Coffee Vending Machine Prices: The Complete Guide to Coffee Vending Machines in South Africa
Coffee vending machines are fast becoming the number one choice of office coffee machine in South Africa. Whereas in the past filter coffee machines dominated the corporate landscape, the need for a coffee machine that can make a wider array of hot beverages, means that coffee vending machines are now the coffee maker of choice for most offices. With the emergence of vending machines in South Africa in the last ten years, came an increase in brands and options available (which in the end is a good thing for the consumer, as the more options and brands to choose from, the better prices are and the more customizable options which exist). With all the options out there it can be difficult to curate the list and choose the machine which best fits your companies needs but I hope this article will spread a little light into what affects coffee vending machine prices in South Africa and which options have what impact on the price.
Coffee Vending Machine Brands: How different Brands Affect Pricing
Of course, one of the biggest determining factors in the price of a coffee vending machine, is the brand of the vending machine. In South Africa there are essentially 4 Major brands of coffee vending machines represented and these are : Rhea Vendor, Bianchi, Godrej and Bravilor.
All the above are international manufacturers and distributors of vending machines who hail from the following countries:
Rhea Vendor – Italy
Godrej – India
Bianchi – Italy and China
Bravilor – Holland
The names of most of the above brands are often unknown to consumers as machines are typically rebranded by the company selling or renting the machine in that particular country. Rhea Vendor for example manufactures machines for Nestle and brands them as such as Nescafe. Likewise, Bravilor manufactures our instant vending machine which is then branded as the Aqua Instant.
Because each coffee company essentially like to promote its brand over its manufacturers (we are no different) it makes comparing prices on vending machines quite a tricky job as it makes it seem as if there are 1000’s of vending machine brands on the market when in fact there is only a handful. For this reason the best way to compare pricing across competitors is to actually ask who the manufacturer of their machine is, so you can compare apples with apples.
For a list of the average purchase and rental prices of all the brands above are as below:
Coffee Vending Machine Average Purchase and Rental Prices:
Godrej 5400 – R21,000 or R400 P/M
Godrej 400 – R16,500 or R350 P/M
Bravilor Quinto – R21,500 or R490 P/M
Bravilor Solo –R600 or R390 P/M
Bravilor Esprecious – R48,400 or R1500 P/M
Bravilor Bolero – R21,500 or R690P/M
Rhea Vendor Barista – R28,600 or R690 P/M
Rhea Vendor Cino – R31,600 or R890 P/M
Aqua Bean Vending – R26,500 or R590 P/M
Rhea Vendor Cino Grande – R37,000 or R1090 P/M
Binachi Lei – R26,500 or R590 P/M
To view more about these brands please view our article:
The Complete Guide to Coffee Vending Machine Prices
Coffee Vending Machine Optional Extras: Which Options Cost the Most
To use a car analogy, a BMW 3 series can cost anywhere from R350,000 – R600,000 depending if you opt for leather seats, parking distance control, etc. Choosing and customizing your coffee vending machine is no different. The most common options extras or modifications, companies make on vending machines are as below:
Bean over instant: Upgrading from an instant coffee machine to a bean to cup vending machine is not the right choice for everyone (To view the 7 major differences please have a look at our article Bean vs Instant Vending : What are the differences) but for those who it is right for, the cost different is usually in the region of R5000.00
A bean machine includes a grinder, bean hopper, brewing unit and grounds container and all of these land up to costing quite a bit extra. Besides for the upfront cost of the machine, the cost per cup using coffee beans is about double when compared to using instant coffee.
How Coffee Vending Machine Drink Options Affect the Price:
The Aqua Instant by a long way is our most popular coffee vending machine. Now it is not the fact that it is head and shoulders a better machine than any other on the market which makes it the best seller (it is a great machine but this is not the number one reason why it is so popular). It is so popular because one can customize its beverage options to make it a good fit for a number of different environments.
The standard offerings are espresso, coffee, cappuccino, tea, and hot chocolate. It is possible however to limit options to make the machine more suitable for environments where cost saving is the primary goal ; One of the Aqua Instant’s most common setting is in factories or call centres where the machine is customized to only product coffee and tea options.
Adding or subtracting drink options has no effect on the actual price of the coffee vending machine but does have a large impact on the running cost of the machine.
What Affects the Rental Price of a Coffee Vending Machine:
Above we listed the average rental prices of almost all the brands of coffee vending machines available in South Africa today. The rental prices are the average prices as it is impossible to give concrete pricing without taking into account the three main factors which affect rental prices:
- Rental Term – The biggest factor which affects the rental prices of a coffee vending machine (even more than the brand believe it or not) is the term of the rental. The coffee industry followed the photo copier industry by teaming up with asset finance houses who offer terms of anywhere from 36-60 months. Of course the longer the term you select, the lower your monthly premium but the more you pay over the long run. To illustrate in a quick example below:
Purchase Price of Coffee Machine A – R30,000
Rental over 36 months – R950 P/M ; Overall Rental Spend Over 36 months – R34,200
Rental over 60 months – R650 P/M ; Overall Rental Spend of 60 Months – R39,000
So although increasing the rental term, decreases your monthly premium, you do land up paying more in the long run.
We personally hate long rental terms and despise the fact that people are essentially locking themselves into 36 month contracts. Because of this, our policy is to never commit a customer to more than 1 year. If the customer wants to stay with us after that because they like our machines and solution then that is great but we don’t want them to be forced to do so. - Maintenance and Servicing – Not all rental premiums include maintenance and servicing. Most finance houses offer a premium purely based on the machine value and on the rental term and if the customer wants to take out a maintenance plan over and above this is in most cases an extra
- Upgrade or Downgrade Options – Often one’s circumstances change (sometimes the company size increases and sometimes the company decreases). This is also true with taste. In some cases companies start out with an instant vending machine and a few months down the line want to change to a bean vending machine. Because of this there are a number of rental structures built in with a “change your machine anytime policy” Some companies do charge a fee to have this flexibility whilst other include this in the base price. Always best to ask.
Overview Of Coffee Vending Machine Prices:
Choosing a coffee vending machine for a company is quite a personal decision and although there are not 100’s of options out there, there still are quite a few. We always suggest that customers start on a trial basis regardless of whether purchasing or renting will be best for them in the long run as starting out in a trial allows you to:
• Test the machine before committing to a long term rental or purchase.
• Test the coffee before choosing to rent or buy
• Keep all your options open to make 100% sure that you make the right decision
To try a coffee vending in your company to see if it will work for you please complete your details below.
