Five locations make up New Forest Health and Leisure Centres. They are based around Hampshire: Ringwood, Totton, Applemore, Lymington and New Milton. The centres are run by the New Forest District Council (NFDC) and we started working with them back in 2015.
The Challenge
NFDC were looking for an eye-catching vending option that could provide healthier options for their customers. As a leisure centre, this is crucial for the members who attend classes, gym sessions and children attending swimming lessons. Gym go-ers, parents waiting patiently and staff would much prefer high-quality coffee and healthier snacks. Each centre required a slightly different vending solution. We collaborated with the managers at each site to provide a bespoke offer, tailored to their every needs.
The Solution
The challenge of creating the different vending areas for this client was an exciting prospect. For example, Totton Leisure, previously had vending dotted around their site. After seeing Doozy and how transformative it could be for their customers, staff and space, they redesigned an area (including knocking down a wall!) to accommodate Doozy. NFDC were determined to have a Doozy with a cafe-like feel – the perfect fit for visitors to settle with a hot drink.
Ringwood Leisure Centre wanted a Doozy on two different levels to provide snacks and hot drinks to all its customers who visited the leisure centre. We received some wonderful feedback from happy customers, one sharing, “I must congratulate you on your café, the total lack of fizzy drinks and unhealthy snacks is a shining example of good practice.” At all of the locations, we provided a variety of products including protein bars for fitness fanatics, urban fruit (perfect for little ones) and a handful of treat choices for everyone. During our partnership with New Forest Leisure, we have run several successful sample days with their staff and customers, driving engagement and sales whilst offering a valuable opportunity for market research. In Ringwood, we were asked to attend the official launch of their newly refurbished centre and meet some of the stars of ‘The Brittas Empire,’ which was filmed on-set.
“We have worked with Doozy for over two years and their level of service and call out response is excellent. We have their machines in all five of our health & leisure centres and our ambition to rid our sites of just providing chocolate, crisps and fizzy drinks has gone down very well with our customers and the image we wanted to project as a District Council.”
Jeremy Rickard, Leisure Operations Manager