Farmer's Fridge brings healthy vending machines to Texas

Oct 14, 2024

Farmer's Fridge vending machine in a hospital.

Vending machines are typically stocked with sodas, candy, chips and other snacks. Which is why one company is trying to make healthier food options more accessible for people on the go, especially in Central Texas.

Farmer's Fridge is a refrigerated vending machine filled with fresh salads, yogurts, wraps, sandwiches and more. With over 1,400 fridges nationally in local hospitals, colleges, office buildings, and airports, Texas is Farmer's Fridge's second biggest market in the country as more vending machines continue to pop-up in and around Austin and San Antonio.

Farmer's Fridge CEO Luke Saunders developed the concept in 2013 after struggling to find healthy food as a traveling salesman on the road. Saunders told MySA that he was nervous when he first opened the venture, but was also excited for the opportunity that came with being in a big food city like Chicago where people were more willing to take risks and try new things.

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"I spent my life savings on a vending machine and I had no idea if anybody was actually going to show up and buy anything, because the idea of buying lunch from a vending machine was truly not something for $8 was just not done at the time," Saunders said. "The bar is so high here [in Chicago] and so it was kind of good I couldn't sleep because I just spent all that time making sure the food was great."

Despite the food coming from a vending machine, Saunders said freshness is the company's main priority which is why meals are made every morning in the Farmer's Fridge kitchen in Chicago and loaded onto trucks to get into fridges within 24 hours. Over the past decade, Farmer's Fridge has grown tremendously in and out of the Windy City with machines in over 400+ retailers including Costco and Target across the U.S., 235 fridges in Texas and 125+ airports from AUS to LAX.

A Farmer's Fridge employee in its Chicago kitchen preparing salad jars.

"It's airports, it's universities, hospitals, it's office buildings; it's even, you know, logistics fulfillment centers, so it hasn't been concentrated in one particular area because everybody eats three meals a day pretty much and we're a great, tasty, affordable, convenient option," Saunders said. "The actual total revenue that we get from each of those verticals is pretty evenly distributed."

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Farmer's Fridge has also become a part of an ongoing trend of smart vending kiosks and autonomous checkout stores where consumers can now find everything from Best Buy electronics to Kylie Jenner cosmetics and Sprinkles cupcakes. Forbes reports that the global vending machine industry is expected to reach about $146.6 billion in sales by 2027.

At every white 14-square-foot machine with lime green accents, Farmer's Fridge has a touch-screen menu with a wide variety of breakfast, lunch and snack offerings, most of which are packed inside the brand's signature clear jar and green lid.

Farmer's Fridge has 35 Austin fridges and recently opened up seven new spots in public and private properties across the city, such as the UT Austin library, eBay, Apple, Texas Children's Hospital and others. San Antonio has been Farmer's Fridge's most recently launched market in Texas. Saunders said he loves the Lone Star State and hopes to continue to expand his company to serve more rural communities where food deserts are common.

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Trio of Farmer's Fridge meals from one of its smart vending machines.

"Twenty percent of our fridges are in locations that the zip code is considered a food desert, and so just over time as the network grows, it gets easier to add those types of locations and the demand is there; so that's the vision," Saunders said. "Ideally, for me I know the Dollar Stores are in a lot of places that there's food deserts [and] I'd love to see Farmer's Fridge in every single one of those and every single Walmart all of these places to just make it more accessible."

Farmer's Fridge is currently running a promotion where you can get your first meal free if you download the app and a new peach capresi will be added to its shelves exclusively in Costco stores soon.