These ATMs serve edible dough

Sweets lovers in Beverly Hills don’t have to settle for a vending machine candy bar in the middle of the night—they can hit the Sprinkles Cupcake ATM and score a fresh cupcake. And it’s not the only ATM in town dispensing high-end snacks. At the Westfield Century City Mall there’s a caviar vending machine provided by Beverly Hills Caviar.

The Los Angeles area doesn’t have a monopoly on unique machines. A Let’s Pizza vending machine from Italy will soon be introduced in Atlanta. It even makes the pizza dough right in front of the customer. Several 7-Elevens boast mashed potato ATMs and Intel provided the technology for a vending machine that dispenses Jell-O samples. The twist is that the Diji-Taste Kraft iSample machine uses optical sensors to only hand out samples to adults.

Then there’s the EatWave, just launched in November; it has a built-in microwave so it can serve both hot and cold foods. That means a customer could pick up a complete meal with a burger, a soft drink and a hot vegetable dish on the side. “We’re seeing a flatline and even a decline in the traditional vending market,” says Mark Hoyt, vice president of marketing for San Diego-based EatWave. “We’re hoping to revolutionize vending.”