Unusual Vending Machine Foods Around the World

French Fries Location: AustraliaPrice: $1.50-$2Thanks to advances in modern vending machinery, golden, freshly prepared French fries are just a few taps of an LCD screen away. From the country that consumes half of its potatoes in the form of fries comes the FoodCube and Hot Fresh Fries, both of which store frozen potatoes, fry them in less than two minutes, then salt and dispense them complete with sauce and a napkin.

Pizza Location: ItalyPrice: Starts at 3.50 euros ($4.50 USD)Starting with just flour, water, tomato sauce, and cheese, the Let's Pizza vending machine whips up a piping-hot pie in just three minutes. Buyers can watch the entire process through a small window as Let's Pizza makes one of four types: margherita, prosciutto, speck (bacon), or vegetable. Inventor Claudio Torghele developed his beloved "pizza robot" with the help of the Anglo-Dutch group Unilever.

Beer Location: JapanPrice: 150-200 yen (around $2 USD)Got a thirst that a soda won't quench? Find everything from beer to liquor to mixed drinks and sake in vending machines located around Japan. For those who prefer their beer straight from the tap, head to Kyoto, where one intrepid traveler documented his experience with a draft beer vending machine.

Pecan Pie Location: U.S.Price: $17.50A vending machine pastry is usually a sad, preservative-filled sight. Not so at Berdoll Pecan Farm in Cedar Creek, TX. You can get a freshly baked 9-inch deep-dish pecan pie straight from the vending machine outside its retail store. The farm's 15,000-tree pecan orchard also supplies the 21 other items that fill the vending machine, including honey-glazed pecans, chocolate-covered pecans, and pecan brittle.

Fresh Eggs Location: JapanPrice: 300 yen (about $3 USD)Popular throughout the country, these refrigerated vending machines are regularly refilled with farm-fresh eggs from nearby farmers. Each compartment contains a bag of 10 to 12 eggs behind a small door, which unlocks once the money is deposited. Rumor has it that these machines run out of eggs quickly, so it seems early birds get the eggs, too!

Canned Bread Location: JapanPrice: 340-350 yen (about $4 USD)Bread in a can is pretty cool. Bread in a can in a vending machine is top-notch! The Japanese product Pan Desuyo (which means "This is bread!") is available in proprietary vending machines in your choice of chocolate chip, raisin and fruit, or coffee, fruit, and nuts.

Milk Location: EuropePrice: 0.35 euros ($0.45 USD)Through the European Union School Milk Program, the EU subsidizes milk and dairy products for young students. The result of this health-minded initiative: awesome milk vending machines like this one in Germany, which offer plain, chocolate, vanilla, caramel, and strawberry milk. Program supporters hope for increased milk mustaches among students in upcoming years.

Make-Your-Own Ice Cream Location:Northeastern U.S.Price: Around $3In just 40 seconds of vending machine-churning magic, the MooBella machine blends, aerates, and freezes up to 96 varieties of freshly prepared ice cream. An interactive touch screen allows you to "make your own" hard-scoop ice cream from a choice of 12 different flavors and mix-ins, in both premium and light ice cream versions.

Rice Location: JapanPrice: 2,600-3,500 yen ($30-$40 USD) per 10-kilo bagEver realized you've run out of rice right when the grocery stores close? If you were in Japan, this would be no problem. Ten-kilo bags of rice are available for purchase from vending machines, which offer up to eight different varieties..

Wine and Champagne Location: U.S.Price: Dependent on the wine you selectProvided they pass a built-in ID scanner and Breathalyzer test, residents of Dauphin County, PA, no longer have to buy their wine at the counter. Shoppers at Giant supermarket in Harrisburg can choose from the flagship machine's 53 available wines, from Argentine Malbecs to California Merlots. Brochures are also provided to aid the selection process..

Cotton Candy Location: U.S.Price: $2To the delight of children and sugar enthusiasts everywhere, the Intermatic cotton candy machine serves up warm clouds of candy floss on paper batons in only 60 seconds. The machine boasts child-friendly operation, a variety of sugar colors and flavors, and a window where buyers can watch the process from start to sweet finish.

Grilled Hot Dogs: Location: U.S.Price: $2Hot dogs are already a convenience food — they're precooked, preseasoned, and ready in minutes. But the automatic merchandising industry wondered, "What if we took this show on the road and let a robotic arm do all the work?" And the hot dog vending machine was born. This one, from Leon's Grill, lets you select your desired dog, then splits the bun, warms both elements, and assembles your snack in a jiff.

The Future of Vending Machines Kraft Foods, Crane Merchandising Systems, Samsung, and Digitas have partnered to develop the vending machine of the future, which will function much like touch-screen smart phones. The state-of-the-art snack machine will feature a 46-inch Samsung LCD touch-screen panel that displays all available items. Touching an item will allow buyers a 360-degree view, making product ingredients and nutritional information visible.

Why do you think there were so many of these vending machines from Japan?Did you know that Japan has the highest number of vending machines per capita?Why is that?

Unusual Vending Machine Foods Around the World