Business Notes MARKETING

A new kind of vending machine is arriving in supermarkets, but don't bother bringing extra change on your next trip. Nabisco is testing devices that dispense free samples with the pull of a lever. The Nabisco Samplers hand out a small box of a new product like Graham Bites, along with a coupon toward the purchase of a full-size package and a thank-you from a synthesized voice.

The sampling devices may lack human warmth, but they never tire. Says Nabisco's Allan Falvey: "Most sampling programs last a couple of days and reach only 15% of a store's customers. These machines are in a store 24 hours a day." Nabisco says that when new products have been promoted by Samplers, sales doubled within a month.