Professionals from across the vending industry attended The Vendies 2022 ceremony on Thursday 9 June to celebrate as the best innovations and individual achievements were recognised and rewarded.
The gala event was held at the Grand Connaught Rooms in Covent Garden, hosted by comedian Ian Moore and the National Lottery’s ‘voice of the balls’ Alan Dedicoat.
Organised by Datateam Business Media, the event served as an opportunity to honour the hard work and innovation of the entire sector and highlighted some of the industry’s most notable products, businesses and people.
Trophies were handed out in 17 categories to suppliers and operators, while two awards were bestowed on outstanding individuals.
Kieran Jones of Coinadrink won the Best Service Engineer Award. His record in going out of his way to assist customers, help colleagues and show eagerness to learn in the role impressed the judges, as did his service call first-time fix rate of between 80 and 90 per cent.
The highlight on the day was undoubtedly the posthumous Outstanding Contribution to Vending Award which was presented to Roger Williams of Coinadrink.
Accepted on his behalf by his son Tom, the award was presented to tumultuous applause in recognition of Roger’s passion and drive for the industry.
Many congratulations to all our winners and highly commended entries for their well- deserved success. They are:
SUPPLIERS
Best Ancillary Product or Service
Vendmanager & Coffeemanager, SB Software (SBS)
Best Beverage Brand
iPRO
Best Healthy Product
Burts Barbecue Lentil Chips, Burts Snacks
Best Machine Innovation
The Shmoo Milkshake Machine, Westomatic Vending Services
Best New Product
Selfly Intelligent Cabinet, Selfly Store by Stora Enso
Highly commended:Powdered Oat M*lk for Vending, Minor Figures (HIGHLY COMMENDED)
Best Payment System
SmartContact Pro – All-In-One Contactless Payment & Telemetry Solution, Vianet
Best Sustainable Product
The H20 Hydration Station, Westomatic Vending Services
Best Supplier Website
Vianet
Best Customer Service Award
Evoca Customer Services Team, Evoca UK
Best Snack/Confectionery Product
Kit Kat 4 Finger Orange Chocolate Bar 41.5g, Nestle UK
SUPPLIERS/OPERATORS
New! COVID Initiative Award
AVA Members Covid-19 Support
Highly commended: Touch-free, App-free Technology to Rescue Automated Retail, aeguana
New! Best Vending Project
Kepak Collaboration
Corporate Responsibility Award
Mondelēz International
Highly commended: Vianet
OPERATORS
Best Regional Operator
Westways Vending
Highly commended: Excel Vending
Best Overall Operator
Excel Vending
Highly commended: Coinadrink
INDIVIDUAL AWARDS
Best Service Engineer
Kieran Jones – Coinadrink
Outstanding Contribution to Vending
Roger Williams – Coinadrink
The organisers of The Vendies would like to extend their thanks to everyone attended the event, and to all of this year’s sponsors for making this industry celebration possible:
Tower Leasing, SB Software, Mondelēz International, Search Engineering & Manufacturing, Selfly Store by Stora Enso and Burts Snacks.
