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Kenco Millicano takes the coffee revolution away from home

Posted on by Sally

Kenco Millicano, the product that is revolutionising the instant coffee category in retail, is now available out of home.

This innovative new product combines a blend of premium freeze-dried instant coffee with finely-milled roast and ground coffee beans, delivering a taste that is closer to roast & ground with the convenience of an instant. This new segment of super premium coffee ‘ Wholebean Instant’ has really driven incremental growth not only for Kenco but also the pure soluble category in total. It’s availability in Away From Home now creates an opportunity for  operators to greatly enhance the taste and quality of coffee offering, without  compromise to convenience; and with the benefit of lower operational cost than  bean to cup.

Kenco Millicano will be available to operators in 300g vending bags for use in free standing and table top dispense machines; and comes with a support bundle of branded cups and decals and fascias. Kenco Millicano also forms part of the new 12oz Kenco2Go range.

Zoe Williams, Marketing Manager – Kenco Professional, said: “Kenco Millicano offers all the benefits of our standard freeze dried instant coffee:
sustainability, quality and convenience that our consumers already love, and adds in more whole bean taste to give a smoother, full bodied mouth feel. It’s our closest thing to ‘proper’ coffee in an instant.

“Already, Kenco Millicano has seen huge success in the retail market, and is now worth more than £13 million*. Our new product designed specifically for away from home operators is ideal for premium workplace, private healthcare, and small to medium leisure sites/hotels. Millicano offers the opportunity to offer a better quality coffee solution without compromising on operational convenience.”

Fridge vending machine lets you buy food without waiting in line

Posted on by Sally

The ShelfX Vending Fridge is a self-service machine that allows  customers to purchase products like beverages, fruit and sandwiches without  having to go up to the checkout. The company combines QR codes, RFID cards,  mobile apps and smart shelves to provide flexible food vending and inspire  further self-checkout strategies. Customers can use the ShelfX app (which stores  their account and payment information) to scan the fridge’s QR code with their  phone. This unlocks the door and lets them remove any items they want to buy. An  RFID-enabled XCard, which acts the same as the app, can also be scanned to open  the fridge.

The Vending Fridge knows the exact quantity and type of products that are  inside and figures out what the consumer removes from, or returns to, its  shelves. Through wireless communication, it then updates accounts and instantly  automates billing. All merchants have to do is keep the fridge stocked. The  system keeps track of stocks as they get low and sends monthly remittances to  shop owners with the revenue generated minus a fee that ShelfX keeps. The  Vending Fridge is aimed at hotels, retail stores, gyms, schools, libraries and  other locations where flexible food vending is needed.

Cantaloupe introduces Web-based Vending Management System

Posted on by Sally

Cantaloupe Systems is offering a cloud-hosted alternative to conventional vending management system (VMS) software. Seed Office is designed to make back-office work more efficient through easy-to-use report automation for commissions, sales tax, warehouse inventory, cash accountability and asset management, among other data critical to running a vending operation. Seed Office works on any device with a Web browser, including iPads.

Cantaloupe said it can now give vending operators a choice to integrate with their existing VMSs using SeedSync, a customizable integration tool, or to use Seed Office instead. With Seed Office, Cantaloupe’s Seed Platform now delivers telemetry, analytics, cashless and VMS — making it the only fully integrated solution to manage a vending operation, the San Francisco company claims.

The Seed Platform has been installed in more than 70,000 vending machines by hundreds of operators, according to Cantaloupe. The company’s product management director, Justin Grant, explained that some operators who use Seed products encouraged the development of a management software component. “The result was Seed Office,” he said, “an easy-to-deploy and easy-to-use solution that works with Seed Pro and Seed Cashless to manage all vending activities from a single Web browser.”

The Seed Platform gathers data from vending machines wirelessly over the Internet enabling “optimized scheduling” for maximum route and merchandising efficiencies. It processes real-time, item-level sales data. Seed also supports cashless transactions and mobile payments like Google Wallet. SeedSync, part of the platform, integrates collected data with vending management software packages, ensuring companywide information integrity. Seed Office is now available for operators who do not yet use a VMS or are looking for another system.

Kraft Diji-Taste vending machine to premiere at Las Vegas

Posted on by Sally

Kraft Foods Inc. and Intel Corp. have collaborated for two years to develop the high-tech Diji-Taste vending machine, which will make its debut this week at the National Automatic Merchandising Association’s OneShow in Las Vegas.

The interactive vender, second in a series that began with the Diji-Touch, is designed to engage multiple consumers with full-length LCD touchscreens on three sides of the machine. Another novel feature is optical facial-recognition technology and 3D cameras that centre the experience on the user and add an extra element of fun.

Kraft conceived the machine as a high-tech approach to sampling its product, and deployed a proof-of-concept model late last year. Called the iSample Experience, the pilot machine dispensed refrigerated single-serve samples of a mousse-like dessert, Temptations by Jell-O, the brand’s first product designed specifically for adults.  The machine uses a 3D digital camera to recognise the shape of the patron’s face. A computer processor then carries out a series of calculations based on measurements such as the distance between the eyes, nose and ears. These are used to determine the gender and age bracket of the shopper. Using this technology, the iSample machine enabled free vends only to the patrons it recognised as adults.

