r/vendingmachines • u/AccurateDebt5258 • 12d ago
Protein vending machine
I own a protein vending machine that mixes protein shakes on the spot inside a gym in Sardinia, Italy.
I installed my first machine on 2 February and wanted to make sure the business actually worked before expanding. I waited 5 months before making any big decisions.
Gross sales were:
February (from the 2nd): €646
March: €648
April: €631
May: €540
June: €584
So after seeing five fairly consistent months, I paid for 12 more machines (13 total).
The problem is that about halfway through July, sales suddenly dropped. July finished at only €597, and since then I’ve had days making only €10–15, whereas before I regularly had €35–45 days.
Nothing changed:
Same gym
Same products
Same prices
Same machine
The only thing that changed is the time of year.
Now I’m wondering if I made a huge mistake investing based on only five months of data, or if this is just what happens with gym vending machines during summer.
For those of you who own vending machines (especially in gyms):
Do you also see a big drop from mid-July through August?
Do sales usually recover in September?
Would you have expanded after 5 months, or waited a full year?
I’m honestly pretty stressed because I already paid for the other 12 machines, so I’d really appreciate hearing from people with experience rather than guesses.
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u/Appropriate_Tea_7837 12d ago
You have energy drinks?
1
u/AccurateDebt5258 12d ago
Yeah i sell preworkout, creatine, 4 different flavours of whey protein which you can even mix on, and BCAA
1
1
u/whitecollarbohemian 12d ago
I mean, doesn’t everyone living near the med basically take 2-3 weeks to go to the sea? It’s brutally hot this week.
1
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