Economy Japan’s vending machines feel the strain as prices rise

[thomas]

Inflation is starting to push some drink companies out of business in the vending machine heaven of Japan, or at least forcing them to cut back on the number of machines they operate sharply. Prices have been rising across the board. As a result, drinks sold from vending machines are now often more expensive than those in supermarkets or even drugstores, which is not helping demand. At the same time, the cost of keeping machines running has increased, including electricity, maintenance, and other expenses.

There is also a chronic shortage of workers, which makes maintenance harder than it used to be, back when machines were on almost every street corner. In March, Pokka Sapporo Food & Beverage Ltd., based in Nagoya, said it would sell its vending machine business to Osaka-based Lifedrink Co. Around 40,000 machines are set to be transferred to Lifedrink in October.

That same month, DyDo Group Holdings Inc. of Osaka announced that it would remove about 20,000 unprofitable machines by January 2027. It currently has about 270,000 running nationwide. A company official said reducing the number of machines would be one step toward stopping the flow of red ink. In its fiscal year ending in December 2025, Coca-Cola Bottlers Japan Holdings Inc. posted 90.4 billion yen ($566 million) in an impairment loss, mainly concerning its vending machine operations. The tea drink company Ito En Ltd. also reported 13.7 billion yen in an impairment loss for its vending machine operations in the May 2025 to January period. Operations will be transferred to a subsidiary in the future. According to DyDo officials, the domestic market is about 1 trillion yen, or about 20 percent of the total beverage industry.

The vending machine market had effectively reached saturation, with Japan's declining population cited as one of the main reasons. The source added that it was hard to reduce fixed costs, especially maintenance costs, which continue to weigh on operators. They said there would likely be a shift toward removing unprofitable machines. At the same time, companies are expected to seek locations where higher returns can be achieved, rather than keeping large numbers of low-performing units in place.

Tough times for Japan's vending machines as drink costs rise | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis

 

[Lothor]

Inflation is starting to push some drink companies out of business in the vending machine heaven of Japan, or at least forcing them to cut back on the number of machines they operate sharply. Prices have been rising across the board. As a result, drinks sold from vending machines are now often more expensive than those in supermarkets or even drugstores, which is not helping demand. At the same time, the cost of keeping machines running has increased, including electricity, maintenance, and other expenses.

There is also a chronic shortage of workers, which makes maintenance harder than it used to be, back when machines were on almost every street corner. In March, Pokka Sapporo Food & Beverage Ltd., based in Nagoya, said it would sell its vending machine business to Osaka-based Lifedrink Co. Around 40,000 machines are set to be transferred to Lifedrink in October.



The vending machine market had effectively reached saturation, with Japan's declining population cited as one of the main reasons. The source added that it was hard to reduce fixed costs, especially maintenance costs, which continue to weigh on operators. They said there would likely be a shift toward removing unprofitable machines. At the same time, companies are expected to seek locations where higher returns can be achieved, rather than keeping large numbers of low-performing units in place.

Tough times for Japan's vending machines as drink costs rise | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis

Drinks from vending machines have ALWAYS been more expensive than drinks from supermarkets and drugstores - that's the basic business model: people are happy to pay a bit more to have the convenience of an instant purchase without searching for a shop when they are out and about.

 

[mdchachi]

Drinks from vending machines have ALWAYS been more expensive than drinks from supermarkets and drugstores - that's the basic business model: people are happy to pay a bit more to have the convenience of an instant purchase without searching for a shop when they are out and about.

Really? I always thought they were often cheaper, especially the Y100 machines which you can still find here and there. Maybe the quantity is less though.

 

[Lothor]

Really? I always thought they were often cheaper, especially the Y100 machines which you can still find here and there. Maybe the quantity is less though.

Next time you go to a convenience store (themselves a relatively expensive option) check out the prices of 500 ml green tea. You should find that they are all less than 150 yen, with a cheaper but perfectly OK own-brand version for 20-30 yen less. A similar product at standard vending machine prices is often 180 yen.

 

[thomas]

Also, vending machine prices vary widely by location and demand. Machines in high-traffic areas, around stations, tourist spots, etc., charge more, while prices in quieter residential or rural areas are often closer to retail levels. In the country, you can still find machines from the Heisei era, with "CM characters" popular 20 or more years ago.

 

[mdchachi]

Next time you go to a convenience store (themselves a relatively expensive option) check out the prices of 500 ml green tea. You should find that they are all less than 150 yen, with a cheaper but perfectly OK own-brand version for 20-30 yen less. A similar product at standard vending machine prices is often 180 yen.

Those are the machines I walk past. Eventually you should find a good one. Like this one near my Japan office. This street view is from 5 years ago but the machine was still all Y100 when I was there last month. For 500 ml you might still be better off at the convenience store though.