AirVend scores a $1.2mn series seed round of funding

PROVO, USA: The Provo, UT-based startup AirVend has scored a $1.2M Series Seed round of funding to fuel its production of the vending-machine-mounted, cashless touchscreen devices designed to help vending operators prepare for the impending law requiring vending machines to display calorie info.

CEO and founder Chad Francis said: "We love the idea of consumers having nutrition info available, but we also don't want the new calorie disclosure requirements to break the back of the average vending operator. We are extremely excited to be able to raise the funds in order to take our company and vending technology to the next level and be part of the overall solution."

A release said that the Series Seed round was led by strategic vending industry partner, 365 Retail Markets and included PS27 Ventures, an investment firm focused on healthy living and wellness initiatives.

AirVend is determined to turn this new calorie disclosure law, viewed by vending operators as a significant negative, into a big positive with potential for serious ROI. The wirelessly connected AirVend device not only helps operators comply with coming regulations by providing a digital nutrition label of each product, it also significantly lowers their operating costs with remote inventory management, error reporting, and most importantly, an increase to sales by providing credit card and NFC payment options.

It turns into a true win-win if consumers have nutritional information available to make smart, healthy decisions before making a purchase, and vending operators can adapt to this change with vending technology that isn't just an unrecoverable cost to them, but an actual improvement to their business and bottom line.

Lance Ellsworth, cofounder and EVP of Business Development, added, "While this new calorie disclosure law is a potential burden hanging over the heads of vending operators, it also turns out to be sort of a catalyst to reinvigorate the vending industry with desperately-needed technology. Being able to scale up operations and provide not just a solution for legal compliance, but also vast improvements in sales and operational efficiency through the application of smart technology is a tremendous opportunity for vending operators and us."