Automatic Merchandiser - 32

FILLING A VARIETY OF NEEDS

Casco Bay has about 90 percent of the
automatic retail market in Maine. Its
services include micro markets, OCS,
dining service, catering and more. It
has an in-house culinary center with
10 employees. Clients range from small
to large companies and from whitecollar offices to shipyards.
Ted said that while the technique
of servicing shipyards, apart from
increased security protocols, is much
the same as it would be for any other
vending operation in the country, Casco
Bay has the extraordinary opportunity
of providing foodservice on sea trials for
the local shipyard. The shipyard, along
with the U.S. Navy, conducts sea trials
to test all the new Navy vessels, such as
destroyers, that are constructed at the
Maine shipyard. About 425 staff and
crew participate in the sea trials and are
out to sea for several days at a time.
"We take generally about 14 to 17
of our team members, load up enough
food for about five days, and we
provide all the meals and foodservice
for the staff aboard the ship during the
trial," Ted said.
Casco Bay assumed the contract
with its acquisition of Canteen of
Maine, which had previously serviced
the sea trials, and it has since expanded
the relationship. The company is now
the only one in Maine to provide foodservice during sea trials.
Unlike catering on land, the company must be certain it has enough
food and plan ahead to be prepared
for any adverse conditions - such as
20-foot waves that could toss the ship
around - that could impact foodservice. Regardless of any rough conditions that may occur, the company still
has to produce meals for the crew.
"Once you're out to sea, several
hundred miles out, there's no walking
down to a store," Ted quipped.
Back ashore, the company has
begun to expand upon its delivery of
OCS and micro markets. The company
32

Automatic Merchandiser * December 2019

O P E R AT I O N P R O F I L E

Casco Bay Food
and Beverage
Headquarters: Lewiston, ME
Owners: Ted and Niki Morton
Year founded: 2008
Number of employees: 110
Equipment Providers: 365
Retail Markets, Avanti Markets,
Crane, USA Technologies
Technology Providers: USA
Technologies, Crane
Main Suppliers: Vistar, Coke,
Pepsi
Number of Micro Markets: 62
Number of Vending Machines:
3,400
Number of Micro Market
Routes: 3 designated routes
Number of Vending Routes: 29
Number of OCS Routes: 2
designated routes

hired a salesperson and a marketing
associate to promote its OCS options.
The Mortons have noticed while monitoring national trends that consumers,
especially millennials, are demanding
higher-quality, customized coffee, such
as bean-to-cup.
"Based on what we knew about
office coffee, there certainly was no
reason we couldn't branch out and try
to capture that market and fill that need
of our customers," Niki said.
With Maine's rural nature, it has less
population density than many other
states and therefore has less of a need
for micro markets since there are fewer
large-size companies in the state for
Casco Bay to service. For its 62 micro
markets, Casco Bay provides a retail
business with a push toward healthy
food and sustainability. Niki said the

company makes most of its own fresh
food in its culinary center, using whole
grain breads, fresh vegetables and lean
meats. The company is also the state's
only distributor of the Bevi smart water
dispenser, which eliminates plastic
water bottles going to landfills.
"Society is moving towards
healthier eating and we're there to
provide these options for our customers," Ted said.
Casco Bay also sells electronics,
toiletries and other items Mainers definitely need, like windshield wiper fluid
in the winter for customers' vehicles.
Aspirin, antacids and cell phone chargers are among the non-food items that
have sold well.
"Micro markets have been tremendous for the industry. We all know
that, as over the past six or seven years
there's been an enormous influx to the
market," Ted said. "It's a much better
experience for the customer. Customers can check out multiple items at a
time, spending less time waiting in line
to pay. As we keep evolving the micro
market system, it'll become a stronger
segment in the industry."
EMBRACE THE TRENDS,
TECHNOLOGY

The Mortons encourage other vending operators to continue embracing
technology and reviewing trends. As
the company has few vending operator
competitors remaining in the state, it
looks to the trends in the convenience
store industry and in vending in other
parts of the U.S. to see what's ahead.
Once operators see trends that they
can act on, they should act quickly, Ted
said.
"We make informed decisions,
but we make them quickly and move
forward," he said. "You can make a few
mistakes and correct those, but you
can't wait forever to make a decision
because by the time you make it, the
moment has gone by and you will have
missed that opportunity." ■

Automatic Merchandiser

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Automatic Merchandiser