A pair of vending machines in Toronto's upscale Yorkville neighbourhood are offering cufflinks and baked goods to casual passers-by looking for a taste of sugar and a touch of style.

The cufflink and baked goods vending machines made their side-by-side debuts in Yorkville's Cumberland Terrace Mall earlier this month, where they're already causing a stir among shoppers. The unexpected pairing of pastries and fashion accessories comes from two Toronto-based companies, BakeryHaus and Cuffwear, who hope to spread their venture elsewhere if the Yorkville experiment works out.

Cuffwear president Chris Zownir says the high-tech, touchscreen-enabled vending machines are a "fun user experience," and far more advanced than the typical candy bar dispenser.

"The machine is made in Italy, it's a very sexy-looking machine, and so I think people are just drawn over by the appearance of it," Zownir told CTVNews.ca by phone on Wednesday.

The Cuffwear vending machine has 42 cufflink styles on display in a purple LED-lit glass display case. Customers use a touchscreen interface to pick the cufflinks they want, then charge the purchase ($65 per pair) to their credit card. The machine uses a mechanical tray to retrieve the pre-gift-wrapped cufflinks and deposit them to the customer.

Zownir says it made a lot of sense to put cufflinks in a vending machine. The one-size-fits-all, often-changed (and easily lost) fashion accessories are a hot item among fashion-forward men.

"Guys that love wearing cufflinks, it's just an easy fit," Zownir said. He added that he's also seen many women use the vending machine to buy cufflinks as gifts for the men in their lives.

But you don't need to have a dress shirt to enjoy the other vending machine. With treats starting at $2.50 a piece, the BakeryHaus vending machine offers a wide range of donuts, cronuts and macaroons from the bakery’s European-style menu.

And while Zownir acknowledges the oddity of pairing cufflinks with baked goods, he says it's actually worked to his advantage. He says the broad appeal of the baked goods gets people looking at the two machines, and helps build his Cuffwear brand with the visibility.

"It can only help bring attention to the Cuffwear machine," he said. "What's better than eating a nice Nutella-filled donut while shopping for cufflinks?"

 

No time to get cuff links or go to the bakery? There's a vending machine for that.

A photo posted by E.rock H (@ewh1) on