30 Facts about Bettavend/Vending
As we are celebrating our 30th anniversary this month, we thought we would celebrate by sharing 30 facts about Bettavend with you (along with some interesting nuggets about vending of too course).
So read on to find out how we have been delivering refreshments a ‘Betta’ way over the last 30 years and all of the interesting things that have happened to us along the way…
1) Bettavend was originally set up in 1987.
2) Our company has been delivering service excellence now for over 30 years- that’s a whopping 10,958 days!
3) We owe the origins of vending to the Greek engineer and mathematician Hero (also known as Heron) of Alexandria. His coin-operated Holy Water Dispenser was the first ever vending machine and was an ingenious contraption that allowed a measure of water to flow out for ritual washing in Egyptian temples.
4) Can somebody say caffeine overload! -Every year we provide our customers with the equivalent of 3.5 fuel tankers worth of coffee!
5) ‘Wine-not’! -The first ever vending machine that sold beverages was introduced in 1890 in France and it sold a range of beer, wine and liquor.
6) Got a sweet tooth? At Bettavend we sell the same weight of chocolate in a year as 1 and a half London buses or 13 average-sized family cars!
7) Every day, 8 million cups of coffee and 2 million cups of tea are vended.
8) Talk about loyalty – 10 of our employees have worked at Bettavend for over a decade and our longest serving member of staff has been with us for over 22 years – thank you!
9) The number of crisps and snacks we sell each year would take Usain Bolt, 1 hour, 20 minutes to run long – at least that would be enough snacks to keep him going!
10) Did you know that the first ever patented vending machine sold stamps and was invented in 1857 by Englishman Simeon Denham.
11) Did you know that there are approximately 3.8 million vending machines in Europe.
12) We provide our customers with 839,000 items of snacks, cold drinks and other confectionery per year – that’s enough for more than 1 item for everyone listed on the electoral register in West Sussex.
13) Customer satisfaction is our number one priority - our dedicated team of engineers travels 353,000 miles every year to ensure that our customers receive the highest level of service at all times.
14) ‘Customisation is king!’, which is why we offer branded vending cups as well as branded vending machines, so you can customise until your heart is content.
15) Every year, UK consumers spend an average of 1.5 billion on vending machine refreshments.
16) Our rapid-response engineering service, is our promise to customers that we will do everything in our power to respond to service calls and breakdowns within two working hours.
17) Bettavend are a proud sponsor of The Point Foundation and Caffe Praego: working to change lives in Rwanda.
18) The first ever vending company was the Sweetmeat Automatic Delivery Company, set up in 1887 in Southwark Street, London. The company was responsible for handling the installation and maintenance of vending machines.
19) ‘No smoke without fire’ – It was American inventor William Rowe that invented the first cigarette vending machine.
20) In Japan you can buy almost anything you need from a vending machine, even live lobsters! That’s right, for 100 Yen, you can catch your very own fresh, live lobster to go.
21) The first automatic vending machines dispensed soft-drinks into cups in the 1920s and beverages still reign king when it comes to vending.
22) The first vending machines arrived in the USA back in 1888, introduced by the Thomas Adams Gum Company and their Tutti-Frutti gum machines in New York City.
23) The first ever disaster-relief vending machine was set up in Japan back in 2003 and the country now has over 6,000 of these installed in hospitals, schools and designated emergency evacuation sites.
24) 'Using their loaf' -In Japan, you can buy bread in a can, amongst many other weird and wonderful items!
25) Gold to go? The United Arab Emirates was the first nation to introduce vending machines that sell grams of gold – now that’s one way to flash your cash!
26) USA Trumps all – hardly surprising but the USA has the highest number of vending machines; 7,125,000 at the last count (http://www.statisticbrain.com/vending-machine-industry-statistics/)
27) Did you know that coin-operated brass vending machines dispensing tobacco existed as early as 1615.
28) Our clients locations range in size from 10 to 2,000 staff, so we are used to supplying the fuel to achieve a happy, productive environment for all levels of requirements.
29) Bettavend are a proud member of the Associated Vending Services (AVS) and the Automatic Vending Association (AVA).
30) We have a team of 32 staff here at Bettavend and we would like to thank each and every one of our exceptional employees for constantly going the extra mile for our customers.
We hope you found the vending facts we ‘dispensed’ an interesting read and we look forward to the next 30 years and beyond.
We will continue to adapt our approach to keep ‘you’ our customers at the heart of what we do and on that note would like to say a huge thank you to all of our customers past and present as well as everyone in the local communities who has supported us throughout the decades.
Contact us to find out more about the complete range of services we offer and how we can help your business: 02380 255222 / emily@bettavend.co.uk