The vending machine boom: Singapore takes convenience to unprecedented levels

Japan’s quirky vending machines have long been a symbol of its inventive spirit – from fresh lettuce and bananas to the more indulgent draft beer dispenser.

In Germany, there's a vending machine offering all the essential breakfast items – from sausages and butter to milk and eggs, all farm-fresh.

For the adventurous, China even has a vending machine that dispenses live hairy crabs.

Never one to fall behind, Singapore is pushing its reputation for convenience and efficiency even further with 24/7 vending services, challenging hawker centers and delivery apps like Deliveroo and Food Panda.

So whether you're craving a midnight pizza or you missed your morning dose of Vitamin C, you'll find a vending machine in Singapore to satisfy your needs the next time you're in town.

Here are some standout options:

Hot sandwiches

Hotbake 24/7 offers freshly made sandwiches around the clock.

Prepared daily and stocked in machines across the city, these wholemeal sandwiches come in two flavors per machine and are toasted, not microwaved.

Heated between two hotplates before being dispensed, you won't have to worry about soggy sandwiches here.

10-inch pizzas

No more waiting an hour for a pizza delivery – if you're near a Chef Mario pizza vending machine, typically located at student accommodations, your pizza is ready in minutes.

Thanks to a heat injection system, the vending machine acts like a traditional pizza oven, only much quicker, says Axel Steyer, director of eeZee Vending, the company behind the innovation.

The best part? The pizzas are made with ingredients imported straight from Italy.

Fresh salad

“People traditionally associate vending machines with sugary drinks or unhealthy snacks… Our challenge is to shift this mindset and show that vending machine salads can be just as fresh, if not fresher, than those in salad bars,” says Dr. Heng Ri-Liang, the entrepreneur shaking up the vending machine industry.

Spread across the city in supermarkets, office buildings, and hotel lobbies, these machines are restocked daily with a variety of four fresh salad bases, plus a wide selection of toppings and dressings.

Once you've picked your ingredients and they’re dispensed in their individual packets, just shake them all together in the salad base box and you're all set.

A vending machine café

The crown jewel of food vending in Singapore is Chef-In-Box Vendcafe – a full-fledged “cafe” dedicated to vending, offering a wide variety of dishes ranging from snacks and desserts to Western, Chinese, Indian, and Malay main courses.

Jocelyn Chng, CEO of JR Group, the company behind Chef-In-Box, explains that the goal of these cafes is to “provide high-quality, nutritious meals closer to customers.”

“Busy young families enjoy the convenience of 24/7 access, and the elderly no longer need to walk far for a meal,” she adds.

“Tourists also visit to experience the concept.”

So, how does it all work?

The meals – which resemble the quality and taste of an in-flight meal – are frozen inside the machine and are heated once selected by the customer.

The average heating time is around three minutes, which seems to fly by if you watch the food-related video displayed on the machine’s screen.

There’s a dining area nearby, but if you prefer to take your meal to go, you can opt for a frozen version and heat it up later (heating instructions are included on the packet).

The first café opened in 2016, and now there are five locations across the city, including at Ang Mo Kio and Lakeside MRT stations.

Ice cream

Now, onto dessert.

The Robofusion ice cream kiosk at the Singapore Science Centre offers a variety of flavors and toppings to satisfy your sweet cravings.

Simply follow the easy on-screen instructions and watch as the robot expertly swirls your ice cream, adding toppings one by one until your creation is complete.

Freshly squeezed orange juice

Visit the YMCA or Liang Court mall to witness fresh whole oranges being squeezed right before your eyes, with a clear view of the process through the front glass of the juice machines.

Perfect for quenching your thirst or giving yourself a vitamin C boost.

Health care products

If orange juice isn't enough to meet your vitamin requirements, head over to one of the 21st Century healthcare vending machines scattered around the city, including in the bustling Clarke Quay area.

Each machine contains six rows, each filled with 12 different products, ranging from children's multivitamins to ginkgo biloba, omega-3, l-lysine, and zinc.

You'll also find melatonin to help with jet lag, along with slimming teas and hair tonics.

Books

In the mood to stimulate your mind instead of your stomach?

The ever-popular bookstore BooksActually, known for its collection of fiction by Singaporean authors, operates a network of book vending machines across the city.

These machines can be found at the National Museum of Singapore, the Substation arts center, and right outside the BooksActually bookshop in the trendy Tiong Bahru neighborhood.

Laundry services

Laundry services are now available through vending machines, too.

WashBox24, a Thai start-up that launched in Singapore in August 2016, offers laundry, dry cleaning, ironing, and even bag and shoe cleaning.

Simply drop your items off at one of the five machines located around the city (the one at Suntec is conveniently located), and pay online or via the company’s app.

Then, just enter a pin number to pick up your items, which will be ready for collection at the same location about four days later. You’ll have a 48-hour window to retrieve them.

“It’s so easy that our biggest challenge is helping customers understand how it works!” says country director Michelle Lee.

Supercars

Ever wished you could just press a button and buy your next luxury car?

Autobahn Motors makes that dream a reality.

Facing a space crunch, Autobahn Motors' general manager Gary Hong transformed his sports car showroom into a 148-foot “vending machine” tower, showcasing some of the world’s most expensive cars, from Lamborghinis to Ferraris.

Potential buyers can “order” a car to view, test drive, or purchase simply by pressing a button on a custom mobile app.

However, this “vending machine” isn’t fully self-service.

On-site staff oversee the entire experience.