Print Mates, Vons to pilot photo printing kiosks

• Vons, a division of the Albertsons Companies, has agreed to pilot Print Mates™ kiosks in select Vons stores in Southern California while the companies consider a broader agreement.

• Albertsons is one of the largest grocery, food and drug retailers in the United States operating in 34 states, under 20 well-known banners including Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, and more than a dozen others.

SAN DIEGO, CA, May 22, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — via NEWMEDIAWIRE — Generation NEXT Franchise Brands, Inc. (OTCQB: VEND) announced today that Vons, a division of Albertsons Companies, one of the largest grocery, food, and drug retailers in the United States and recently-acquired, Generation Next subsidiary, Print Mates™ have agreed to pilot Print Mates™ photo printing kiosks in select stores in Southern California.

The pilot phase will measure consumer engagement and response to the Print Mates™ kiosks, designed to reinvent the premium-quality photo printing experience by making it fast, fun, and inexpensive to get your photos “out of your phone and into your home.”

Print Mates™ easy-to-use, touchscreen kiosks are promising to close the loop on the consumer photo lifecycle, allowing customers to instantly, easily and cost-effectively print high-quality photos directly from their smartphones or favorite social media and cloud storage accounts.  Consumers can also conveniently order decor and other photo products, gifts and accessories ranging from frames, posters, jumbo-sized prints and fridge magnets to beautiful canvas and wood prints and have them conveniently shipped to their home with just a few taps.

In addition, Print Mates™ latest feature – instant passport photos – are expected to prove popular, particularly in the pilot markets of California.

Albertsons Companies has proven time and again, its willingness to engage the latest technology in forward-thinking ways that improve customers’ shopping experience.  From deploying the latest in artificial intelligence technology from Microsoft to offer its customers new and transformative experiences to piloting IBM’s Food Trust blockchain technology to improve how food is traced from farm to store shelf, Albertsons Companies is leading the grocery and supermarket segment into the future.

As one of the largest grocery, food and drug retailers in the United States serving 34 million customers per week from its more than 2,300 supermarkets in 34 states operating under 20 well-known banners including Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, and more than a dozen others, the pilot program represents an incredible opportunity for Print Mates™ and Generation Next, according to the company’s CEO, Nick Yates.

“We couldn’t be more excited at this opportunity to pilot Print Mates™ with Vons.  It is an honor to work with one of America’s largest and most diverse grocery and supermarket conglomerates.  Vons is a market leader in its embrace of technology that improves customers’ experiences, and to have such a company take interest in our product and our technology is gratifying, to say the least.  We are looking forward to a successful pilot that can further our relationship and see Print Mates™ deployed to more stores in the future,” Yates said.

“Albertsons Companies is always looking for ways to offer our shoppers more convenient services from our stores.  We are a company that embraces technology that empowers our customers and provides them with amazing in-store experiences.  We are eager and optimistic to see how Print Mates ™ performs in our Vons stores during this pilot,” said Jenny Crandall, Director of Front End Operations for Albertsons and Vons in Southern California.

About Print Mates ™

Print Mates™ was formed by a team of entrepreneurs, engineers, and photography professionals in San Diego that are on a mission to reinvent the premium-quality photo printing experience by making it fast, fun, and inexpensive to get your photos “out of your phone and into your hand” with the Print Mates™ Kiosk – and creating a golden opportunity for retailers in the process.

Print Mates’™ easy-to-use, proprietary touchscreen kiosks are promising to close the loop on the consumer photo lifecycle, as well as drive much-needed foot traffic to traditional brick-and-mortar businesses ranging from supermarkets, grocery and drug stores to big-box retailers, shopping malls, family fun centers, and more.

Customers love using the Print Mates™ Kiosk because they can instantly, easily and cost-effectively print high-quality photos directly from their smartphones or through their favorite social media (Facebook, Instagram, Google Photos, Dropbox and Flickr) photo sharing, or cloud storage accounts in six different sizes of prints in just seconds.

The company began a nationwide expansion in 2019 by offering business owners and forward-thinking retailers across the country an opportunity to participate in an emerging multibillion-dollar industry.

Print Mates™ Kiosks and ever-expanding product line of photographic decor, gifts, prints, and accessories are proudly Made in the USA.
www.printmates.com

About Generation NEXT Franchise Brands, Inc.

Generation NEXT Franchise Brands, Inc., based in San Diego, California, is a publicly traded company on the OTC Markets trading under the symbol OTCBB: VEND. Generation NEXT Franchise Brands, Inc. is parent company to Reis and Irvy’s Inc and Print Mates Inc.
www.gennextbrands.com

About Albertsons Companies

Albertsons Companies is one of the largest food and drug retailers in the United States, with both a strong local presence and national scale. We operate stores across 34 states, and the District of Columbia under 20 well-known banners including Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco, Shaw’s, Acme, Tom Thumb, Randalls, United Supermarkets, Pavilions, Star Market, Haggen, and Carrs, as well as meal kit company Plated based in New York City. Albertsons Companies is committed to helping people across the country live better lives by making a meaningful difference, neighborhood by neighborhood. In 2018 alone, along with the Albertsons Companies Foundation, the company gave $262 million in food and financial support. These efforts helped millions of people in the areas of hunger relief, education, cancer research and treatment, programs for people with disabilities and veterans outreach.