Doing Good And Looking Good

25 October, 2010 - 12:42

Here’s an interesting contrast in the soda-dispensing equipment category I observed at a recent trade show.

I don’t drink soda and I try to avoid “grazing’ at shows. But the stunning bright red "Coca-Cola Freestyle™” vending machine stopped me in my tracks – it’s beautiful. Pininfarina Extra (established in 1986 to move the design firm beyond its automotive work) collaborated with the Coca-Cola industrial design team to develop the sleek new equipment.

Customers use a touch screen to select among more than 100 different beverages made to order from a single freestanding unit that occupies the same amount of space as current eight-valve machines. Freestyle does not make beverages with syrups, but instead uses concentrated ingredients stored in cartridges in its cabinet.

I often mutter to myself at a trade show that, “it doesn’t have to be ugly!” as I walk through acres of square stainless steel boxes. Yet, it often seems that little thought is given to making foodservice appliances attractive and sturdy. Fortunately, the recent trend of designing kitchens open to dining areas has encouraged equipment manufacturers to pay more attention to their products’ appearance. And now we find that the great red brick of a vending machine can display some finesse, too. Good!

The other eye-opener in vending equipment comes from PepsiCo, Waste Management, Inc. and Keep America Beautiful who formed a multi-year partnership to support the “Dream Machine” recycling initiative. Dream Machine kiosks are computerized receptacles with a personal reward system that allows consumers to obtain and redeem points for each bottle or can they recycle in a kiosk. This undertaking is designed to support PepsiCo’s goal of increasing the U.S. beverage container-recycling rate from 34% to 50% by 2018.

The organizations involved have announced that thousands of Dream Machine kiosks will be placed in public venues such as gas stations, stadiums and parks to make it more convenient and rewarding for consumers to recycle soft-drink containers. The Dream Machines will be provided by GreenOps, LLC, a subsidiary of Waste Management, and the rewards system will be operated by Greenopolis.

Currently, a paltry 12% of American public spaces are equipped with recycling receptacles, illustrating a clear need for greater public access. Even more important is getting consumers to use the accessible recycling bins! I hope the incentives built into the Dream Machine system help to create some new recycling habits among PepsiCo’s legions of customers.

For every bottle and can recycled, PepsiCo will make a donation to help veterans through Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities, a national program offering free, experiential training in entrepreneurship and small business management to post-9/11 veterans with disabilities.

As you know, many folks disparage the pace of innovation in our industry. Yet, Coke has taken industrial design in foodservice equipment to a new level by hiring an Italian design firm to turn the ugly boxy vending machine into a thing of beauty. And Pepsi has made recycling into more rewarding and convenient good cause by turning a big boxy vending machine into a device that encourages recycling with rewards and benefits for veterans. Looking good and doing good.