VendFynd

Vending Machine Service in Burnaby and Richmond, BC

How Burnaby and Richmond, British Columbia businesses can host a vending machine at $0 to them (you provide the outlet), which sites fit, and local rules.

By Mahdi DialdenUpdated 6 min readFiled under Hosts, Local, Burnaby, Richmond

Short answer: businesses in Burnaby and Richmond, British Columbia (not Vancouver, Washington) can usually get a vending machine placed at $0 to them if the site has enough people passing it each day. The operator covers the machine, install, stocking, service and removal. You provide the spot and an outlet, and the power (roughly $15–20 a month). VendFynd is your vending advocate: we check whether your site fits, match the operator that serves your area, and stay on your side after it's in.

VendFynd is based in Richmond, and Burnaby and Richmond are the two cities our Lead Finder has mapped across all 15 of its site categories. This page covers what fits in each city, the local rules worth knowing, and how the process works.

What we've mapped in Burnaby and Richmond

VendFynd's Lead Finder searches Google Maps listings for the types of site vending operators look for. In its January 2026 runs, within 5 km of each city's centre, it found:

Site type (Lead Finder category)BurnabyRichmond
Medical, dental and physio clinics181170
Auto repair, tire shops and car washes137110
Industrial, warehouse and factory listings9975
Yoga, pilates, boxing and martial-arts studios9586
Gyms and fitness centres4854
Apartment and residential building listings5246
All 15 categories searched1,1541,081

These are counts of map listings, not a census, and some listings fall outside the category they were searched under. They show where the concentration is, not how many businesses want a machine.

Burnaby: what fits

Industrial and business parks. The City of Burnaby lists 16 business centres. The largest, Lake City Business Centre, covers about 162 hectares. In the Big Bend area along the Fraser River, Glenlyon Estates (about 53 ha), Glenwood Industrial Estates, Marine Way Estates and Burnaby Business Park are each over 30 ha. Warehouses, labs and light-industrial units with shift workers are a natural fit.

Town-centre towers. The City plans growth around four town centres: Metrotown (the city's downtown), Brentwood, Lougheed and Edmonds, all with high-rise or mid-rise apartments. Residential buildings with a lobby, gym or laundry room are worth a look. See vending machines for apartment buildings and strata in BC for approvals.

Gyms, clinics and auto shops. Private gyms and studios, clinic waiting rooms and auto service customer lounges all have people waiting or staying for a while. The City also runs nine recreation centres of its own.

Richmond: what fits

Airport and industrial employers. YVR, which sits on Sea Island in Richmond, says about 28,000 people work on the island, and the airport handled 26.9 million passengers and 365,000 tonnes of cargo in 2025. The warehouses, logistics firms and manufacturers around it run shifts where a machine in the break room gets steady use.

Auto service. Richmond has a dense cluster of repair shops, tire shops and car washes, plus the Richmond Auto Mall on Smallwood Place, which lists about 18 brands. Customer waiting areas are the usual spot. For dealership service lounges, see car dealership waiting room: vending or free coffee?

Clinics, studios and hotels. Clinics and fitness studios make up a large share of what we've mapped. Richmond's economic development office says there are about 25 hotels within 10 minutes of YVR.

Local rules worth knowing

  • Business licences. Both cities license businesses. Burnaby's rules are in the Burnaby Business Licence Bylaw 2017 (No. 13809), with fees in its consolidated Fees and Charges Bylaw. Richmond's Business Licence Bylaw No. 7360 includes a "Vending Machine" licence category. Operators should know what applies. If you want to confirm, ask the city's business licence office. We don't list fees here because they change each year.
  • Food safety. BC's Food Premises Regulation does not apply to premises that sell only whole fresh fruit and vegetables or prepackaged, non-potentially hazardous food (s.2(e)). Machines selling fresh or perishable food are different. Fraser Health covers Burnaby, and Vancouver Coastal Health covers Richmond.
  • Your lease or strata. A machine in a shared lobby or corridor usually needs the landlord, property manager or strata council to agree.

This is general information, not legal advice.

How it works with VendFynd

A machine is only as good as whoever services it, so the point of using VendFynd is the operator you end up with, and having someone on your side if they stop showing up.

  1. See if your site qualifies. Six questions online, then a 5-minute site check covering traffic, space and the outlet. We tell you honestly if it's unlikely to work.
  2. We match the operator that serves your area and has the right type of machine.
  3. You see the terms in writing and sign a placement sheet before anything is installed. Ours are published as the host terms: month to month, 30 days' notice, no-cost removal, and your people choose the menu. For any other offer, use our questions to ask before you sign.
  4. We stay your one contact. We reply within 1 business day and follow it through with the operator. If a problem isn't fixed promptly, we swap the operator or remove the machine at no cost.

To check your site against the operator criteria first, see the site-fit checklist. For whether you are likely to be offered commission, see vending machine commission in Canada. The full picture is in our guide to free vending machines for businesses.

Contact

VendFynd 23100 Garripie Ave, Richmond, BC, Canada Mahdi Dialden · Phone: (604) 332-8613 · Email: hello@vendfynd.com Serving Burnaby, Richmond and Metro Vancouver, British Columbia. Built by a vending locator with years of experience placing machines across the Lower Mainland.

See if your site qualifies

Sources

Last updated: September 26, 2026.

Frequently asked questions

Do you serve all of Burnaby and Richmond?

We work with vending operators who serve both cities, but each operator has its own service area and machine types. Tell us your address and we will tell you whether we have an operator for it. We don't promise coverage we can't confirm.

How long does it take to get a machine installed?

It depends on the operator, the machine type and your building's approvals, so we don't quote a standard timeline. The steps are a fit check, a site visit, written terms and then install. Approvals from a landlord or strata council are often the slowest part.

Can you place machines in industrial and warehouse units?

Often, yes. Warehouses and industrial units with shift workers and few food options nearby are among the sites operators look for. Burnaby's business centres and Richmond's industrial areas have many of them. Restocking access outside office hours is the main thing to sort out.

Is there any cost to my business?

It's $0 to you: the operator covers the machine, install, stocking, service and removal. You provide the spot, a power outlet and access, and the electricity, which is about what a commercial fridge uses, roughly $15–20 a month. If anyone asks your business for an upfront fee to place a machine, ask why.

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