These machines, now sitting in 22 places - including industrial parks, schools and hospitals - dispense chilled, diced fruit pieces in sealed, see-through plastic cups at $1 to $1.80 a cup.

Introduced by homegrown company Geok Heng Enterprise last November, the machines sells six fruit cups, including one with a mix of fruit. Seasonal fruit are offered when available.

The vending machine has found fans among employees of businesses in Keppel Distripark.

Half the 600 people there have tried it and 20 to 30 per cent of them are regulars, estimated PSA senior distripark manager Alfred Cheong.

In the half hour The Straits Times kept watch, at least half a dozen people patronised the machine.

Four colleagues from DHL were seen slotting coins into the machine. One of them, senior supervisor Linda Chng, 29, said she now buys fruit from the machine at least once a day.

Read the full story in Wednesday's edition of The Straits Times.