“The programme was very successful, generating more than four million impressions,” Kraft business development manager Frank Guzzone said. “We’re very excited by its reception by the end consumerand by the possibilities for more widespread use of the machines beyond sampling.” Diji-Taste’s elevator delivery system can accommodate a wide range of ambient and refrigerated products and package sizes.

Guzzone said operators can leverage its interactive features to attract more consumers, harness the power of social networking and generate a new revenue stream by running advertisements on its high-impact 46″ screens.  “With smartphones, the Internet and social media, we believe the vending industry is on fertile ground to use this technology to revive itself. Diji-Taste provides a virtual experience to interact with the end user, and the possibilities are limitless.”

“We will work with operators on a case-by-case basis,” said Guzzone. “We are still defining the model and looking for ways to share revenue with the operator. We need to make sure that when we expand, we can sustain it and continue to develop it. The industry needs to bring more traffic to machines.”

Guzzone added that the Diji-Touch machine is being tested in Australia and the United Kingdom, and that Kraft expects to expand the programme as a global initiative during 2013.

The vender, manufactured by Crane Co., features an embedded networked  computer and 46″ Samsung LCD touchscreen display. The graphics software enables users to view the product, its details and complete product nutrition information on a virtual cube, simply by touching its onscreen icon to rotate it 360°. The machines also are designed to display interactive advertising. Banner advertisements stream across the top of the screen, and full-screen ads appear when the machine is not in use.

How Crane plans to revitalise vending

Posted on by Sally

Crane Merchandising Systems will unveil a new vending machine platform at the National Automatic Merchandising Association’s OneShow this month in Las Vegas. The line features integrated cashless payment capability, wireless and Ethernet network access and contemporary user interface options, all “right out of the box.”

The next-generation line of snack, cold beverage and food venders will be marketed under the “Media” brand. The series has been conceived to chart a new course in machine design that will deliver a more engaging, rewarding and reliable customer experience.

“The solution is long overdue,” said Tom Edwards, Crane Merchandising Systems vice-president of global food and beverage initiatives. “It answers a need by being built around the consumer, who has never been linked into the equation effectively.”

The new vending platform is the culmination of three years of development inspired by NAMA research that identified lack of consumer confidence in vending as a root cause of declines in same-store sales in recent years. Consumers cited high product cost, low value, worn and dirty machines and the lack of cashless acceptance, among factors that deterred them from using vending machines.

Crane’s Media machines are designed to turn heads and draw consumers with sleek, modern styling highlighted by a high-impact LED lighting scheme, which conveys high technology.

In the vanguard of the new line are the Merchant Media snack vender and BevMax Media drink machine. Both have larger cabinet footprints than their predecessors, permitting increased product variety to spur incremental sales. The added capacity also allows for more inventory on site, reducing out-of-stocks and service visits.

The new snack machines can support up to 50% more spirals than standard five-wide models, and the beverage venders can accommodate 10 additional selections, amounting to 80 more bottles of additional inventory. Both variations offer powerful product presentation through a wide glass front.

A new delivery door on the Merchant Media is one of several key consumer-focused improvements. When the user pushes the door downward, the bottom of the bin elevates to present the purchased product in full view, eliminating the need to fish around in a dark bin to retrieve a purchase.

The new BevMax Media uses the theatrical appeal of an XY-positioning robotic arm to conveniently deliver cold drinks, upright and in full view, through a newly designed delivery port.

Dissolvable wrapper lets you drink your instant coffee & the packaging

Posted on by Sally

MonoSol has found a smart way to reduce plastic waste by creating  water-soluble wrappers. What this essentially means is that you can conveniently  dissolve the content along with the packaging in water. It’s perfect for instant  food and drinks like hot chocolate, coffee, oatmeal, and soup.

The dissovable film is transparent and looks like plastic. It’s safe to  consume, biodegradable, and flavours can even be added. The company has produced  other water-soluble products such as clothing, pesticides and detergents.

Starbucks unveils a Red Bull competitor with green coffee extract

Posted on by Sally

Starbucks plans to enter Red Bull territory and make its mark on the on the $8 billion energy drink category. Announced  yesterday during its annual meeting in Seattle, the world’s largest coffee chain  plans to roll out Starbucks  Refreshers. The new line of natural, carbonated drinks consist of fruit  juice, anti-oxidants and unroasted, green coffee extract for an energy boost  (without the coffee taste).

The 12-ounce cans contain 60 calories and are available at select retailers,  with a full release at Starbucks, grocery, and convenience stores in April. The  drink comes in three flavours: raspberry pomegranate, orange melon and strawberry  lemonade. It will be interesting to see if Starbucks can compete with the major  players.

Kienna Coffee launches pod adapter for Keurig Brewers

Posted on by Sally

Kienna Coffee, a Canadian coffee roaster, is rolling out an adapter for Keurig brewers that enables use of its biodegradable pods in the single-cup machines.

Keurig users pinch the pod to compress its sides and place it inside the KiennaKUP adapter basket and close the lid. They then insert the adapter into the Keurig brewer as they would a K-Cup. The machine’s spray nozzle pierces the pod’s dome. When the user presses the “brew” button, the machine instantly forces preheated water through the pod, brewing a cup of coffee. The reusable adapter is dishwasher safe and BPA free. Kienna Coffee has more than 20 varieties of coffee pods, available in 18- or 50-count packs.