NORTHFIELD, Ill. – This month, Kraft Food and its partners have begun beta-testing interactive vending machines, Marketing Daily reports. The touchscreen machines give consumers the option of immediate ingredient and nutrition information, while providing marketers the ability to show animated, video and interactive commercials and customized promotions.

Developed by Samsung, Crane Merchandising Systems and Kraft, the Diji-Touch machines have been placed by Next Generation Vending and Foodservice, Inc., at healthcare campuses, transportation facilities, and colleges and universities in and around Boston. The machines stock Kraft/Nabisco snacks and other leading brand candy and snacks.

A 46-inch Samsung LCD touchscreen panel replaces the usual glass front, with the addition of an embedded networked computer and Bluetooth capabilities for mobile downloads. The top of the screen displays banner ads while full-screen advertisements are shown when the machine is idle.

Customers touch the screen to display rotating, 360-degree graphics of products and view ingredient and nutrition data. More than one item can be bought at a time with payment by credit card or cash. A computer keeps track of all transactions and interactions to help with inventory control.

The Kraft machine is similar to Coca-Cola’s Freestyle beverage machine. Kraft’s testing will continue over several months with Nielsen conducting consumer interviews to gather additional information about the machines, said Mike Miller, director of marketing services for Kraft Foodservice.