AFG VENDING

Founded in June 2024 in Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China, AFG Vending Machine was born when Zach was riding with his friends along the cycling lane. When they stopped for a break, he heard a cycling groupmate cry out: “I’m so thirsty—there’s nowhere to buy a drink!”

That’s when Zach discovered there were no drinks, food, or nutritional supplements available at the entrance of the Qidu cycling greenlane (七都) in Wenzhou. The closest vending machine was 3 kilometers away.

So he started selling essential cycling supplies through strategically placed vending machines.

As a cyclist himself, Zach is friends with local cycling store owners and visits them frequently for bike maintenance. Yet, he rarely purchases anything directly from these stores due to the expensive in-store markups—often finding the same products online for up to 70% less.

He visited every bike shop in the city—14 stores in total—and discovered that markups were at least 50% higher than online prices, with some reaching 100% or more.

Zach interviewed the store owners. Their answers revealed three key factors:

1. Accessories are not their primary income source, so competitive pricing is not a priority.
2. High operating expenses force higher margins.
3. Market pricing norms allow it without “破坏市场价格” (destroying market prices).

Three customer types willing to pay:

1. Urgency of demand—flat tire right now, race tomorrow.
2. Loyal existing customers—trust the shop owner.
3. New in-store customers—don’t know online prices.

However, sometimes the markup gets so high that the store loses the sale entirely.

Sell only standardized cycling products in vending machines—items that do not require in-person installation or expert fitting. We balance fair pricing with the urgency of demand.

For complex components requiring expert fitting, we refer customers to our partner bike shops.

With the surge of recreational and new cyclists in China, there is a significant gap in the market for affordable, accessible cycling essentials available 24/7.

By cutting out the middleman, we offer products at up to 50% off traditional retail prices.

We conducted comprehensive buyer profiling to identify cyclist demand for affordable products and supplements in Wenzhou. Through extensive commodity data analysis and sales pattern research, we identified optimal product combinations that maximize ROI.

We plan to focus on physical vending machines near cycling greenways and partnering with physical cycling stores for 24/7 after-hours access to essentials.

Interested? Drop us a message at afgcyclingclub@gmail.com.