(CNN) — Weird and wacky vending machines have long been part of Japan’s innovative culture — from healthy lettuce (yes, just lettuce) and bananas, to the more indulgent draft beer dispenser.
In Germany, there’s a vending machine that dispenses all the farm-fresh breakfast basics — sausages, butter, milk and eggs.
And if you’re brave enough, there’s even a live hairy crab vending machine in China.
Here are a few highlights:
Hot sandwiches
Freshly made daily and delivered to machines around the city, these wholemeal sandwiches come in two varieties per machine and are toasted, not microwaved.
Heated between two hotplates before being dispensed, there’s no need to choke down a soggy sandwich here.
10-inch pizzas
In just minutes, for SG$8.50 ($6), you can be munching on a 10-inch Hawaiian or pepperoni pizza.
Thanks to a heat injection system, the vending machine is like a traditional pizza oven but much faster, says Axel Steyer, director of eeZee Vending, the company behind the concept.
The best part is that the pizzas are made using ingredients imported from Italy.
Fresh salad
Shake Salad offers healthy greens in an instant.
courtesy Shake Salad
“The traditional perception of vending machines is that they only sell sugary drinks or unhealthy snacks… Our main challenge is to change this perception and convince customers that salads from a vending machine can be as fresh or even fresher than those sold in salad bars,” says entrepreneur Dr. Heng Ri-Liang, responsible for shaking things up on the vending machine scene.
Scattered around the city in supermarkets, office buildings and hotel lobbies, the machines are restocked every day with a choice of four different salad bases and a range of toppings and dressings.
Once selected and dispensed in their individual packets, shake them all together in the salad base box and you’re good to go.
A vending machine cafe
Chef-In-Box dispenses hot food to busy people.
courtesy Chef In Box
Jocelyn Chng Ba, CEO of JR Group, which owns and operates Chef-In-Box, says that the idea behind the cafes is to “bring quality, balanced meals closer to the customers.”
“Young families who are busy benefit from round-the-clock convenience, and the older generation no longer have to walk too far to food,” she says.
“Tourists also come to see the concept.”
So how does it work?
The dishes — which look and taste much like an in-flight meal on a plane — are frozen inside the machine and microwaved once selected.
The average heating time is around three minutes, which passes quickly if you watch the food-related video on the front of the machine.
There’s a dining area nearby but if you want to take it to go you can select your meal to be dispensed froze and warm it up later (heating instructions are on the packet).
Ice cream
Now for dessert.
Follow the simple onscreen steps and watch the robot in action as it swirls your ice cream and moves from topping to topping until your masterpiece is done.
Freshly squeezed orange juice
Perfect if you’re feeling thirsty or in need of a vitamin C boost.
Health care products
This vending machine satisfies your last-minute vitamin needs.
courtesy 21st Century
Each machine has six rows with filled with 12 different products, from children’s multivitamins to ginkgo biloba, omega 3, l-lysine and zinc.
There’s even melatonin if you’re feeling jet-lagged, as well as slimming teas and hair tonic.
Books
BooksActually’s National Museum of Singapore vending machine.
courtesy BooksActually
Looking for something to stimulate your mind rather than your belly?
Laundry services
A laundromat in a vending machine.
courtesy WashBox24
Services are now being offered through vending machines, too.
Then, simply enter a pin number to retrieve your items, which are returned to the same spot around four days later. You’ll have a 48-hour window to collect them.
“It’s so simple that our main challenge is that consumers are not sure how it works!” says country director Michelle Lee.
Supercars
Autobahn’s supercar vending machine.
Autobahn Motors
Ever said to yourself, “if only there was a way to purchase my next whip by just pushing a button?”
Potential buyers can “order” a car to view, test drive or buy by pressing a button through a customized mobile app.
This “vending machine,” however, isn’t entirely self-service.
On-site staff supervise the experience.
