Smart vending hardware
Choose the box by the space. The brain comes standard.
8Kava makes smart vending hardware in eight formats, from a $349 module that connects a machine you already own to a 160 sq ft walk-in store. Every unit reports to Kava OS, buffers 72 hours of transactions offline, and can be bought outright or run on a monthly VaaS term.
- formats on one platform
- 8formats on one platform
- offline buffering on every device
- 72 hoffline buffering on every device
- VaaS entry price, Kava Kiosk K1
- $99/moVaaS entry price, Kava Kiosk K1
Eight formats, from a hallway nook to a parking space
Smart Coolers
Tap, open, take. Edge cameras and per-shelf load cells charge for exactly what left the shelf. $5,900 or $189/mo.
Smart Vending Machines
40 selections behind glass, a 21.5" touchscreen and guaranteed vend: no drop detected, automatic refund. $6,700 or $209/mo.
Micro-Market Kiosks
Self-checkout for open shelves that scans barcodes and recognizes a loose apple or a croissant by sight. $2,900 or $99/mo.
Autonomous Micro-Stores
A 160 sq ft walk-in store with up to 700 SKUs across ambient, chilled and frozen zones. Typically open in 6 weeks.
Smart Lockers
Heated, refrigerated and ambient compartments for meal pickup, online orders and laptop loaners. 18-door bank from $7,400.
Kava Link Retrofit
Connects a legacy machine's MDB bus and DEX port to Kava OS. $349 per machine, median install 22 minutes.
PPE & Industrial
A badge-operated coil and locker cabinet with per-role limits, per-shift limits and cost-center billing. $9,800 or $299/mo.
Outdoor & Solar
An IP55 weatherized cooler rated −22 °F to 113 °F, with an optional 800 W solar canopy for sites with no grid power.
Which box fits which site
Start from what people need and how much space and trust the site offers. Prices are purchase / VaaS per month.
| Format | Best when | Space it needs | Capacity | Buy / VaaS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kava Cooler C2 | Fresh food and drinks, any hour, mixed crowd | 30" W × 32" D, standard 115 V outlet | Up to 240 items on 5 shelves | $5,900 / $189 |
| Kava Cooler C2-XL | A single cooler sells out between visits | 54" W × 32" D, standard 115 V outlet | Up to 480 items | $8,400 / $259 |
| Kava Vend V4 | Packaged snacks and drinks, heavy traffic, no supervision | 39" W × 35" D | 40 selections, optional chilled zone | $6,700 / $209 |
| Kava Kiosk K1 | A trusted crowd and a breakroom with shelves | Countertop or pedestal | Whatever your fixtures hold | $2,900 / $99 |
| Kava Box B160 | The site needs a real store, not a cabinet | 160 sq ft, power and a level pad | Up to 700 SKUs, ambient to frozen | From $64,000 / from $1,790 |
| Kava Lockers LX-18 | Meals or orders are prepared elsewhere and picked up here | Modules of 6, 12 or 18 compartments | 18 compartments in the base bank | $7,400 / $229 |
| Kava PPE P1 | PPE needs limits, cost centers and a log | Hybrid coil and locker cabinet | Gloves, glasses, earplugs, respirators, small tools | $9,800 / $299 |
| Kava Outdoor O1 | Outdoors, with or without grid power | Anchored base; solar canopy optional | Weatherized smart cooler | $11,900 / $349 |
| Kava Link L2 | You already own machines that still work | Behind the bill validator panel | Your machine's existing capacity | $349 / included on VaaS fleets |
VaaS is a 36-month term that includes hardware, Kava OS Pro and service. On purchased hardware, Kava OS is billed separately from $19 per device per month. The SC-800 solar canopy for the O1 adds $6,200 or $159/mo.
Start with the space and the hours, not the model number.
Most format mistakes are made in a brochure. They should be made in the hallway. Before we recommend anything, Site Intelligence measures who passes a spot, when they pass, how long they stand still and what else feeds them nearby.
Then three questions do most of the work. Does the site need fresh food, or are packaged snacks enough? Is the crowd stable enough for open shelves, or does it need a locking door? Is the food made somewhere else and picked up here, or chosen off a shelf?
