Redefining the vending machine with our smart fridge.

Coinadrink Limited is painting a new era of fresh food and cold drinks vending with the development of our very own, bespoke smart fridge.

Housed under the Express Refreshments umbrella, our smart fridge redefines what a self-service refreshment solution should be today for both B2B and B2C.

Coinadrink has been providing vending machine services to businesses in and around the West Midlands since 1962. We have always been at the forefront of innovation to embrace the latest trends.

As requirements within the modern workplace continue to adapt, whether that be a small office, serviced building or a vast manufacturing facility, we now believe the latest advancement in self-service refreshment solutions is here.

 That is, with our very own Express Refreshments smart fridge.

What is a smart fridge?

A smart fridge takes a conventional fridge and builds on it with smart technology to benefit the end user.

The consumer picks from a range of products from a secure temperature-controlled facility, usually using an intuitive touchscreen display to browse and select.

Once cashless payment has been completed, the fridge unlocks, and the consumer can retrieve their item.

The smart fridge takes the self-service functionality, that has always made the traditional vending machine so popular, to the next level.

The development of the Express Refreshments smart fridge

We first explored the smart fridge to supersede the traditional vending machine a few years ago, now. In particular, the fresh food vending machine.

Realising that fresh food vending machines are struggling to keep up with the latest consumer demands surrounding a broader variety of products and healthier options, the smart fridge proposed an intriguing solution.

A capacitive space with limited restrictions means consumers could enjoy more choice from the one facility, something that isn’t be possible with the spirals and slender compartments in a vending machine.

As is often the “Coinadrink” way, however, we then tapped into the idea of creating our own bespoke solution, just like we did with our Micro Market facility, which is also housed under the Express Refreshments division.

A smart fridge running on our own software has lots of benefits, from us being able to push bespoke offers and promotions through the embedded media screen, to on-the-fly modifications to continue enhancing the user experience.

After years of research and hard work by our team, we’re delighted to say that development is has reached its conclusion and we are eagerly anticipating a launch very, very soon.

We took part in a dedicated photoshoot for the smart fridge recently, here at our Walsall office, which really captured the beauty and benefits of this excellent refreshment facility.

How the smart fridge will take our refreshment service to the next level

We have actually been using “smart fridges” to provide a fresh food and cold drinks service in our Micro Markets since the very beginning, back in 2013.

Their ease of use, vast storage space, and temperature-controlled functionality for peace of mind means the smart fridge ticks all the boxes for what’s needed.

Our own smart fridge now retains the key benefits, except the payment terminal is now included as part of the exterior of the fridge as opposed to a separate terminal. It’s also worth mentioning that we can open the facility up to also provide ambient products, such as snacks, as well as fresh food and cold drinks.

Just like in our Micro Markets, however, our smart fridge is able to run enticing offers and discounts to our customers through the facility itself, therefore enhancing the user experience with meal deals, special offers, and more.

Indeed, the personalisation is a crucial element of this solution. We have designed it to be built from the ground up on your own premises, with your choice of surround, colour and theme. You can experience up to four fridges for a grand on-site refreshment solution, or just the one unit if you are short on space.

Keeping staff on site with a cutting-edge refreshment solution come break and dinner time will drive satisfaction, representing a genuine employee perk at a time when business leaders are under more pressure than ever to enhance their workplace to suit.

From healthier wraps and salads to an array of subs, sandwiches and ready meals, our smart fridge is the new way to introduce a self-service refreshment solution into the workplace.

Our smart fridge. Launching very soon.

“The Smart Fridge represents months of hard work and development from our team to create a truly unique offering in the vending, unattended retail and food-to-go space” says Managing Director Tom Williams.

“Bringing together the benefits of vending with retail technology, we have created a solution that can be applied in multiple locations with different set up’s. Primarily targeting a solution to provide fresh food conveniently and effectively to businesses we can elevate the offering by having up to four fridges to expand the offering beyond just fresh food to incorporate chilled drinks, snacking lines and other meal time solutions.

It becomes the one stop shop for workplace refreshments. This system being developed in house by our team is also a huge accomplishment and a celebration for technology innovation in the West Midlands.“

We strongly anticipate that the smart fridge will be the next stage of our long-standing refreshment service and we can’t wait to see what the future holds for our very own model.

This is the next generation of vending. Are you ready?