Short answer: a vending machine for a factory makes sense when about 30–40 people are on site on a normal day, counted across the shifts it will serve. Most plants in Metro Vancouver are smaller than that: of 686 manufacturer licences issued for 2026 inside the City of Vancouver, the median reports 5 employees, and 59 report 40 or more. In Burnaby, 30 of 373 manufacturer licences are in a band of 51 people or more. If your plant is one of the larger ones, the rules below tell you where the machine goes and why it earns its spot.
This report is for plant managers, operations managers and owners of food and non-food manufacturers in Vancouver and Burnaby, British Columbia. It uses both cities' business-licence open data and the BC rules on meal breaks and eating areas. For distribution centres and warehouses, see our warehouse shift-work guide; this one is about plants that make things.
Vancouver manufacturers by size
| Reported employees | Food manufacturers | Non-food manufacturers | Creative products | All |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0–4 | 173 | 152 | 14 | 339 |
| 5–19 | 84 | 127 | 4 | 215 |
| 20–39 | 26 | 47 | 0 | 73 |
| 40–99 | 17 | 24 | 0 | 41 |
| 100+ | 8 | 9 | 1 | 18 |
| Total | 308 | 359 | 19 | 686 |
| Median | 3 | 6 | 2 | 5 |
Issued 2026 licences with a City of Vancouver address. Source: City of Vancouver business licences, extract 2026-10-11. VendFynd analysis.
Together the 686 licences report 11,676 employees. 132 report 20 or more, which puts them in range for a machine if their shifts overlap or a second tenant shares the space, and 59 report 40 or more.
Where the larger plants are: of the 59 with 40 or more employees, 16 are in Strathcona, 10 in Grandview-Woodland, 9 in Mount Pleasant, 6 in Marpole and 5 in Sunset. Downtown has only 2.
Burnaby manufacturers by size band
Burnaby's licences don't publish a head count, but the manufacturer licence types carry a size band:
| Burnaby licence type | 1–50 persons | 51–150 persons | 151+ persons |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturer, general | 253 | 10 | 10 |
| Manufacturer, food processing | 74 | 5 | 0 |
| Manufacturer, chemicals or flammables | 16 | 3 | 2 |
| All manufacturers (373) | 343 | 18 | 12 |
City of Burnaby business licences, open data, extract 2026-10-12. VendFynd count by licence type name.
The 30 Burnaby manufacturers in the 51+ bands are almost certainly big enough for a machine. Inside the 1–50 band, it depends on the shift count, so use the site-fit scorer rather than the licence.
The rules that put a machine in the lunchroom
Nothing in BC law requires an employer to provide food. Two rules shape where a machine goes and why it gets used:
- Meal breaks. The Employment Standards Act says an employer "must ensure (a) that no employee works more than 5 consecutive hours without a meal break, and (b) that each meal break lasts at least a 1/2 hour" (s.32). On an 8-hour shift, that's one half-hour break, often taken all at once by a whole line. A machine that has to serve 30 people in 30 minutes needs to be stocked to the shift, not to the day.
- Eating areas. WorkSafeBC's OHS Regulation s.4.84 says workers "must not keep or consume food in an area of a workplace where it could become unwholesome because of workplace contaminants", and that the employer must provide an area suitable for storing and eating food if that risk exists or if eating "is restricted or prohibited at the workplace". Food plants typically restrict eating on the floor to protect the product, and shops that handle chemicals or metal dust to protect the worker. Either way, the plant must have an eating area, and that's where the machine goes.
In practice, that means the machine sits in or next to the lunchroom, outside any production or hygiene zone, and never in the path of forklifts or along an exit route.
Setting up a machine in a plant
- Count by shift. If you run two or three shifts, the night shift is the one with no café open. Tell the operator your shift times and head counts.
- Pick the menu with the floor. Your people choose what goes in. Plants often want more substantial items than an office: larger drinks, protein snacks, and a refrigerated combo machine if the lunchroom has the power for it.
- Check the spot and the power. A full-size machine is about 72 inches tall and up to 47 inches wide; use our space and power checklist for the route in and the outlet. A refrigerated drink machine adds about $16–17 a month on BC Hydro's small business rate (calculator).
- Know the tax line. The operator collects and remits PST, which in BC is generally 7% on goods with some exceptions. Food is mostly exempt, but soda isn't, which our PST and GST guide covers in detail.
- Plan for restocking access. Agree when the operator's driver can enter, sign in and reach the lunchroom without crossing the production floor.
With VendFynd, a machine is $0 to the plant: the operator covers the machine, install, stocking, service and removal, and you provide the spot and an outlet (about $15–20 a month in power for a drink machine). It's month to month with 30 days' notice and no-cost removal, and commission is usually included, set per site and agreed in writing before install. We reply within 1 business day. See if your plant qualifies, or read the host terms.
About this data
- Vancouver: City of Vancouver "Business licences" open data, folder year 2026, extract 2026-10-11. Business types: Food Manufacturer Assembler and Processor, Non-Food Manufacturer Assembler and Processor, and Creative Products Manufacturer. Kept 686 licences with status Issued, a Vancouver address and a local area. Employee counts are self-reported on the licence. One licence covers one business at one address. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver.
- Burnaby: City of Burnaby "Business Licences" open data, 20,093 approved licences on 2026-10-12. The size band is part of the licence type name; it is the band the business declared, not a head count. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Burnaby.
- Limits: a manufacturer licensed in another city isn't counted, and a plant whose licence type is "warehouse" or "wholesaler" is in the warehouse figures instead. Business names were not used or published.
Sources
- City of Vancouver, Business licences (open data): https://opendata.vancouver.ca/explore/dataset/business-licences/, extract 2026-10-11
- City of Burnaby, Business Licences (open data): https://data.burnaby.ca/datasets/burnaby::business-licences/about, extract 2026-10-12
- BC Employment Standards Act, s.32: https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/00_96113_01
- Occupational Health and Safety Regulation, Part 4, s.4.84: https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/296_97_02
- BC Government, Provincial sales tax (PST): https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/taxes/sales-taxes/pst
- Open Government Licence – Vancouver: https://opendata.vancouver.ca/pages/licence/
All accessed 2026-10-12.