| The true meaning of coffee-on-the-go |
By: Rebecca Hubbard
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Posted: Wednesday, September 8, 2010 10:26 am
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Coffee Nation, the UK’s leading provider of takeaway gourmet coffee, has launched a new concept – the ‘barista bus’. The barista bus is a mobile drinks unit offering self-serve gourmet coffee from a specially designed and custom-built vehicle.
The barista bus can be used to sample or sell coffee at any location with a high level of footfall such as universities, hospitals, corporate office sites and forecourts. It can also be hired for a variety of events from corporate functions and road shows to exhibitions, shows, sporting and music events.
Promoting the message ‘our barista is inside the machine’, the barista bus concept aims to change the consumer’s perception of self-serve coffee, demonstrating that the sophisticated technology behind a Coffee Nation system can create gourmet coffee equal to, or better than, high street coffee bar standards.
A range of gourmet coffees and hot drinks can be dispensed using touch screens in two self-serve ‘windows’ on the side of the vehicle.
Customers can pay with either cash or chip and pin. All the products use fresh milk and real coffee beans, offering high street coffee bar quality with the convenience of vending.
The vehicle is only 5.5 metres long, can be set up within 10 minutes and is equipped with its own generator, water and waste facilities. Coffee Nation will provide personnel to maintain the coffee systems and promote drinks sales throughout the day and a range of promotional materials are available to drive coffee sales.
Welcome Break’s Gordano Services was the first Coffee Nation customer to use the promotional vehicle over the busy August bank holiday weekend, providing travellers on the M5 in Bristol with a constant flow of gourmet hot drinks.
Coffee Nation will also be embarking on a national university tour in September and October, serving thousands of students across the UK during this year’s Freshers’ Week.
The company’s research shows that trial of its products is a key element in driving sales and creating customer loyalty. By using the vehicle as a promotional tool the company can not only help increase sales in its customer sites but also get coffee “into people’s hands”.
Coffee Nation’s CEO, Scott Martin explained: “It’s largely about education. We are keen to promote our gourmet coffee not only as a quality product, but as part of a daily routine. In our more established markets there is greater familiarity with our product, so it’s an exciting challenge to reach out to new markets. We are working with our partners across a number of different sectors to increase sales of gourmet coffee ‘on the go’ and I expect it to be well received by customers everywhere.” |
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