Editor’s note: This article was first published in March 2018, drawing on sources from 2008-2014. Statements such as Uniqlo promising to compete with Inditex, cannabis machines requiring a prescription in California, Colorado and Canada (recreational cannabis became legal in Canada in October 2018 and in California in 2018), and Sephora machines “introduced in 2010” reflect that period.
Vending keeps expanding. It is no longer what it used to be, and we are going to prove it with this round-up of the most original vending machines we have found. The days of machines selling only cans of soft drinks, bags of crisps, sweets and water are long gone. Today you can find everything from erotic products to live crabs.
By the way, if you are wondering how to get into the vending business, follow this link.
These are the most original and strangest vending machines in the world
1. Used underwear
The prize goes to the Japanese, who, perhaps because of their reputation as fetishists, were probably the first to install vending machines selling used panties. And the truth is that this does not only exist in vending machines. If you search Google, you will see that in the classified sections there is as much supply as demand from people interested in used underwear (and not only women’s).
2. Erotic product vending machines
We keep raising the bar, because sex sells, so there are machines selling “erotic instruments” such as love balls, dildos and vibrators, among other products, next to another machine with lubricants. These machines are usually somewhat more tucked away so as not to offend anyone’s sensibilities.
3. Live crabs
Who would have thought we would see the day when crabs would be available from vending machines? Alive, no less. This idea comes from China.
(More: The Atlantic)
4. Pizza vending machines (freshly cooked)
A piping-hot pizza in under 3 minutes. These machines can already be seen in Europe and the United States. In Spain, in fact, they are already very common.
5. T-shirt vending
If you are a fan of Uniqlo T-shirts, this machine in Harajuku, Japan, dispenses the whole line through vending machines. For those who don’t know, Uniqlo is a clothing company that promises to give Inditex (Zara) a run for its money.
6. Bread or baguette vending machines
You can get fresh baguettes 24/7 from this unusual vending machine, devised by the French baker Jean-Louis Hecht, who got tired of customers knocking on his door at all hours of the day.
(More: Yahoo)
7. Burger vending machines
It’s official: fast food can’t get any faster than this machine in the Netherlands.
8. Banana vending machine
This vending machine first appeared in Japan (no surprise there), and among its most innovative products is a banana case. An obsession with bananas? I don’t know, but it is a good business. Mind you, I can’t remember where, but not long ago I saw on television a greengrocer’s with no shop assistants, just vending machines with every kind of fruit.
9. Caviar
That’s right. You can even buy caviar from a vending machine.
(More: NBC News)
10. Umbrella vending machine
The rain will never catch you off guard again if you are walking the streets of Hong Kong, where these umbrella vending machines have been installed.
(More: Calvin-C)
11. Socks
Who hasn’t been walking down the street and thought, “I’d buy a pair of socks right now”? Other wishes may take longer to come true, but this one at least has a solution if the shops are closed.
12. Shoe vending machines
It’s hard to know when a shoe will break or get lost. There is a solution for that too if the shoe shops are closed.
(More: Hypebeast)
13. Flip-flops
A vending machine that would certainly not go unnoticed in a seaside area.
(More: summersinhavaianas)
14. Jeans vending machine
If you are a fan of the Italian brand, you can buy jeans from these machines. Just make sure you get the size right, because you won’t be able to return them.
15. Book vending machine
A whole bookshop in this vending machine. It was first seen at airports in Australia and the United Kingdom.
(More: Daily News)
16. Second-hand books
This machine is different from the previous one: you can take a book from it or put in one of your own. Either way, it encourages reading.
17. Make-up vending machines
You may have come across some of these machines at American airports, since Sephora introduced them in 2010. Now do you see why Sephora is included among the most innovative companies in the world?
18. Marijuana vending machine
You can find these marijuana vending machines in California, Colorado and Canada, but you will need a medical prescription to buy weed from the machine. In most places, if you start this kind of vending business, you may end up buying from the vending machines in a prison.
19. Holy water and candle vending machine
The first vending machine in history is 2,000 years old, and it dispensed holy water. It was invented by Hero of Alexandria (215 A.D.) to distribute holy water in temples, because people used to take more holy water than they had actually paid for. And, as you might expect, the idea is still popular in some places, in certain churches, along with the sale of candles.
And finally, another kind of vending
There is also luxury vending. Some time ago the German company TG-Gold-Super-Markt launched the first gold-bar vending machine, where you could find bars in up to 6 different sizes.
A rival soon came onto the market: the South Korean firm Hon Group, which trades in and exports jewellery and high-end costume jewellery. As well as offering gold bars, its machine has a touch screen where you can even enter someone’s address so the company will send them the piece of jewellery you have chosen.
More recently, machines have also been installed where you can buy bitcoin, and others where you can buy both men’s and women’s lingerie. As you can see, there is an endless number of original ideas around this business model.
See also: The 40 most innovative business ideas of recent years
Featured image: davitydave, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr.
