A clever idea being tried in Germany by a group of farmers could well catch on as it offers a flexible alternative to the traditional farmers market. Rather than only having their goods available to buy at a given market once a week or fortnight the use of display Vending Machines at selected sites is greatly increasing their sales.

The limited scale of production from many small farmers restricts the chances of selling their goods via conventional retail outlets but the use of refrigerated vending machines is proving very popular for both the farmers and consumers alike. I can see this working just as well for many small farmers here in the UK where a strategically placed vending machine would be a really cost effective method of selling their products to a much wider customer base.

Written by: Colin from KSV.