CLEARFIELD, UT / ACCESS Newswire / October 5, 2026 / SmartMarket Solutions reviews 27 years and three waves of unattended retail in a recent Business Insider interview with Co-founder and CEO, Mike Burnett. The piece covers how Burnett has stayed ahead in the unattended retail space for 27 years: by discerning lasting trends apart from short-lived fads. It was also syndicated on AOL.
"Fads come and go all the time," Burnett told Business Insider. "But trends, you catch the right trend, and you're on the front of that wave."
Three waves, one playbook
Burnett's track record spans three distinct shifts in how people buy without a cashier:
- Amusement and Bulk Vending (1999). Funded by credit cards and newspaper ads, Burnett and cofounder Jeff Marsh started out with offering operators tabletop games to be placed in restaurants. First-month sales hit $20,000, then $25,000 and $40,000. The business grew into gumball machines, bulk candy and eventually traditional larger soda/snack vending machines.
- Healthy Vending (2007). Burnett launched HealthyYOU Vending as demand shifted toward better-for-you snacks and drinks. It grew into an 8-figure business.
- AI-Powered Micro-Stores (today). SmartMarket Solutions now offers SmartMarts: smart coolers that use product recognition cameras and AI to let customers touch, feel, and inspect what they want before buying, and then walk away with payment handled automatically.
The trend-vs-fad framework
In the interview, Burnett laid out how he decides which waves are worth riding:
- Listen to the front line. Operators and salespeople see demand shifts first. "Listen to the people on the front line," Burnett said. "Success leaves clues."
- Test small. Put a new concept in front of a small group of customers before committing serious capital and resources.
- Scale on evidence. Expand only once real demand is proven, not when the idea is merely exciting.
"If you're thinking about vending, don't start with outdated machines. You've got to look at where the future is going," Burnett said. "I know there's been a lot of hype around AI, but product recognition technology is an amazing breakthrough. It's still new enough that there is a real window of opportunity right now. In 10 years, the opportunities won't be the same."
What a SmartMart is
A SmartMart is a self-contained micro-store. Customers unlock the cooler with a credit card, take what they want, and close the door. Cameras identify each item, and the purchase is charged automatically. There are no coils or springs, so food items like fresh salads and sandwiches that normally don't fit in vending machines work here.
Burnett explained, "Rather than somebody having to go up and punch buttons, all they do is scan their phone to unlock the SmartMart. When you close that door, it knows what products you have and your credit card is charged. You walk away. It's frictionless, and people love it."
SmartMarket Solutions operators invest in a minimum of 10 SmartMarts to get started. They typically place them in locations like office buildings, hotels, fitness centers, car dealerships, high-end apartment complexes, and more. Operators receive in-person training at company headquarters when they start, then they receive ongoing coaching, location, and internet support as they build their business.
Over the last 27 years, the team has helped 10,177 operators to launch their own vending and unattended retail businesses.
What operators say
"This (SmartMarket Solutions) is the easiest form of unattended retail," said Andre Barrett, a 100+ vending machine operator in West Palm Beach, Florida. "It's easy to get into, and the company behind it is going to give you that guidance and nurturing that I think you need. I have family members running my business."
"My first location was a Marriott in North Texas, and from there it just started to grow," shared Darren in Dallas, Texas, speaking of his healthy vending machines he purchased from HealthyYOU. "I got to know the people there, the HR directors, and I got three machines there. Then they started to refer me out to a lot of the Marriott-owned properties. Now I've got all different types: hotels, tech companies, car dealerships."
Read the full Business Insider feature here. Read SmartMarket Solutions reviews from operators at https://smartmarts.ai/reviews/.
About SmartMarket Solutions
SmartMarket Solutions provides a better-than-a-franchise opportunity built on its SmartMart AI managed micro-stores. This secure, camera-vision technology is quickly revolutionizing the unattended retail space with its seamless grab-and-go experience.
Contact Information
Jill Navidomskis, COO
jilln@smartmarts.ai
SOURCE: SmartMarket Solutions
View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire
