Albert Heijn to roll out office vending machines

Albert Heijn will open unstaffed mini stores in offices and hospitals, in cooperation with vending machine specialist Selecta. The supermarket chain will provide at least a hundred offices with an “AH to go” range next year.

Next step in out-of-home

After the coronavirus, people will continue to go to offices less often and at irregular hours, the Dutch self-service specialist Selecta estimates. This makes it more difficult for traditional cafeterias but offers opportunities for vending machines and unstaffed mini stores. With this reasoning, Selecta is rolling out a new concept: Foodie’s micro-markets, of which two hundred already exist in Europe.

In the Netherlands, Foodie’s is now partnering up with AH to go, the convenience concept of Albert Heijn. Next year, unstaffed ‘Albert Heijn to go’ shops will open in at least hundred office locations across the Netherlands. The mini stores will carry AH to go’s fresh range, and office workers will be able to pick up food from the vending machines at any time of day. Customers can pay through self-scan.

As the concept is tailorable to each location, Albert Heijn sees a great deal of potential for further expansion in the coming years. CEO Marit van Egmond also explicitly mentions Flanders and thinks not only of office buildings but also hospitals and educational institutions. “With this innovative Albert Heijn to go concept, we are taking the next step into the world of out-of-home,” the company says.