Automatic Merchandiser

FEB-MAR 2017

Automatic Merchandiser serves the business management, marketing, technology and product information needs of its readers including vending operators, coffee service operators, product brokers, and product and equipment distributors in print.

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"There are ways to do it," Deitchler said. The cold brew launch is planned for Summer of 2017. In many places cold brew is so well established, it's available in many forms. For offices in New York, Friedman offers a range of cold brew options. "People who want cold brew have a passion for it," said Friedman. That is why Coffee Distributing Corp. carries five different kinds of cold brew. The majority of it's cold brew is sold in large kegs that go into a kegerator with nitro. However, Fried- man has seen a surge in the ready-to- drink cold brew options the company offers, both in single serve and half gallon containers. In South Carolina, Steve Bailey decided to get ahead of the curve and start offering cold brew this past year. "We offer cold brew as a 4-ounce fil- ter pack," said Bailey. The location makes the cold brew themselves in a 64-ounce pitcher with the filter pack, and keeps it in the refrigerator for employees. Bailey admits sales have been slow, but the interest is there. 5. Bean-to-cup with digital screens "Bean-to-cup is a revolu- tion," explained Deitchler. He sees that customers don't want to buy from coffee vending machines any- more. The experience is too passive — putting in money and getting one type of coffee. "They like the inter- action with the brewer," he said. The most popular bean-to-cup cof- fee brewer he places has 34 different drink options. Chapman also sees the consumer driving a more digital experience in bean-to-cup brewing. "We're pushing equipment suppliers to include digital touch screens on all their higher end equipment," he said. "I believe this is how consumers expect our equip- ment to be equipped based on how important the cell phone and ipad has become in their daily lives. Adding advanced technological capabilities to a brewer has benefits for the operator too. The new bean- to-cup machines with Wi-Fi have been a win for Friedman. Not only do the customers love crafting their own espresso or coffee-based bever- age, but the ability to send messages back to the warehouse has really increased the company's level of ser- vice. "It sends an error code, " said Friedman, "so we know the machine needs attention from us." He sees this becoming increasingly important for both efficiency, but also to improve service to those accounts. OCS is a thriving business driven by the evolving consumer preference for coffee drinks. OCS operators need to consider how best to adjust their service and product mix to match. As Deitchler said, "Regular coffee drinkers are regular coffee drinkers. To grow and stay in business we have to reach more people and that means figuring out how to offer more." 36 Automatic Merchandiser VendingMarketWatch.com February/March 2017 O F F I C E C O F F E E S E R V I C E Make it count for something more Royal Cup has launched a cause coffee initiative that has been very popular with its customers. "We have partnered with the NeverThirst organization to fund freshwater projects in South Sudan, Sudan, India, Cambodia and Nepal," said Howard Chap- man, president of the office beverage division for Royal Cup, Inc. "As a result, we have refreshed our Roar Pod line-up, added whole bean Roar options (for bean-to-cup machines) and begun communicating the part- nership impact on the digital screens of our customers who use Roar." SALES BECOME DONATIONS For every serving of Roar coffee consumed, two cents is donated to NeverThirst in the customer's name. "These funds will then be used to complete projects for which our customers get recognized," continued Chap- man. "Based on the current run rate, it appears that the first year impact will be well into six figures." To see the work of NeverThirst visit http://www.neverthirstwa- ter.org/index.htm.

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