Smart technology, government mandates and consumer expectations are changing the face of the vending channel.

Unique Beverage Co. LLC designed a new bottle that is the same height as an average can of soda for its Cascade Ice sparkling waters.

Last spring in Lahore, Pakistan, and New Delhi, India, Coca-Cola vending machines connected consumers in the two communities separated by 325 miles and decades of political tension.

Imagine having the ability to pick up a beverage and examine it without ever touching it. Thanks to next-generation vending machines, this idea of virtual selection is becoming a reality.

U.S. beverage-makers including Atlanta-based The Coca-Cola Co., Purchase, N.Y.-based PepsiCo and Plano, Texas-based Dr Pepper Snapple Group announced a new vending program that will launch in municipal buildings in Chicago and San Antonio in 2013.

 As Honest Tea discovered last summer, people generally obey the honor system.  

 Transporting cases, crates, kegs and additional point-of-sale items from warehouses and trucks into retailers often is a physically demanding task.  

Members of the vending industry helped the National Automatic Merchandising Association (NAMA) break its previous attendance record at its OneShow, which took place April 27-29 at McCormick Place in Chicago. At the annual trade show, NAMA announced its new plan to appeal to generation Y and drive consumers of all ages to use and prefer vending.