The vending machine has essentially existed as a desperate snack stop for the all of its existence as a structure for purchasing goods. Put money in, press buttons, and choose your dubious-nutritional meal.
However, the UAE didn’t stop at that glass’s reflecting picture. It upended the idea of vending machines with such vigour that ideas of genuinely “extra” sizes fell into the grab bin below. These are but a handful of our top picks.
Myriam K
since you are valuable. This K Beauty haircare vending machine, located in Merex’s downtown pleasure joy, may help with even the most hellish hairstyle days. Mid-shopping chaos, do you need a little more volume? Hey everyone, this is Myriam K’s vending machine! It has the detox for your hair, the business for your frizz, and the tonic for your barnet. Scrunchies, hair masks, golden brushes, and all the elixirs you need to give yourself a healthier, fuller, and more polished appearance are available.
Bike Helmet vending machines
prioritising safety. Did you know that riding a bicycle in Dubai requires you to wear a helmet these days? If you are discovered to be without one, you may be fined. In the event of an accident, however, the financial hit can prove to be far smaller than the actual suffering. Because Careem Bikes are now *ahem* very popular in the city, the firm is committed to making sure people can ride them securely. To that aim, bike helmet vending machines have been positioned thoughtfully at specific bike docking stations throughout Dubai.
Ice Cream
A robotic ice cream machine called IceAlice is currently providing scoops at several places in the United Arab Emirates, including Global Village. The business that created it, VLT Robotics, or also builds automated coffee-serving machines (they have one at the Dubai Frame and one in Riverland). Put another Flake in there, please, Alice. This delegation of menial work is probably the kind of thing we’ll come to regret when the AI explosion unavoidably takes over the reins of the simulation.
Gold Bars
This seems like it could be the spirit vending machine of Dubai. Yes, you won’t ever be caught without casual bullion again because of the innovative Gold to Go ATMs. You can purchase anything from a Wasta Flex one-ounce gold bar to a 2.5-gram, 24-karat gold coin from these machines. Even the prices are updated by an internal computer that can track changes in the market every ten minutes.
There used to be several machines located all across the United Arab Emirates, from the Burj Khalifa’s observation deck to Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi. We are aware that Atlantis The Palm still has at least one unit.
Cupcakes
We think Cup Cake ATM is a fantastic offer because it’s basically a high-end vending machine that delivers Instalicious muffins to you 24 hours a day. This first UAE site is located in the Leisure and Entertainment District of Hudayriyat Island, specifically in Marsana. It’s only fair that you can have your cake and eat it when it comes to variety. Not recommended for people with nut allergies, the pistachio and Nutella cake has a strong UAE feel. Other cupcake options include Oreo cookie, safron, Lotus (obviously), blueberry, red velvet, carrot, and more.
Champagne
This vending machine may be found where one might anticipate, at the Dubai Opera, of course, sweetie *readjusts monocle*. Halfway through the matinee, a little thirsty? No issue, exit stage right for some small bottle popping fizzy fun. The machine delivers up perfectly cooled bottles of a particular well known premium brand of bubbles for around Dhs140. You probably won’t find a cheaper bottle of soda at that price from a vending machine, but we all have to make compromises for Instagram, right?
Beauty products – (Gone)
To be quite honest, we looked everywhere for the Huda Beauty cosmetics vending machine at its purported Sunset Mall location, but we were unable to locate it. Maybe because it is no longer present. Perhaps as a result of our father-like propensity for “looking for things.” But when it first launched back in 2015, it was garnering all the headlines for allowing you pick up faddish beauty trends on the move (2015 was peak massive-surprised-face-eyebrows if we recall right), and presumably not dropping powder palettes from any great height.
Laptops – (definitely gone)
This vending machine, which used to be located within Sharaf DG’s flagship store at Times Square Centre and is now retired, was one of the biggest in the world and was filled with laptops, tablets, phones, and cameras. A robotic arm was used to dispense and hand goods to customers, and in less than a minute, you could leave with a brand-new, shining PC. Regretfully, it appears that this was a technological revolution in vending that the world hadn’t planned for. It is evident that even now, like a group, we still respect the sales clerks’ advise on the store floor while we are spending several thousand dirhams on electronics.
