SINGAPORE – Aspiring gardeners can now skip a run to the nursery and instead pick out a potted plant of their choice by tapping on a vending machine at a nearby mall.

Plant shops keen to cut operating costs and adopt greener methods are turning to vending-machine sales in recent years.

For instance, local nursery Little Botany started selling plants in vending machines while testing out a new potting system in May.

The retailer, which opened in 2018, now has vending machines in Waterway Point mall in Punggol, Suntec City and North Bridge Road.

The potting system used by Little Botany, called a semi-hydroponic set-up, is believed to be more sustainable, and allows plants in the vending machines to last about a week without fresh water.

The nursery has three bricks-and-mortar outlets in Punggol, Jalan Lekar in Tengah, and Simei, but Little Botany owner Fendi Sani, 34, said vending machines are the “most sustainable approach” to expanding the business.

He said: “When we open a shop, we use a lot more manpower and electricity.”

Vending machines, however, need only electricity to power LEDs for the plants and so, use significantly less energy, he noted.

Said Mr Sani: “It’s more sustainable as a business and also sustainable for the environment.”

He bought each of his three vending machines for at least $2,000.

Each plant costs between $18 and $148 and about 640 have been sold from the three machines since June, he said.

The selection of plants available in the machines include Australian bottle trees and tropical pitcher plants.

They are among a total of 18 species in each machine and each one comes with care instructions and a fertiliser bottle.

Mr Sani said two of the vending machines are located on the premises of another business – Times bookstore in Waterway Point and Wong Fu Fu restaurant in North Bridge Road.

He has plans to tie up with a cafe for his next vending machine.

Such tie-ups, Mr Sani said, give a boost to Little Botany’s brand exposure and also help people pick up gardening.

Another plant shop, Green Thumb X, sells its potted beauties solely through its vending machines.

It rolled out its first one in 2019 and it now has six located in malls such as Junction 8 in Bishan and Hillion Mall in Bukit Panjang.

Owner Kwek Seow Yang said the machines provide customers with a “selection of plants near to their door step at affordable prices”.

Green Thumb X mainly sells succulents and preserved flowers, with prices ranging from $8 to $55.

Mr Kwek, 50, bought each vending machine for between $8,000 and $10,000. He sells about 250 to 300 plants a month on average. 

He has no plan to open a bricks-and-mortar store because the vending machines “allow for wider distribution points and lower operating costs”, which translates to lower prices for customers.

He added: “Although we do not have a store, we share information about plants and have a blog where our fans can find care information.

“We also provide support to our customers through WhatsApp or e-mail.”

Both shops restock their machines once a week.

Little Botany stocks each machine with about five to eight plants, while Green Thumb X stocks about 100 plants across all its machines.

One customer, who wanted to be known only as Mr Normizan, bought a Dorstenia plant in July from the Little Botany vending machine in Suntec City for about $38.

He said: “My family was in Suntec for an event and passed by the vending machine. We had a moment to look at it and I got one from there since I’ve also been wanting to try semi-hydroponics.”

He added that the plant is growing well and has started flowering.