Ruben Ayala, owner and operator of San Antonio Healthy Vending, became interested in the vending industry after reading about the healthy vending concept in a magazine. He bought some machines from a healthy vending franchise, and put 100% healthy products in his machines.

While Ruben’s goal was noble – he wanted to help the world snack healthier – he quickly learned that going 100% wasn’t profitable or realistic. Ruben would have to offer a mixture of healthy products and traditional items (chips, sodas, pastries) in his machines to make a profit, which also meant Ruben would have to go independent. While Ruben was anxious at tackling this transition, he did have a trick up his sleeve – help from his technology partner, Parlevel Systems.

Through Parlevel, Ruben was able to install cashless readers, telemetry, and adopt a vending management system to help him run his operation. With Parlevel, Ruben could remotely monitor his machines and know what was going on with them at all times. Machine breakdowns, dynamic routing, prekitting, and more helped him cut costs and generate more money at his locations. Plus, he could put different products in his machines and measure how well they sold with Parlevel’s product merchandising tools. This helped him test out products and ease the transition into offering a good mixture of healthy and traditional items.

Today, San Antonio Healthy Vending offers 70% healthy products and 30% traditional products in their machines. With help from Parlevel’s tools, Ruben’s vending business is profitable and growing. Always looking to get more out of his operation, Ruben made the move to micro markets with help from Parlevel. With his micro markets, Ruben can achieve his original goal of helping his community snack healthier. Micro markets help San Antonio Healthy Vending sell a wider range of healthier items like sandwiches, salads, yogurt, and more. Plus, Ruben generates over $1,000 a month from each one of his micro markets.

While the road to offering healthier options was a little bumpy, Ruben is well on his way to achieving his goal. With help from Parlevel, an increased focus on micro markets, and some savvy business moves, Ruben can sell the products he wants and turn a profit. Ruben runs a diversified, growing, and successful business operation – all backed by Parlevel’s technology.

Learn more about how Parlevel can help you run a successful business at parlevelsystems.com/demo