Have You Seen Boro Box? The Smart Cooler Is Not Your Average Vending Machine

MARLBOROUGH, MA — A lifelong Marlborough resident debuted a new business, bringing high-tech vending machines to the town.

Boro Box is a modern, smart cooler with tons of food and beverage options that are popping up in local schools and sporting facilities. The business's founder, Michael Blair, came up with the idea of offering better, more convenient vending options to replace the outdated machines that have been around for decades.

"I'm at sports facilities with my kids all the time... everywhere you go, you see these old broken down machines with terrible options," Blair told Patch. "I said to myself, there has got to be something better out there to replace things... something that brings convenience instead of frustration."

Boro Box looks like a modern refrigerator, except it has a credit card reader on the front and unlocks once you tap a card. It's a grab-and-go experience, Blair said, you can take whatever you want, and it'll charge your card appropriately.

Blair told Patch there are 10 Boro Boxes so far around Marlborough and other neighboring communities.

The machine is in almost every school in the city, Blair said, with the first official machine debuting in November at his alma mater, Richer Elementary School for teachers there.

"Their break rooms deserve to be, you know, need to be reflective of the efforts that they give every day to our kids," Blair said. "In my opinion, it's an amenity every school should have for their staff when they need a pick-me-up."

A Look Inside The Boro Box

What's inside the Boro Box varies by customer.

For teachers, Blair said the Boro Box will offer energy drinks, like Alani and Bloom, cold brew coffees, or snacks like chips, dill pickles, hummus, pretzels and protein bars.

Before Boro Box, some teachers in Marlborough had been ordering drinks and snacks during the school day through delivery services like DoorDash, according to Blair.

Meanwhile, at a local sporting facility, you could find water, Gatorade, candy and gum inside the Boro Box.

Blair added that all of the coolers are customizable, so if a business wanted a logo or design on its outside, Boro Box will take care of it.

Room For Expansion

Blair told Patch that he would love to see Boro Boxes in corporate offices and maybe even local hospitals.

Right now, it's just Blair and a partner running the business. He said his kids help out as well, but eventually he could use some more hands.

"I went to business school, but I've always been in corporate America," Blair told Patch. "Starting a business is an emotional roller coaster, it's not easy... It's something that I never really imagined doing, but it has been a lot of fun."

The Marlborough Economic Development Council helped Boro Box get started by supplying the business with a Marlborough Area Community Loan Fund, which is exclusively for the development and expansion of businesses in the city.

Blair said the loan has helped out immensely, and the business couldn't have started without them.

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