle water has been instramental in getting America and the world back to drinking healthy water. Before you take on bottle water and its impact on the global foot print, just review everything else that you use and comsume in a day and look at all of the other items that use to be packed in paper related products , that are now in heavy plastic. Not to mention that most bottle waters are far better than the municipal waters that are treated with chemicals to try to remove industrial, agricultural, and municipal wastes. Dont forget the ages and quality of most municipal water systems. Bottle water is one product that provdes a good thing for us all. Not to mention the best thing for diaster releif

Its not a question on whether Britton was right in protecting the "garage type operator". Everyone has a right to their opinion. But if you ask most larger, professional vendors they will complain that its not their other major competitors or the Canteens of the world that give them fits. Its the very small, mom and pop operators, who, in many instances, do not report all their sales or pay much in commissions and who can buy at Sams club and supermarkets who hurt the professional the most. Operators tell me they lose business to these small operators mostly on price. If you are buying at Sams Club, not reporting all sales, (not paying your fair tax) and have low or no employee overhead, you can offer soda at say 1.00 for 20 oz and still make a small profit. The larger professional cant.
They say small operators are doing nothing to improve the over all industry. They are harmful to the professional, but this is America. The industry will just have to deal with it. But "defending" them is not in the best interest of long time NAMA members.

A great addition to the
Gourmet Coffee service business.

I am looking to start a honour snack business in the UK, I would be very gratefull for any advice that could be given.
Paul Linsley