Published: Thursday, July 14, 2011
New soda machine goes high-tech
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Todd Sumlin / Charlotte Observer
Liz McSwain dispenses a drink from the Freestyle machine at Taco Mac in Charlotte, N.C. The machine can dispense about 125 different combinations of Coke products. Some Taco Time restaurants in the Seattle area also have the machines.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- If you thought cable TV offered too many choices when it started displacing the big three broadcast networks, the newest Coca-Cola Freestyle soda machines probably aren't for you.
The Freestyle machine is billed as the "Fountain of the Future," a touch-screen, Wi-Fi-enabled, tracking-chip-equipped, soda-dispensing gizmo designed by automaker Ferrari. It uses medication-dosing technology to create some 125 Coca-Cola products, many of which, like Orange Coke and Vanilla Sprite Zero, aren't available in bottles anywhere.
"This is a really big innovation in the fountain business," said John Sicher, publisher of the trade publication Beverage Digest. "No one has anything comparable."
Soda fountains in restaurants represent about a quarter of the $74 billion U.S. soft drink market, Sicher said. Coca-Cola controls about 70 percent of the soda fountain business, but faces increased competition from convenience stores and other outlets that offer huge drink selections.
"Restaurant customers like McDonald's are interested in being more of a beverage destination and competing better with convenience stores," Sicher said. The Freestyle machine lets them compete without installing a wall of coolers.
Besides giving consumers a dizzying array of drink options, the machines provide restaurateurs and Coca-Cola with an unprecedented level of information. They offer statistics on exactly which drinks are being ordered -- and how much, and when. The machines display that information to business owners and transmit it to Coca-Cola headquarters in Atlanta every day.
Coca-Cola marketing manager Dan Redler said the company could use that information to develop new products, based on the machine's most popular drinks.
The machines have been in development for five years, Redler said. They're now available in some 54 markets, including Seattle, and are slowly rolling out to others as Coca-Cola trains maintenance personnel to service them. The machines are manufactured by Coca-Cola at the company's Atlanta facilities and leased to restaurants. There are about 800 of the machines in operation now, a fraction of the total number of soda fountains.
If the humble soda fountain were the Wright Brothers' plane, the Freestyle machine would be an F-16 fighter jet. Instead of the five-gallon bags of flavor syrup, the machine contains small plastic cartridges filled with super-concentrated flavoring "essence" -- no water involved.
When a consumer or waiter uses the touch screen to select a combination -- say, Vanilla Diet Caffeine Free Coke -- the machine pulls ingredients from the cartridges and combines them, dispensing a single serving into the cup.
Radio-frequency ID chips in each cartridge measure exactly how much of each ingredient is left and alert Skala to order more. The machine runs self-diagnostic tests and schedules service visits for any issues at off-peak times, without even needing to let the restaurant know.
What's your flavor?
Ten of the most unique Coca-Cola Freestyle flavors:
Coca-Cola Lime
Fanta Zero Peach
Powerade Orange Grape
Coca-Cola Zero Lemon
Diet Coca-Cola Cherry Vanilla
Sprite Raspberry
Sprite Zero Strawberry
Dasani Lemon Cherry
Minute Maid Light Strawberry
Diet Caffeine Free Coca-Cola Lime
The Freestyle machine is billed as the "Fountain of the Future," a touch-screen, Wi-Fi-enabled, tracking-chip-equipped, soda-dispensing gizmo designed by automaker Ferrari. It uses medication-dosing technology to create some 125 Coca-Cola products, many of which, like Orange Coke and Vanilla Sprite Zero, aren't available in bottles anywhere.
"This is a really big innovation in the fountain business," said John Sicher, publisher of the trade publication Beverage Digest. "No one has anything comparable."
Soda fountains in restaurants represent about a quarter of the $74 billion U.S. soft drink market, Sicher said. Coca-Cola controls about 70 percent of the soda fountain business, but faces increased competition from convenience stores and other outlets that offer huge drink selections.
"Restaurant customers like McDonald's are interested in being more of a beverage destination and competing better with convenience stores," Sicher said. The Freestyle machine lets them compete without installing a wall of coolers.
Besides giving consumers a dizzying array of drink options, the machines provide restaurateurs and Coca-Cola with an unprecedented level of information. They offer statistics on exactly which drinks are being ordered -- and how much, and when. The machines display that information to business owners and transmit it to Coca-Cola headquarters in Atlanta every day.
Coca-Cola marketing manager Dan Redler said the company could use that information to develop new products, based on the machine's most popular drinks.
The machines have been in development for five years, Redler said. They're now available in some 54 markets, including Seattle, and are slowly rolling out to others as Coca-Cola trains maintenance personnel to service them. The machines are manufactured by Coca-Cola at the company's Atlanta facilities and leased to restaurants. There are about 800 of the machines in operation now, a fraction of the total number of soda fountains.
If the humble soda fountain were the Wright Brothers' plane, the Freestyle machine would be an F-16 fighter jet. Instead of the five-gallon bags of flavor syrup, the machine contains small plastic cartridges filled with super-concentrated flavoring "essence" -- no water involved.
When a consumer or waiter uses the touch screen to select a combination -- say, Vanilla Diet Caffeine Free Coke -- the machine pulls ingredients from the cartridges and combines them, dispensing a single serving into the cup.
Radio-frequency ID chips in each cartridge measure exactly how much of each ingredient is left and alert Skala to order more. The machine runs self-diagnostic tests and schedules service visits for any issues at off-peak times, without even needing to let the restaurant know.
What's your flavor?
Ten of the most unique Coca-Cola Freestyle flavors:
Coca-Cola Lime
Fanta Zero Peach
Powerade Orange Grape
Coca-Cola Zero Lemon
Diet Coca-Cola Cherry Vanilla
Sprite Raspberry
Sprite Zero Strawberry
Dasani Lemon Cherry
Minute Maid Light Strawberry
Diet Caffeine Free Coca-Cola Lime
Related
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