- Fresh food, mixed crowd, any hour: a Kava Cooler with a locking door.
- Packaged snacks and drinks with heavy traffic: a Kava Vend V4.
- A trusted crowd and a breakroom with shelves: a Kava Kiosk K1.
- Meals cooked elsewhere and eaten here: Kava Lockers with heated modules.
- A legacy machine that still holds temperature: a Kava Link, not a new machine.
Different boxes. Same plumbing.
One console
Telemetry, planograms, pricing and reports for every format in one Kava OS console and one mobile app.
72 hours offline
If the network drops, sales keep going. Every device buffers 72 hours of transactions and syncs when the connection returns.
Your processor, or ours
Bring your own processor at no markup, or use Kava Pay at interchange-plus 0.35% + $0.05. Shoppers never pay a convenience fee.
Built to be repaired
Camera, lock and compute boards are modular. A technician swaps a board on site instead of hauling a cabinet back to a shop.
R290 refrigeration
Every refrigerated unit uses R290 natural refrigerant. Adaptive compressor scheduling cuts energy per refrigerated unit by 19%.
Products, not people
Our cameras look at what left the shelf. No images of faces are stored or sent. Details on Security & Trust.
Buy the hardware, or pay for it by the month
| Compare | Buy outright | Vending-as-a-Service |
|---|---|---|
| Up front | The hardware price, e.g. $5,900 for a Kava Cooler C2 | $0 |
| Every month | Kava OS: $19 Core, $39 Pro or $69 Autopilot per device | One fee per unit, e.g. $189 for a C2 |
| Software | Any plan, 15% off with annual billing | Kava OS Pro included |
| Service | Your technicians, or 8Kava field service scoped in your quote | |
| Term | None; monthly software plans have no long-term contract | 36 months |
| At the end | You own the hardware | Renew, or the unit returns to our refurbish-and-redeploy program |
| Best for | Operators with their own routes and technicians | Location hosts who want an amenity, not an asset |
Worked example for one Kava Cooler C2 over 36 months: buying costs $5,900 plus $1,404 for Kava OS Pro billed monthly, before service, and you keep the cooler. VaaS costs $6,804 in total with service included, and the cooler goes back for refurbishment.
What the hardware does once it's connected
You're not buying for your site at noon. You're buying for it at 2 a.m.
Walk the building at the hour nobody plans for. Who is there, what are they carrying, and how long can they stop? A loading dock at shift change wants a machine that never eats a dollar. A nurse on a short break wants a cooler that opens on the first tap. A lobby full of deliveries wants lockers, not shelves. The hardware question mostly answers itself once you have seen the room at its emptiest.
Hardware questions buyers ask first
Can I mix formats at one site?
Yes, and many sites should. A cooler for fresh food beside a V4 for snacks, or open shelves with a K1 and a locking cooler for meals, all report to one Kava OS account and settle to one processor. The distribution center in our PPE case study runs dispensers, coolers and a kiosk side by side.
Do I need Kava OS to run 8Kava hardware?
Yes. Kava OS is what turns the cabinet into a store: payments, telemetry, pricing and reconciliation. Plans start at $19 per device per month, and every VaaS fee includes Kava OS Pro.
What power and network does the hardware need?
Kava Coolers plug into a standard 115 V outlet and connect over LTE Cat-4, Wi-Fi 6 or Ethernet. Kava Link draws under 2 W from the machine's own MDB power and connects over LTE-M/NB-IoT with Wi-Fi fallback. A Kava Box needs power and a level pad, and a Kava Outdoor O1 can run without grid power on the SC-800 solar canopy.
Should I retrofit my machines or replace them?
If a machine still vends reliably and holds temperature, retrofit it first. A $349 Kava Link adds telemetry, remote pricing and cashless passthrough, and retrofitted machines average 18% more revenue in their first 90 days. The retrofit vs. replace guide walks through the math.
Where to go next
Send us a floor plan. We'll send back a format.
Tell us the space, the hours and who uses it. We'll recommend the hardware and the placement, with both the purchase and the VaaS numbers.