ICDC 2025 Highlights: How School Store Vending Prepares Students for the Real World
Spirit Box had an incredible showing at ICDC 2025! As proud sponsors of the DECA Sales Project and longtime DECA National Advisory Board members, we’re passionate about helping students gain real-world entrepreneurial experience through school store vending machines.
Philip Baird, Spirit Box owner presents 1st Place Award for DECA’s Sales Project Competitive Event to Christian Ackerman, Mallory Gipson and Davyon Williamson from Lima Senior High School, Ohio Tuesday, April 29th in Orlando, Florida.
Thousands of students, educators, and advisors stopped by to meet our team, grab our collectible Spirit Box pins, and learn more about using vending machines for schools as a way to build student-led businesses. Here’s a full recap—and how your school can bring the Spirit Box experience to life year-round.
Booth Buzz: Hands-On Learning and Instant Connection
One thing was clear: students love the idea of running a business they can actually manage themselves. Throughout the conference, we heard dozens of success stories from students already using Spirit Box for fundraising, entrepreneurship competitions, and school-based enterprises.
Proud Sponsor of the DECA Sales Project
This year, Spirit Box was honored to sponsor the Sales Project Competitive Event. Students showed incredible creativity in their marketing pitches, promotional strategies, and business plans—skills that align perfectly with managing a school store vending machine on campus.
Our CEO, Philip Baird, presented awards to the Top 3 finalists, recognizing students who will take real-world business leadership into their futures.
Why Spirit Box Works for Student Entrepreneurs
If you want to help students develop true entrepreneurial skills, and not just classroom theory, Spirit Box is the perfect tool.
Here’s why:
Students manage inventory, sales, and marketing through hands-on experience
Built-in school store vending curriculum available through Spirit Box Academy
Fundraising without constant staff involvement
Students learn budgeting, promotions, team management, and leadership
Perfect for DECA, FBLA, CTE programs, and student-led fundraising groups
Bonus? 100% of profits stay with your school or chapter!
Gold Standard: DECA SBE Gold Certification
Several Spirit Box teams earned Gold Certified School-Based Enterprise (SBE) honors this year!
Spirit Box’s easy-to-manage system gives students a strong foundation for creating a profitable, sustainable school store vending machine model that meets DECA’s SBE Gold Certification standards.
Want your chapter to go for gold? Spirit Box’s training tools and year-round support make it easy to build a competitive SBE portfolio.
What's Next: Set Your Students Up for Success
Ready to help students launch their own business experience next school year? Now is the best time to get started!
Machines ordered by June 30th can be fully installed and stocked before the back-to-school rush—giving students time to:
Plan their marketing and sales strategies
Stock the school store vending machine with exciting products
