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New vending machines at Vancouver International Airport offer fresh and healthy options for travellers.

Photo by Jordan Collins

New airport vending machines offer healthy options

By Richmond Sentinel

Published 11:16 PDT, Thu August 18, 2022

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Travellers moving through Vancouver International Airport (YVR) have more options for a fresh and delicious meal thanks to the installation of SmartVending machines.

UpMeals is Canada’s leading fresh food SmartVending provider. The company recently deployed five of its machines throughout the airport, offering individually-packaged and ready-to-eat salads, bowls, juices, healthy snacks, wraps, and more.

UpMeals SmartVending machines are the first healthy vending machines available at an airport in Canada. The vending machines help meet increasing passenger demand for more grab-and-go options for early morning and late-night travellers. These new innovative SmartVending machines are the first of their kind, and are part of YVR’s journey to transform its food and beverage program and offer more fresh, local, and authentic options to better reflect B.C.’s incredible culinary scene.

All five of the machines are located after security at YVR: three are located in domestic departures, one in U.S. departures, and one in international departures. Each machine is stocked with up to 30 different options for fresh meals, healthy snacks, and beverages, such as cold-pressed juices.

The machines also include a meal exclusive to the airport: the YVR Signature Bowl features iconic Vancouver flavours and ingredients, like B.C. smoked salmon, tomatoes, avocado, cucumber, nori, and pickled ginger on a bed of steamed sushi rice with UpMeals’ miso tamari dressing. The meals in each machine are replenished daily and customers will experience new menu items weekly based on popularity and ingredient seasonality.

“We’re thrilled to be providing travellers 24/7 access to fresh, nourishing meals through this partnership with YVR,” said Drew Munro, chief executive officer and co-founder of UpMeals. “Passengers from all over the world are entering Vancouver, sometimes at hours when most fresh food options are closed. We’re very happy to be able to solve this problem using our SmartVending machines while showcasing local and seasonal ingredients, as well as recipes curated by some of our most renowned chefs from our chef-collaboration series. We also know the food options we’re providing make for an easy, ready-to-eat meal and that they’re going to be a healthy, nutrient-dense option for folks hopping on a plane.”

The airport also offers a YVR Order Now Program, which allows travellers to pre-order their meals from participating restaurants in advance through a web-based app. But for those who may not be as organized, or may be traveling at odd hours, UpMeals’ SmartVending machines provide wholesome meals on the go, that are quick and readily available, 24/7.

“YVR aims to become a destination of food and shopping for travellers,” said Robyn McVicker, vice-president of passenger journey at Vancouver Airport Authority. “As passenger volumes get closer to pre-pandemic levels, we anticipate the demand for healthy, individually-packaged meals to be high from travellers leaving and arriving to a health-conscious city like Vancouver. We know the partnership with UpMeals will allow more customers to stick to their dietary preferences and requirements as they travel, and feel great about their selection.”

Each meal is dispensed in a sustainable, self-contained unit, and can be composted or recycled after use. The meals are made in a HACCP compliant food production facility, the global standard for food production safety and sanitation.

Meal popularity is evaluated in the UpMeals proprietary app with menus updated based on the popularity of food items. All major cashless payment options are accepted including credit and debit cards, as well as e-wallets such as Google Pay and Apple Pay.

Some delicious menu items customers can expect to see at the UpMeals SmartVending Machines: