Shabaz Khan, 31, from Kilmarnock was concerned about the rising cost of living and decided to invest in a vending machine business – and now expects to earn £43,000 in revenue a year
A man worried about the cost of living crisis purchased a vending machine as a side venture – and claims he’s managed to increase his earnings by £43,000 annually. Shabaz Khan started investigating methods to supplement his income in 2023 after noticing everyday costs were rising.
The 31-year-old started researching the expenses and preparation required for owning his own vending machine, spending the following eight months examining the opportunity.
Last April, Shabaz bought his first refurbished vending machine for £2,400, spending an additional £400 on stock to establish his own enterprise, SnackZone Vending.
Within the first month, Shabaz generated £854 in sales and utilised the proceeds to buy five more units.
In the first year, Shabaz worked out he’d generated more than £10,000 in revenue from just one machine – and anticipates taking approximately £43,000, delivering £20,000 profit, across all six machines following a year.
Despite impressive profit margins, Shabaz has no intention of leaving his full-time role at a charity and intends to plough all earnings back into his enterprise.
Shabaz, who resides in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, Scotland, said: “It’s like most people nowadays – the cost of living and it’s quite hard to live off just one salary.
“The price of everything is just going up. I wanted to build something that not only would bring in an additional income but also the challenge of building something different.
“I absolutely love what I do and wanted to do something on the side, which potentially brought in a bit of additional income. I looked at what I could do that was semi-passive like laundry mats and car parks.
“I had a friend of mine that had a vending machine so asked how that all worked.”
Shabaz spent the following eight months researching vending machines before purchasing his first one and securing a spot inside a care home.
Shabaz said: “I thought this doesn’t seem like a difficult job to do. I started in April last year with one machine then within the first month, I secured a second location and that went to six locations.
“And a year on we’re looking to get another couple of locations in the next couple of months. It was a very steep learning curve, I made mistakes. Managing stock and understanding what sells best and what doesn’t.
“On average I probably spend maybe four or five hours a week on this. I fill the machines before work, during lunch and after work. Filling a vending machine takes less than 10 minutes. My full-time job is still my main focus. I love what I do.”
Having splashed out roughly £3,500 on his first machine, Shabaz claims he recouped his investment within 10 months, generating £10,152 in revenue within his first year.
Now boasting a collection of six machines, Shabaz expects his business to make £43,000 in revenue within a year and around £20,000 in profit.
Shabaz said: “On my first machine, I managed to get my return on my investment within 10 months which for any business is brilliant. I’d expect to make about £20,000 of profit [across all the machines] but that would just be reinvested back into the business.
“I’m yet to take any money out of the business. I just want to grow it as much as I can. I’ve not necessarily got into business to make a lot of money, I’ve never been driven by money. We’ll wait and see what the future brings.”
