This concept is fine — nothing particularly breakthrough and unclear why it’s worthy of several millions in VC funding. Given the speed of on-demand deliveries from stores with broad assortment, I don’t get excited about a machine with limited assortment. While the name has struck a chord with many, it’s sure launched the brand with a bang. These guys couldn’t have gotten nearly the publicity they got by paying for it.

The price of clarity is the risk of offense. Bodega cuts through the crap and gets right to the heart of the brand promise. Those who criticize this type of branding are destined to go away.

The on-demand vending channel has potential in specific categories. Best Buy proved that a company can add significant sales and profits with the correct product mix in the correct places. They did a great job with airport kiosks with travel-related technology for example.

CVS is testing OTC drugs in airports, colleges and other places where the need may exist. So the demand is there.

For Bodega to succeed, it will really come down to understanding the customer needs in the specific place they put the machines.

Personally, I don’t care for the name. It does not emit a positive emotion for me. I think they could have come up with a more descriptive name.

Brilliant move on their part (or pure luck). This is a mundane business: vending machines for businesses — not very interesting. But this has been priceless PR, which they will take all the way to the bank.

First, this concept has been around for years. One of the earliest iterations was called an “honor box” and they sat in locations too small to host even a vending machine. Generally speaking, the patrons and employees or residents of such a location are quite happy to have them. So happy they actually pay for the merchandise. Immediacy is a wonderful thing when you are talking about availability. Calling the unit Bodega is simply calling it what it is. A small assortment of frequently purchased merchandise with the primary benefit being located closer to the consumer Second, a minor terminology beef. The proper term for this concept is automated merchandising — not vending machine. The difference became quite clear as we worked with the Redbox team on their rollout. You would be correct to call that difference subtle — even philosophical — but the thought process of a merchant versus that of someone filling a machine to meet demand is a huge difference. I have often drawn the distinction between Private (or Proprietary) Brands and… Read more »

It’s incredibly out-of-touch — and I’m glad to see it’s a discussion topic. We’ve talked about vending machine concepts here before. However, this is not a neutral candy dispenser or a helpful kiosk for buying earplugs in an airport, because of how it’s named. This is reappropriating a type of business that is traditionally owned by or operated by people of color and/or immigrants in neighborhoods where large supermarkets or other businesses choose not to plant roots. To lift that name and slap it onto an otherwise-nondescript vending machine concept is to mock the role bodegas play in the communities they serve. The fact that these vending machines will largely be placed in wealthier neighborhoods or apartment complexes who don’t frequent actual bodegas adds to my disgust. What’s in a name? Everything, in this case. Cultural context matters. Do your homework, “Bodega.”

This will fail. Common sense should prevail and this startup will have to compete on volume and margins rather than established vending operations including CVS, Publix, Kroger and more. I can slide my card or tap my phone against any modern vending machine today. This is nothing but a “mobile-commerce” solution looking for a problem. The problem with the Bodega Box business model is not understanding how the “informal economy” operates. For example, in an underserved inner city housing complex, someone is selling the same products out of their apartment to the entire community and seen as the “go-to” person. A real bodega in NYC serve the same purpose in many boroughs in underserved communities. Corner stores in many urban communities serve the same purpose. No cabinet stuffed with items with a mobile-phone interface is going to replace informal economy dynamics. The cat logo struck a nerve as since the early 1900s, cats earned their “street reputation” for the number of rodents they would catch and would become personalities at bodegas with nicknames. This startup… Read more »

They definitely didn’t think their marketing strategy through. The name itself isn’t bad–it makes sense, and it doesn’t imply that you’re putting people out of work. The issue was in saying that they aim to replace bodegas instead of supplement them. They could have just implemented their plan and let the rest take its course. Then bodegas going out of business would simply be an unfortunate byproduct of a good idea making something more efficient.

It’s also interesting that people are acting like this is a new concept. There have been multi-purpose vending machines for years. Look at what you can purchase out of a vending machine in Japan! I think the backlash here was just the internet’s weekly viral rage session.

Bodega was a very unfortunate choice of words. Not only did bodega supporters – and their union, Bodega Association of the United States — unleash a firestorm of abuse on the entrepreneurs, bodegas, as retail stores, do not have a particularly favorable reputation. Quite frequently they are small unsanitary outlets carrying a limited selection of products — in many cases out-of-date — and no fresh food. Another name would have been a better idea for what is essentially a vending machine operation.

This is about survival of the fittest. The traditional brick and mortar [bodega-type] stores could also place vending machines around town. There’s no genius to this move.

“A Bodega box inside an apartment complex, for instance, may feature laundry detergent, toilet paper and pasta, but machine learning promises to constantly reassess the most-needed 100 items.” If I purchase all three items in the basket example here, the gross profit of my transaction will be less than one dollar, assuming that these are small sizes that would be appropriate for dispensing. The selection of goods is the vulnerability here. By avoiding hot, cold, and perishable items, they’ve selected some of the lowest margin items on the shelf of a neighborhood market. “Eventually, centralized shopping locations won’t be necessary because there will be 100,000 Bodegas spread out, with one always 100 feet away from you,” Mr. McDonald told Fast Company. By this standard, there will be two vending machines between my front door and the USPS Mailbox Cluster where my Amazon boxes arrive. So by urban, we really mean locales with a population density meeting the logistical needs to sustain a lot of low margin transactions — so let’s assume these 100,000 machines are… Read more »

No mistake in the name here. (Can’t help but wonder if some people would be equally cranky if they had chosen Grocery Store). Better = Your Bodega.

Real competition is home delivery, which is getting stronger.

Biggest challenge will be inventory management and replenishment. Not sure what “machine learning” is going to learn from. 100 SKUs is pretty small. And will they be able to keep the high-demand items in-stock?

While I wish them well, I don’t see what has changed recently that this concept would succeed. Oh, sure, you “access this from your app” and the removal of cash from the machine will reduce theft potential, but at its heart it’s still (just) a vending machine, with the attendant high cost of servicing, and limited sales potential. The name concern I see as irrelevant.

This blunder could have been avoided with better user testing. The CEO explained in a Medium post that they did some, but clearly they did not talk to enough people from various backgrounds about the name and overall concept.

Walking through major airports you see vending machines with, say, Benefit Cosmetics, or noise canceling headphones. The companies that run these vending machines have made this concept a success, beyond the food and drink vending machines we’ve had around for years. In-store retail is still where the vast majority of consumers buy products, but if these pantries can bring commerce to a place where it didn’t previously exist, then that will benefit the retail industry overall.

Naming it Bodega isn’t a blunder, and a startup at this early of a phase isn’t likely to have discovered it’s ideal name yet anyway.

I’d be glad for one of these boxes in my apartment building or office. Tracking items with the camera is a fun way to do it and I could see these things replacing hotel mini-bars as well.

The real questions are: Who owns the device? Who stocks it? Who sets the prices?

Mr McDonald’s vision of 100,000 bodegas replacing centralized stores will shift costs from store operations to more logistics, as these locations will need more frequent restocking. Maybe it makes sense for them to focus less on selling product out of here and more on simply tracking as items move in and out. For example, I’d gladly share 1 set of tools with all my neighbors for how infrequently I need most of them — tracking that with the camera box might be a more compelling case for us than getting quick snacks.