In what’s being hailed as the largest cluster of vending machines under one roof in Singapore, Giant’s newly-launched VendMart displays a selection of 17 vending machines at its Tampines outlet, and another five at its IMM branch in Jurong. Exhibited from now until the end of the year, the cash and cashless machines dole out everything from food and snacks to grooming products, toys, and beauty items.
Unsurprisingly, most of the vending machines dispense food — since ready-to-eat instant hot meals seem to be the rage these days. Here, you can grab ice cream with a claw crane from Happy Ice, munch on salted egg prawn tempura popiah from Mr Popiah, fill up on Japanese canned oden from Ninja Oden, nibble on healthy snacks by BoxGreen, sip on herbal teas from JuicyFresh by Royal Vending, or have a slice of pizza from Shiok Pizza.
As for those who wish to re-live their youth, toys from Star Wars, Marvel and DC are on display at Tenacity Toys, while Bus Carnival offers the young (and young at heart) a chance to catch soft toys with the dreaded claw.
Other vending machines dispense more unique items like men’s grooming products by SGPOMADES, halal Islamic-related items such as teas, essential oils, and headscarves by Vibes Mastery, DIY gardening kits and seedlings by Farmily, and even fish food by Dajana.
The supermarket chain also created its own $10 “mystery box” vending machine to surprise customers with items like Giant vouchers, household appliances, and kitchen gadgets. Oh, and this machine hides a brand new iPhone 8 in it for one lucky person to take it home.
Most of the brands on display are local start-ups; and if the response is good, the vending machines may see their exhibition extended to Chinese New Year in 2018.
