DASH

Cutting a DASH at Vendex, Meet the ‘Wonky Fruit’ People!

By Ian Reynolds-Young

DASH
Tash from DASH

I was chatting to the serendipitously named Tash from DASH recently when she used a term I’d heard before, without ever really understanding what it actually meant. She told me that DASH had ‘haloed’ its use of wonky fruit. So, I looked up ‘halo marketing’ and this is what I discovered…

Basically, halo marketing means that if people are impressed with one aspect of a business, they tend to be predisposed to thinking positively about other aspects of the operation, even if they’re totally unrelated to the source of the original good vibes. So you build your communication of that positivity.

The thing that’s really captured the public’s imagination – besides the product’s taste –  is DASH’s use of misshapen fruit in the production of their flavoured water drinks. You never see any ‘wonky’ fruit for sale in the supermarket – and if you’ve ever wondered what happens to the produce that is not considered to be aesthetically pleasing, the shocking answer is that most of it is left to rot, adding to the already obscene mountain of food waste that withers after every harvest. According to the DASH web site, a damning 40% of fruit and vegetables grown in the UK goes to waste. But the rule at DASH is simple: ‘we judge on taste, not looks.’

The commitment of DASH to use this ‘undesirable’ produce, and the positive responses of consumers to their initiative, is proving worthy of the ‘halo’ treatment the company’s ‘wonky’ position is receiving.

When DASH debut at Vendex North, expect to hear not only the ‘wonky’ message, but also how the public’s response to that message has catapulted DASH onto the fringes of the soft drinks Big League – and all of this achieved since 2017, when the company kicked-on with a £3k start up loan.

DASHThere is nothing opportunistic about DASH’s stance on food waste. The company’s founders, Alex Wright and Jack Scott, are both of farming stock and the waste of food, which has been painstakingly grown and carefully harvested, is anathema to them.

DASH has dipped its toes in the waters of vending and is so encouraged that it’s now ready to jump in feet first, as Tash explained: ‘We’ve been working very successfully with Nu Vending. DASH has been outselling…’ (here, she mentions three well-known products from a global supplier, but despite the fact that her enthusiasm is entirely authentic, without a fact check, let’s not go there), ‘not to mention the other famous brands that Nu Vending stocks.’  (Maybe you could ask Tash about this at Vendex?)

Nu Vending is an operation whose clientele is made up largely of well-heeled office workers and discerning consumers who encounter vending machines in public areas, so there’s a clue if you’re wondering ‘where?’

‘Vending is not a space that we’ve specifically targeted’, Tash says. ‘Our move into it has been organic; it’s just happened. To be honest, it was our client at Nu Vending who told us we’d potentially be missing out if we didn’t go to Vendex.’

Suffice to say, they’ve heeded that advice and at Vendex, besides regaling you with stories of wonky fruit, they’ll offer you a taste of their devastatingly delicious drinks, which retailer’s bible The Grocer described as ‘sparkling seltzers, carving out a major niche in a category loaded with multinational rivals.’

DASH is also on a mission to secure ‘the right wholesaler’, both for the present and for a future that’s increasingly looking very bright indeed. ‘Right now, we’re dealing directly with our vending customers’, Tash says.

Clearly, when it comes to wholesalers we at PV are not biased at all, but we’d point DASH in this direction. 😊

So, down to business: which products might tempt you to add a little DASH to your vending offer? ‘We’ve just added to our 330ml can range with a new, 500ml can’, Tash says. ‘Our instinct is that this is the product that will work really well in the vending space.  People who need hydration in a hurry tend to prefer the larger can to the ‘three swallows and it’s over’ 330ml version!’

For the record, DASH’s best-selling skus are DASH Raspberry, Lime, Grapefruit + Orange, in that order. Orange is the new kid on the block and it’s been said it tastes like ‘sunshine in a can.’

‘At Vendex, we’ll bring DASH to life and prove that we’re a revolution in the soft drinks world.’

‘Vendex, for DASH, is all about giving the brand a personality. We pride ourselves on having a brand that goes further than the can’, Tash says. ‘I’m excited to meet people from the vending industry, new and old and to get lips on liquid! ‘At Vendex, we’ll bring DASH to life and prove that we’re a revolution in the soft drinks world. We’re not only offering a healthy alternative to 99% of drinks on the market, we’re also on our wonderful wonky mission.’

*Tash from DASH – and her DASHing colleagues – will be on Stand 44 at Vendex North.

Meanwhile, here’s how you can get up to speed with DASH before you meet up:

The Home page of the DASH web site is HERE
The DASH story – in their own words – is HERE
‘Turning Wonky Veg into Sparkling Delight’ – meet the founders and find out how they took their Giant Leap, HERE, on the Virgin Start-up web site

Not registered yet for Vendex North? It’s a ‘must’ to save time on the day, and you can do it now HERE

Keep up to speed with all the news in vending and OCS, HERE on Planet Vending

 

About the author

The Editor

Planet Vending’s Editor is Ian Reynolds-Young and it’s Ian’s unique writing talent that has made PV what it is today – the best read (red) vending blog in the world, and vending’s best read (reed). Ian ‘tripped and fell into vending’, in the capacity of PR executive, before launching a specialist agency, ‘reynoldscopy’, dedicated to the UK Vending business. The company continues to represent the interests of many of the sector’s leading brands.

‘It’s all about telling stories’, he says. ‘We want to make every visit to PV a rewarding experience. By celebrating the achievements of the UK’s operating companies, we’re on a mission to debunk the idea that vending is retailing’s poor relation.’

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