h.u.m.a.n. Healthy Vending is on a mission to change the world –-one snack at a time.
The Los Angeles -based company is turning the $30 billion/year vending industry on its ear by using state-of-the-art, energy efficient machines filled only with healthy foods and drinks.
In addition, h.u.m.a.n. (short for “helping unite man and nutrition”) donates 10 percent of its proceeds to charities that fight obesity and malnutrition.
“At h.u.m.a.n., we believe that the sustainability of the environment cannot exist without the sustainability of our own health,” says Sean Kelly, a 26-year-old fitness buff who co-founded the company with Andy Mackensen in 2007. “Think about it. How are you going to get people to care about sustainability if they don’t care about themselves? Once we can connect with people about their health, I think we can connect with them about sustainability.”
Thanks mostly to refrigeration and lighting, a traditional vending machine can burn through 3500-4000 kWh/yr . But, HUMAN Healthy Vending can cut that energy expenditure by up to 50 percent. HUMAN machines use energy-efficient cooling units, triple pane insulation, and LED lighting. They also are equipped with remote inventory monitoring devices which allow for greater operational efficiency and reduce the amount of trips required for maintenance and stocking.
But, as Kelly stresses, eco-friendly machines are only part of the h.u.m.a.n. Healthy Vending story. First and foremost, he says, h.u.m.a.n. is a health and wellness company focused on alleviating the world’s most significant preventable health epidemic: poor diet.
“Vending machines have contact points with everybody in the developed world, and those contacts occur frequently every year. For some people it’s every single day,” Kelly explains. “That’s where it all starts. To get someone to switch from potato chips to pita chips means maybe they’ll buy pita chips in the grocery story. It starts a domino effect that can segue into other areas of public health.”
An OG25 winner, h.u.m.a.n. Healthy Vending is committed to changing the world, to sustainability… and to turning a profit.
“When the sustainability of personal health and the environment are fundamental keystones of your business, you’ll be profitable,” Kelly says.
Note: This article appeared first at www.TriplePundit.com
Here’s a short video that highlights some of the innovative features of h.u.m.a.n. Healthy Vending machines, such as touch-screens and credit/debit/ID card readers:
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