Like most things in the world, vending and coffee machines have dramatically progressed through innovation. Since Hero of Alexander invented the world’s first vending machine in the late 1800’s, the vending industry as a whole has only continued to grow.
West Midlands vending firm Coinadrink Limited, already pro-active with our industry leading hygiene standards, has introduced new innovation to our range that takes vending into territory never seen before. Through contactless equipment, advanced technologies and clever adaptations, vending machines and water dispensers now deliver peace of mind as standard.
Coinadrink Limited is a supplier of vending machines, so we work in collaboration with our suppliers to provide equipment and technologies to our customer base. We aren’t tied down to any of these companies, meaning we are in the best position to offer innovation that we see meaningful advantages in.
We have always maintained vending machines are a safer way to enjoy refreshments than commonplace alternatives. A vending machine requires fewer touch points than using the kettle, for example, what with all the shared amenities including milk and sugar. A vending machine becomes even safer when you choose us as your supplier, a company that breaks the hygiene boundaries for your peace of mind.
Despite this, we saw an opportunity to take peace of mind to the next level. COVID-19 has changed all of our lives considerably and we knew we had to adapt our services to suit the growing change in demand.
We have now introduced a dedicated “contactless” range to our flexible machine lineup. You can find this on our website. Whilst this webpage may not contain equipment that is completely contactless, it does group together everything that helps deliver a safer vending experience.
In fact, one of our biggest recent additions still involves interacting with your vending machine as you usually would!
Purezone antimicrobial film can be fitted to any machine that utilises a touchscreen or touch sensitive user interface. Whilst the transparent nature is barely noticeable to the user, the reactive silver ions it contains will quickly inhibit any bacteria. This prevents the spread between two disinfection protocols and reduces a variety of bacteria and viruses.
We didn’t want to limit such a revolutionary vending experience to a collection of new equipment, so we’re confident all of our customers will appreciate being able to use Purezone with their existing machine, providing their machine is included in the available list. And we’re confident that this arrival will revolutionise an industry that just keeps on growing.
For those intrigued at the prospect of contactless equipment, however, we have good news to share. From a recent survey, 81% of respondents suggested they would like higher quality tea and coffee in their workplace. The stylish Vitro, with fresh bean coffee available, has always provided that. And thanks to “Distance Selection”, it now provides added peace of mind in addition.
Distance Selection enables the user to make their selection simply by “hovering” their finger over the desired icon. This completely eliminates the need to interact with the machine directly, which reduces the vital touch point many businesses were concerned about. Distance Selection is fitted to all new Vitro (excluding the S1) and Neo models as standard, though can be retrofitted to existing machines.
Moving onto water and there has been an incredible level of innovation witnessed here, too. We initially acquired exciting new equipment from a trusted supplier that would showcase the rate in which vending and similar equipment could adapt to the rapid change in demand. Our new water coolers from AA First make it easy to place your cup or bottled against the button in order to dispense water. Again, this reduces the need to interact with the cooler directly.
As an added bonus, however, these water coolers use Sip Neo 3 technology. This means the dispensers can automatically “self-sanitise” on a custom schedule tailored to the customer. Coinadrink’s sanitisation process on our water coolers is already industry leading, but it’s reassuring to know this equipment can “fill in the blanks” when our operators aren’t on site.
Our keen eye for advantageous innovation grew wider. It wasn’t long before we adopted new accessories that introduced a contactless dispense to certain existing water coolers. The stylish Borg B3 and B4 plumbed-in water dispensers were the dispensers taking centre stage. Firstly, a simple yet effective hands-free foot switch was made available in collaboration with this equipment, providing customers with a fantastic way to minimise those all-important touch points with their equipment.
This then travelled further with the arrival of a new mobile application a few months later. Positioned as an upgrade for new and existing B3 and B4 models, and able to work conjunction with the foot switch, the mobile app enabled the user to control their cooler using just their smartphone. Bluetooth connectivity ensures of a seamless process from initial set up to ongoing usage. Customers can even connect to multiple coolers if they have more than one.
With over 90% of people between 16 and 54 using a mobile phone in the UK today, it makes perfect sense to intertwine our smartphones with our refreshment facilities. We have already recorded strong demand for this enticing add-on, as we’ve had with our existing contactless solutions and technologies.
As a final point to this article, we’re delighted to say that we are now also offering PPE vending machines. Supplied early on in the pandemic, we worked with a close supplier to recognise this fantastic opportunity. Modern day vending machines are capable of storing and dispensing a variety of products. Our new service line adapts snack vending machines to deliver essential PPE including face masks, goggles and hand sanitiser.
A vending machine is a great solution for providing PPE as it’s safe, secure and easy to use. The snack machines in question are robust and reliable enough to be placed almost anywhere, including public environments, and they’re a very good option for larger workspaces. A key issue with the provision of PPE has always been monitoring the items and reducing waste. Choosing a vending machine from Coinadrink provides added peace of mind with a handy key card that shows you exactly where your PPE is going.
We hope this article has conveyed the rapid rise in the progression of vending and workplace refreshments. And not only it’s progression, but also its flexibility and adaptability in being able to face the pandemic head on with enticing solutions. If you want to learn more about anything you have read in this article, contact us on 01922 640777 or leave us a message and a member of our team will be happy to answer any questions.
This is a new era for vending that we hope you’ll be able to experience with us.
