Why are 27,000 ice cream vending machines in Japan so popular?

Choose, pay, and ship. You can buy a favorite ice cream in just 3 steps. Unmanned ice cream vending machines can be seen everywhere in Japan. Even in rural areas, you can buy delicious products through ice cream unmanned vending machines.

And this is just the tip of the iceberg covering nearly 5 million unmanned vending machines in Japan. Almost all products imaginable in Japan can be placed in unmanned vending machines. What everyone is most interested in is the ice cream vending machine in Japan.

-01-

Japan, the big country of vending machines

Walking on the streets of Japan, in addition to convenience stores, you will find all kinds of unmanned vending machines, some sell food and beverages, some sell ice cream, some sell soup, and some sell ready-made drinks. The number of unmanned vending machines in Japan is close to 5 million. According to the total population of 120 million in Japan, each unmanned vending machine can serve 43 Japanese nationals.

In the hot summer, we can buy a bottle of iced drink through the vending machine.

But what if you want to eat ice cream?

-02-

Pattern of Japanese ice cream vending machine

In China, although many unmanned vending machine manufacturers have announced the development of ice cream vending machines, at the end of sales, ice cream unmanned vending machines are still a scarce commodity.

In Japan, unmanned ice cream vending machines are everywhere.

Why is there such a rapid development of the unmanned ice cream vending opportunity in Japan?

Let's take a look at how the ice cream vending machine in Japan works.

In Japan, ice cream vending machines are mostly invested by brands, such as ice cream brands Haagen-Dazs, Meiji, seventeen ice, and retailer brands 711 and Rosen. All brands are familiar to consumers.

At present, there are about 27,000 ice cream unmanned vending machines in Japan. They are located in scenic spots, shopping malls, subway stations and streets, serving Japanese consumers and becoming a tourist attraction for foreign tourists.

In addition to the brand-led machine investment, price is also the key to the development of ice cream vending machines.

In terms of category, ice cream in unmanned vending machines is generally the taste that consumers like. Some brands will launch seasonal limited products. At the same time, ice cream vending opportunities will be updated at any time to ensure the freshness of the consumer experience. Young people interact, and some ice cream brands have also turned unmanned vending machines into interesting experience machines.

In the category, Japanese ice cream vending machines can be roughly divided into four types, one is cone category, one is stick and baked ice cream, one is cup ice cream, and the other is ready-made cone ice cream. meet the needs of most consumers. Coupled with brightly colored product patterns, it adds to the attention of consumers.

Product differentiation, brand dominance, cheap prices, and service-oriented may be the keys to the development of ice cream vending machines in Japan.

-03-

What should we learn from Japan

So what should we learn from Japan about ice cream vending machines?

Aside from machine R&D and innovation, perhaps the most important thing we should learn is service.

In terms of products, most operators or brands just put their own products into the machine intact, and do not achieve differentiated selection. Also in terms of price, the products in many unmanned vending machines are more expensive than those in physical stores. Expensive. For example, the Coca-Cola purchased from the pick-up counter a few days ago cost 4.3 yuan. The price of brand-directed vending machines can be almost the same as offline ones. For example, the products in the Nongfu Spring unmanned vending machine on Taibai Mountain are almost the same as those under the mountain, and its main function is not to sell goods, but is to serve those in need.

Therefore, under the premise of service, unmanned vending machines should rely on an efficient supply chain and refined selection to attract consumers. Treating them as machines that are more common than freezers is the key to the rapid development of vending machines. Giving it too much technology may invisibly increase operating costs.

Therefore, in the ice cream vending machine, we need to explore a model suitable for the development of the Chinese market and absorb the perspective of the development of unmanned vending machines in Japan.