Growth in the vending business tends to happen in layers – one location, one machine, and one season of experience at a time. For operators willing to put in the work, though, that growth can also come quickly. By Tamara Rahoumi
Growth in the vending business tends to happen in layers – one location, one machine, and one season of experience at a time. For operators willing to put in the work, though, that growth can also come quickly.
“That initial investment, whether it’s four machines or 20, gets operators onto the learning curve,” said Kim Page, director of marketing. “They gain all the knowledge required and get operational experience and support. Once they’ve built some confidence, they are often eager to expand.”
Kory Cernik knows that trajectory well. Based in Jacksonville, Florida, he started with eight machines three years ago. Today, he operates nearly 50 machines – including two coffee machines and an outdoor unit – with an AI-powered cooler on the way. He relies on a small team that includes his son’s friends and a recently hired part-time employee to help manage routes each week.
When Cernik looks at the growth he’s seen, the support that got him off the ground stands out as much as the machines themselves. Naturals2Go sourced his earliest locations and helped structure the logistics and revenue expectations for each one.
“I don’t think I would have taken the initial step to actually start the vending business if I didn’t have all that backing behind me,” said Cernik. “It seemed like a whole other world.”
For Cernik, learning from other operators has been just as instrumental. That kind of peer knowledge has helped him grow with more confidence at each stage.
“There’s other operators that are doing what I’m doing across the nation,” he said. “I can talk to them, reference them, find out how they did this or that.”
Together, all those pieces have helped Cernik reach one growth milestone after another, leading up to his most exciting milestone to date. This past April, he was finally able to quit his 9-to-5 and go all in on vending.
Cernik’s path is his own, but it points to something built into the vending model itself: a business designed to scale, with room to grow at your own pace and people who’ve done it before to show you the way.
Tamara Rahoumi
naturals2go.com/perfect-business