A family-owned business Cook is set to roll out 15 automated ready meals vending machines in March as part of its venture to “innovate in the UK catering sector.”
The machines will initially be available in offices, residential schemes and student accommodation, with plans to later move into hospitals, travel hubs and government buildings.
Reportedly, they are supposed to be “easy to manage, easy to fill, easy to report on sales and order stock,” with users requiring only an on-site microwave to cook the meals.
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The initiative aims to tackle the problem of the lack of readily available quality food. As such, it cites the issue of workers having less nutritionally rich diets due to heavy reliance on unhealthy fast food.
“Helping to provide healthy and affordable options to the UKs workforce, our new service will help to reduce food wastage and support companies trying to improve the health and wellbeing of their teams by giving access to more healthy convenient food options,” Chris Portwood, COOK Chief Sales Officer, said.
The vending machines have been manufactured by smart retail solutions provider This Is Mother and will be leased monthly. According to the company, costs will cover the use of the machine and platform, real-time monitoring, a maintenance contract, internet connection and detailed reporting.
“The interactive user interface, cashless and mobile payments, product filtering, nutritional information, product animations and special offers all contribute to what customers are demanding nowadays – a modern day digital retail experience,” Phil Davison, Founder & CEO of Mother, commented.
The initiative will launch at the HRC (Hotel, Restaurant & Catering show) on 20th – 22nd March.
Laura Bates, Operations Manager at Holiday Extras which has already trialled Cook machines, called them “quick and easy.”
