Local entrepreneur Harrison Baer has always been a big fan of surprise.
“Growing up, whenever someone asked me what I want to eat or drink, I’d always say ‘Surprise me,'” he said. “And I was always more satisfied with whatever I got than if I’d already predetermined what I wanted. I’ve always wanted to try new things, expand my horizons. Then one day I realized maybe I’m not the only person who thinks that way.”
His business, Mystery Machine, has placed several vending machines all around the Cincinnati area. Guests who step up to the machine might be a little confused at first glance: There are no specific choices, and you won’t know what kind of soda you’ll get until it pops out.
Put your cash in, and you could end up with an orange mango guava drink from Taiwan, or a rare flavor of Mountain Dew that’s no longer in production. With these machines, it’s all about the excitement of the unknown.
While Baer always wanted to run a business, he didn’t have any concrete plans until recently. As one of ten homeschooled siblings from Chicago, he majored in political economy with a minor in history at a local university—”a degree I didn’t end up using in the slightest”—and planned to stay in the area until his family members all moved to Cincinnati.
He followed suit and began working odd jobs all over the Queen City: a gym employee, a videographer, a car salesman. Two years ago, the idea for a mystery box soda vending machine came to Baer during a regular workday, and he was “naive enough” to think he could follow through with the concept.
“If I knew how much work it would actually take, I don’t think I would’ve done it,” he said, laughing.
After searching around on Facebook Marketplace, he enlisted his siblings to help him retrieve a 1998 vending machine he paid $500 for and get to work on repairing it.
“There was no card scanner. It only took $1 bills. Two of the options were broken. I had to wire it shut with a homemade lock,” he said. “It wasn’t the prettiest thing in the world, but all I needed to see was if people appreciated the concept enough for me to keep going.”
He set up the machine with a couple of options: domestic cans, caffeine-free cans, energy drinks, kids’ drinks, sugar-free cans, and (the most popular choice) international drinks. Then, he presented the concept to nine different local businesses and was turned down before the Norwood Delite Creamy Whip gave him a chance.
The machine was an immediate success on the first day, and other businesses started contacting Baer about getting their own Mystery Machine. Good thing, too, because that janky vending machine from 1998 broke permanently just two months after he set it up.
“We did our best to make it look nice, but it was an old and dying machine,” he said. “I always tell people it did the job I needed it to do, which was to let me know that this idea could work.”
In October 2024, he was featured in a segment on local news station FOX19, and that’s when things really started to take off. Soon after, Amazon Studios contacted him to appear on The Blox, a reality competition show on Prime Video where entrepreneurs duke it out to have their business ideas funded by the billion-dollar corporation. While Baer didn’t win, he received “invaluable” advice on the series from more seasoned businessmen that “helped propel me into the spot I’m in now.”
There are now four different Mystery Machines in the Greater Cincinnati area. In addition to a new-and-improved machine at the Norwood Delite Creamy Whip, there’s one in Union, KY at Dreamie’s Ice Cream, one in the outdoor mall Liberty Center north of the city, and one just-opened vending machine at Al’s Delicious Popcorn in Over-the-Rhine. A fifth is already on the way, though he can’t reveal where just yet.
The newer Mystery Machines have even more options: while domestic, caffeine-free, energy drinks, kids’ drinks, sugar-free, and international drinks are still options, there’s also diet cans, sparkling drinks, a ‘total mystery’ option, and a button for Coca-Cola because “sometimes you just need a Coke.” Between all four machines combined, there are over 1,000 different options for consumers to try.
His ultimate goal is to appear on Shark Tank, his favorite television series, and then put a Mystery Machine in every state. Mostly, though, he just wants to make people happy.
“The older you get, the more it just seems like you’re doing the same thing day in, day out. Not switching things up, just living on this flatlined cycle each day,” he said. “That’s something that got to me, and I think the Mystery Machine can help undo that. Not that it’s a major change, but it’s a small thing that can bring some excitement to your day and a smile to your face.”
He emphasized the social aspect of the machines, noting that plenty of customers have visited with large groups and taken videos of them swapping drinks back and forth to post on social media.
“You get to try something new with your friends and experience what the world has to offer you instead of just being stuck in your ways, and … it kind of sets you free,” he said. “For me, it’s all about bringing joy to people’s lives.”