Turn an empty corner into a 24/7 amenity.
A fully managed smart fridge for student residences, offices and gyms — international snacks & drinks, cashless, monitored 24/7. We install. We stock. We operate. You provide the corner.
No installation cost. You get 10% of net sales with a £30/month minimum guarantee — and we remove the unit free if it doesn't perform.
One compact unit, sealed cabinet, contactless terminal.
A modern glass-front cabinet, quieter than a traditional vending machine. The whole thing sits on a square metre of floor and pays for its own running costs.
A self-serve refreshment point your team never has to think about.
Users buy what they want, when they want, with card or phone. Sidobox handles everything behind the scenes.
Six concrete wins, zero work for your team.
Always-on amenity
Residents, staff and visitors get drinks and snacks inside the building, day and night — no café overhead.
Zero operational burden
Install, stocking, monitoring, maintenance, support — all on us. Your team carries on doing their actual job.
No food licence required
Sidobox handles food business registration and compliance. You don't apply for anything to host the service.
Cashless only
Card and mobile, no cash handling. No float, no theft risk, no awkward conversations.
Passive revenue, guaranteed
10% of net sales, with a £30/month minimum guarantee. You're never paid less than the floor, and you share the upside when the unit performs.
Stock that evolves
The range adapts to what your users actually buy — and they can request items by QR code from the fridge itself.
The boring stuff — all on us.
Hosting a service in your building should not introduce risk. Here's what we carry, and what we don't ask of you.
Public liability insurance
We carry comprehensive public liability cover for the unit and our on-site activity. Certificate available on request before signing.
Electricity is on us
The unit's running cost is already covered by our share of the model — no separate electricity charge, no metering admin, no line item on your service charge.
No long lock-in
Initial 12-month term with a 90-day performance window (below), then rolling on 60 days' notice — we'd rather earn the renewal than enforce a contract.
Free removal if it isn't working
If footfall doesn't match the model in the first 90 days, we'll remove the unit at our cost and restore the corner — no exit fees, no awkward conversation.
Three steps — then it just runs.
20 minutes, on-site.
We meet you at the corner you have in mind, measure up, agree the commercial terms, and send a 1-page agreement.
One hour, no disruption.
We bring the unit in on a trolley, plug into a standard 13A socket, calibrate, and go. Your day continues uninterrupted.
We operate it.
Stocking, monitoring, maintenance, customer support, payments. You receive a monthly statement and your revenue share — 10% of net sales, or the £30 floor, whichever is higher.
Smart fridge vs traditional vending vs doing nothing.
Most "amenity gaps" in residential, office and gym buildings get patched with a clunky vending machine or simply left empty. Neither is a great answer for the people in the building.
| Feature | Sidobox Smart Fridge | Traditional Vending | Doing Nothing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burden on host | None — we run it end-to-end | Some — operator visits, complaints | None, but no amenity either |
| Revenue to host | 10% of net sales, £30/mo minimum | Flat rental, usually low | £0 |
| Resident / user experience | Wide range, fresh items, app receipts | Crisps & canned drinks only | Walk to the shop |
| Mechanical reliability | High — sealed cabinet, no coils to jam | Moderate — coils, motors, coin paths | n/a |
| Visual impact in lobby | Modern fridge, calm lighting | 1980s metal box | Empty corner |
| Footprint | < 1 m² | ~ 0.8–1 m² | 0 |
Sidobox Smart Fridge
Traditional Vending
Doing Nothing
Smart fridges replace 1980s mechanical vending with a sealed cabinet, RFID + computer-vision item recognition, and a remote-monitored payments stack — all in roughly the same footprint, with none of the operator headaches.
Built for buildings with regular footfall.
Student residences
Students study late, return at all hours, and value being able to grab something without leaving the building. International students appreciate familiar flavours from home; everyone enjoys the discovery range.
This becomes a real on-site amenity that improves the day-to-day living experience — without you running a shop.
Ideal: 80+ beds
Offices & co-working
Employees and visitors grab a drink or snack without leaving the floor. A small workplace upgrade that costs you nothing to run and requires no operational thought.
Especially useful for buildings without a café tenant, or where the on-site café shuts at 5pm but the office runs later.
Ideal: 50+ daily desks
Gyms & fitness centres
Members want hydration and recovery snacks before and after workouts. A 24/7 fridge gives them that, with no staffed counter to keep open and no inventory headache for you.
Drinks margins are high, and a smart fridge avoids the off-hours staffing cost of a real protein bar.
Ideal: 500+ members
Roughly, you want this much footfall.
These are indicative thresholds for a single-unit install. Smaller sites can still work — we just need to be sensible about the commercial terms. If you're not sure, send us your numbers via the form below and we'll be honest.
Student residence
Works well in halls of residence, PBSA blocks, and large HMOs. The bigger and more international the cohort, the stronger the fit.
Office / co-working
Best where there's no on-site café or where the café closes early. Multi-tenant buildings work well — everyone benefits.
Gym / fitness
Best in 24-hour facilities and gyms without a staffed bar. Higher hydration / protein purchase rate at peak class times.
A genuine taste of the world — not just crisps.
Drinks and snacks from Japan, Korea, China, India, Pakistan, Southeast Asia, Europe and the UK. Bottled drinks, soft drinks, energy drinks, biscuits, crisps, sweets, instant noodles, and convenience snacks.
Users can request items by QR code on every fridge, and we adjust the range based on what people actually buy. Allergens are labelled; chilled-only at all times.
The deal, in one line.
10% of net sales, with a £30/month minimum guarantee.
You're paid monthly. If the unit performs well, your share goes up. If it has a slow month, you still receive at least £30 — the floor never moves.
Electricity is on us; there's no separate charge for power, install, removal or any other line item. One transparent payment in your direction, every month.
Prefer to host the unit as a pure resident / staff amenity and waive the payment? That's also fine — tell us on the site visit.
The real questions hosts ask us.
What if it breaks at 2am?
What if a resident complains about a charge?
Can I see one in person before signing?
What happens at the end of the term?
Who handles food safety and licensing?
What if my building isn't big enough?
Tell us about your building.
Two minutes. We'll come back within one working day with an honest read on whether it'll work and a rough indication of terms.
Thanks — we'll be in touch.
We'll reply within one working day with next steps and a proposed site-visit time.
Bring a 24/7 amenity to your building.
Sidobox is rolling out smart fridges across the UK. We work with student accommodation, offices and gyms — fully managed, no installation cost.
Mon–Fri 9am–6pm UK · We reply within one working day.