Select a winning product mix

2Price for margin

Cost of goods is the number that decides your year.

Industry sources assume product runs around 50% of sales. Operators buying through the right channels run closer to 33%. On identical revenue that gap changes everything downstream — it is most of the difference between a route that nets 20% and one that nets 35%. Price every item against what you actually paid, and know that number before the machine is stocked.

• Industry-typical product cost sits near 50% of sales
• Buying through operator channels moves it closer to 33%
• Set each vend price against your real landed cost, item by item
• Higher-margin specialty items belong where the audience will pay for them

Industry-typical product cost, as a share of sales

~50%Industry-typical product cost, as a share of sales

What operators buying through the network run

~33%What operators buying through the network run

Gross per machine, per month

$150–$400Gross per machine, per month

Net margin after product, commission and fees

20–35%Net margin after product, commission and fees

3Then adjust

Stock conservatively for the first month and let the machine tell you.

Nobody gets the mix right on the first fill. Stock a conservative spread, treat month one as data collection, and then act on what actually sold rather than on what you expected to sell. Pull the items that did not move, widen the ones that did, and repeat. The operators who tune early end up with a machine that looks nothing like the one they installed, and earns considerably more.

• Stock conservatively on the first fill — you're buying information, not volume
• Treat month one as data collection, not as a verdict
• Cut the non-movers on the next order rather than the next quarter
• Widen the winners; a proven item deserves more slots than a hopeful one