Snack Vending Services

The University of Central Florida (UCF) has issued an Invitation to Negotiate (ITN) for snack vending services to be provided across its main campus in Orange County, Florida, as well as at the Rosen School of Hospitality, UCF Academic Health Sciences Campus in Lake Nona, and UCF Downtown Campus. The procurement seeks a qualified supplier to provide snack food, hot coffee, hot beverages, milk, and ice cream products through a minimum of 100 vending machines (with approximately 101 currently operational). The successful supplier must furnish all vending machines, equipment, commodities, supplies, maintenance, labor, and management at no cost to UCF, with all machines required to be new or refurbished (less than 5 years old), Energy Star rated, and ADA compliant. All machines must accept debit/credit payments and digital wallets, with cash capability determined by mutual agreement. Key qualification requirements include experience in vending services, the ability to maintain a four-hour service response time for notifications received before noon and 24 hours for after-noon or weekend notifications on weekdays, and compliance with UCF's exclusive pouring rights agreement with Coca-Cola, which restricts hot beverages to fresh-brewed options only. The contract will commence on August 1, 2026, and end on July 31, 2031, with possible renewal options not to exceed 5 years or twice the original term. The deadline for submitting written inquiries is Friday, April 17, 2026, at 5:00 PM EST, and proposals are due Wednesday, May 6, 2026, at 2:00 PM EST via UCF's Bonfire Web Portal. Evaluation criteria are weighted as follows: experience and qualifications (15 points), service delivery plan with sales focus (25 points), commissions and pricing (30 points), management and implementation plan (20 points), marketing (5 points), and conformance to requirements (5 points), totaling 100 points.

No set-aside designations or restrictions on vendor types are specified in the available procurement documents. The supplier will generate revenue through commission rates calculated on gross receipts minus applicable sales tax, with the contractor required to pay UCF the greater of a minimum annual guarantee or the calculated commission percentage; however, specific commission percentages and minimum guarantees are not disclosed in the summary. Recent sales data indicates that annual snack vending sales totaled $574,024 in FY2023, $708,642 in FY2024, and $715,167 in FY2025, suggesting potential revenue for the selected contractor. The incumbent vendor information is not provided in the available documentation. The supplier must provide monthly sales reports by machine ID and location by the 25th of each month, maintain separate accounting records, and retain documentation for three years beyond contract termination. Product selection requires University approval, and any pricing increases must be justified and approved by UCF. No bidders' conference or site visit is required as part of the procurement process.