Decide your happiness with a mobile phone? The super-popular "Happiness Snack Vending Machine" at the Taipei Bakery Show

▲ What kind of happiness do you want? This year's Taipei Bakery & Gourmet Food Exhibition poses a happiness choice question to the public with the "Happiness Snack Vending Machine." (Photo / Reporter Tsai Wen-jun)

Reported by Tsai Wen-jun / Taipei

Is happiness a choice? The "2014 Taipei Bakery & Gourmet Food Exhibition," which opened on the 11th, not only lets you choose — but offers up to 20 kinds of happiness to pick from. In addition to gathering 114 popular queue-worthy shops from all over Taiwan, this year’s bakery exhibition also introduced a Happiness Snack Vending Machine. Visitors can simply scan a QR code with their smartphones to receive a free snack that they feel best represents happiness.

This year’s Taipei Bakery & Gourmet Food Exhibition not only features many creative pineapple cakes and nougat products, but also poses a happiness choice question to the public. A total of 20 happiness snacks representing various cities and counties—including Taipei’s mung bean treats, Chiayi’s square crackers, and Pingtung’s sakura shrimp crackers—have been gathered and featured in a Happiness Snack Vending Machine at the exhibition. Visitors can scan the QR code of the desired product with their smartphones to receive a free snack. This creative approach has attracted many visitors and become one of the highlights of the event.

A reporter visited the exhibition site and found a constant stream of people at the Happiness Snack Vending Machine. The manufacturer responsible for designing the vending machine explained that their concept was to allow people to go out without needing to carry a wallet or an EasyCard—simply scanning with a mobile phone allows them to easily obtain a product. At the same time, visitors can vote for their idea of a happiness snack through the vending machine, with the voting results to be announced on the 13th to see which city or county’s snack brings the most happiness to the public.

▲ By scanning a QR code with their mobile phones, visitors can get free products. The novel experience has drawn a continuous crowd to the vending machine. (Photo / Reporter Hsiao Wan-ning)