Planet Antares IQ: Resistance To Change By Vendors

Some vending operators may claim that cocoa and sugar costs have not been raised enough to justify the candy price rise. At retail stores, prices just keep reducing implying that other retail channels have not had to pay higher prices.

Planet Antares vending operators as well as other operators have simply chosen to reduce candy bars to the top selling standbys in order to cut down on costs. This raises questions about the utilization of the remaining candy slots. Historically, operators bought a wide range of candy SKUs where all the items from a specific manufacturer would fall under one rebate program.
Several vending operators have reduced their candy bar offerings to the main core sellers. They have decides not to increase prices on top sellers to avoid the risk of getting undersold by competitors. On the other hand, they are offering more of the larger size offerings.

Slowly, larger size confections (LSC) are gaining acceptance, especially since the last two years. Many of these offerings allow Planet Antares operators to make an acceptable profit margin of $1. Operators have witnessed significant success with these larger size products and are willing to use the larger size offerings in place of the regular size version. This strategy has proved to be very effective for large size snacks. Some operators are even opting for king size bars, which cost more and require a selling price higher than $1.

Hundred percent of the regular size versions have been sustained by the Large Size Candy, where the king size bars have delivered at 85 percent. All this will enhance the Planet Antares vending operations value to the customers as well as the consumers who are using the machines.
The rise in candy prices is reason enough to try some of the larger size products. It is still undetermined how much momentum there is behind the push to larger size candy. Some Planet Antares vending machine operators pointed out that this is contrary to the consumer demand for healthier offerings in vending machines. As it is, larger size candy means more sugar and calories.