The must-have items of the moment are going commercial. Vending mahines which sell personal protective equipment have arrived in McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, peddling face masks and hand sanitizer in sleek units placed near ticket counters and checkpoints.
A pack of three masks goes for $7.59, a small bottle of hand sanitizer is priced at $4.25 according to Prepango, a California-based vending machine manufacturer which specializes in providing items for “niche” markets.
Meanwhile, a single Rapid Mask2Go vending machine has now been installed on New York City’s lower East Side, dispensing KN95 face masks for $4. The start-up company plans to expand to Philadelphia as well.
The trend is well underway in Europe. Vendamask units are now appearing in Britain, featuring “fashion-forward” masks sold from existing vending machines which have been stripped of their refrigeration units.
Then there are “Safety Stations” by Selecta, a nimble Swiss manufacturer which has already provided 1,000 of the new PPE units offering “essential gear” at train stations and airports in Belgium, Austria, Germany, France and Switzerland, according to Michael Hemsworth, an analyst for Trendhunter, a market research company.
The machines feature contactless payment options, among other features.
“As our economy is slowly restarting, it is important to us that we’re able to respond our customers’ changing needs, and these products and services enable us to do that,” said Tim Gossens, managing director of the company.
The company is also offering personal hygiene and cleaning kits for the office, including a version for those who are still working at home.
• Jennifer Harper can be reached at jharper@washingtontimes.com.
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