Completely vegan vending machines are popping up in Bristol, launched by UK-based company Vegan Vend.
The installation of the new vending machines — named Violet and Daisy — follows on from a successful Kickstarter campaign launched by the plant-based company last year.
Besides being completely vegan, Violet and Daisy are not typical vending machines filled with packaged crisps, cookies, and chocolate bars. The Vegan Vend machines are chilled, allowing the company to stock it with a range of wraps, sandwiches, healthy snacks, and desserts made from local purveyors.
Hungry consumers on the go can grab a Coronation Chickpea Sandwich, Vegan Sausage Sandwich, Sweet Potato Pakora, or a Bakewell Slice, among other wraps and snacks.
Vegan Vend has also collaborated with local artists to design the artwork on the machine’s exterior, creating eye-popping images that draw customers toward the plant-based options.
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At the end of last year, founder Remi Toth and her small team took to the streets of Bristol to give out free samples of these products to promote her idea, which has now come to fruition.
She wrote on her Kickstarter page at the time, “It was a really successful day and we got an incredible amount of positive feedback from members of the public both about the taste of the food and the idea of having an all-vegan vending machine.” The company raised £3,321 to fund the project.
Kickstarter campaigns have proven to be an effective fundraising tool for other small vegan businesses.
Trio Plant-Based — an upcoming Minneapolis-based vegan eatery focused on equality and social change — relied on the site to fund its start-up costs and exceeded its initial funding goal by over $12,000. Another sustainable business, Final Straw — which makes collapsible sustainable straws small enough to fit on a keyring — recently raised $1.8 million through its Kickstarter campaign, smashing through its original target of $12,500.
Vegan Vend’s Violet vending machine is located in the Galleries shopping center in the city center, and Daisy is situated in the Island, a studio complex, arts, events, and exhibition space on Nelson Street.
