A retailer in Scotland has found a growing opportunity with a flavoured-milk vending machine.

Wilson Rea, of KeyStore More Lanark in South Lanarkshire, introduced the machine to his shop in November. It dispenses milk into reusable glass bottles, which customers can purchase for £2.50.

As well as regular milk, charged at £1.20 per litre, customers can choose to add flavours at 50p extra. These include chocolate, strawberry and salted caramel.

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Rea told Better Retailing: “Everything is provided by a local supplier called Marshill Milk. The vending machine also supplies eggs, water and pre-packed fruit.

“Demand was initially slow until we introduced the flavours.

“Now we sell 100l of milk a day. What surprised me was that it’s not just popular among children, but also with older customers. We have a lot of people in their 20s buying the flavoured milk.”

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However, One Stop retailer Peter Robinson urged retailers to be wary of the diminishing return of similar opportunities. “I used to offer milk in glass bottles at my stores and it did well at the start. However, the demand died after a few months,” he said.

“Customers were initially excited about the novelty, but realised it took some effort when having to return the glass bottles.

“This might work in a more heavily populated area, such as a city, but it didn’t work where my shops are based.”

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