Coca-Cola Freestyle

Coca-Cola Freestyle logo
A Coca-Cola Freestyle machine installed at a Wendy's restaurant in Irving, Texas.

Coca-Cola Freestyle is a touch screen soda fountain introduced by The Coca-Cola Company in 2009. The machine features 165[1][2][3] different Coca-Cola drink products,[4] and custom flavors.[5] The machine allows users to select from mixtures of flavors of Coca-Cola branded products which are then individually dispensed. The machines are currently located in major Coca-Cola partners and retail locations as a part of a gradual and ongoing deployment.

Design

Freestyle cartridge, in the machine
Pininfarina logo on Coca-Cola Freestyle machine

The cabinetry was designed by the Italian automotive design firm Pininfarina, via their Pininfarina Extra industrial and product design subsidiary.[6] Technologies involved include microdispensing technology and proprietary PurePour technology. Both technologies were originally developed to deliver precise doses of drugs.[1] One Freestyle unit with a similar footprint to a current vending machine can dispense 126 kinds of carbonated and non-carbonated beverages. Microdosing blends one or more concentrated ingredients in 46 US fl oz (1.36 L) packets with water and sweetener at the point where the beverage is dispensed,[4] thus avoiding the use of traditional 5 US gal (18.9 L) boxes of syrup (also known as a bag-in-a-box).[7] Cartridges store concentrated ingredients in the dispenser cabinet and are RFID enabled. The machine uses RFID chips to detect its supplies and to radio resupplying needs to other units. The machines transmit supply and demand data to both Coca-Cola and the owner including brands sold, times of the day of sales, troubleshooting information, and service data.[8] The traditional ice cube dispenser remains.[9]

History

A row of Coca-Cola Freestyle machines at AMC Theaters in Palisades Center mall, West Nyack, New York.
Coca-Cola Freestyle stand at Cedar Point amusement park.

Contractors for its development include:

Testing began in Utah,[1] Southern California,[4][9] and Georgia in July 2009 with 60+ locations around America planned by the end of that summer.[18] Test locations around Coca-Cola's home city of Atlanta included the World of Coca-Cola, AMC Theatres Southlake Pavilion 24 and Parkway Point 15,[9][19] and area food chains, including Willy's Mexicana Grill.[20] Three machines are available in the Universal Studios Florida and Universal's Islands of Adventure theme parks as well as the AMC movie theater at Downtown Disney shopping complex in Lake Buena Vista, Florida and the World Waterpark in West Edmonton Mall in Edmonton, Alberta. One of the largest movie theater chains in the US, Carmike Cinemas, installed the machines in several markets including the Carmike 13 in Champaign, IL. Also available at Wild Adventures in Valdosta, Georgia.


Coca-Cola deployed the machines to 500 more locations in the United States in June 2010,[21] followed by deployment to some universities in the United States. Deployment has continued in select locations of restaurant chains such as Wing Stop, Così,[22] Taco Time Northwest,[23] Roy Rogers,[24] Davanni's,[25] Dairy Queen,[26] Fuddruckers,[27] Five Guys,[28][29] Kelly's Roast Beef,[30] CG Burgers,[31] Firehouse Subs,[32] Pei Wei Asian Diner, Wendy's, Jack in the Box, Beef O'Brady's, Hess Express, Boloco,[33] Salsarita's, McDonald's, and Zaxby's. Select Wegmans locations also have Coca-Cola Freestyle machines. Burger King announced in December 2011 that it plans to implement the Freestyle system in its 850 company-owned restaurants in the USA by the spring of 2012, and is encouraging its franchisees to follow suit.[34]

Coca-Cola has installed Freestyle machines in Toronto in select Wendy's, Burger King, McDonald's and Hero Certified Burgers restaurants, as well as entertainment venues, such as Cineplex Entertainment cinemas, AMC Theatres, Six Flags, and Canada's Wonderland, and select convenience stores, such as Wawa.

In late June 2012 Coca-Cola started a limited trial in the UK (in association with Burger King UK), with the machine initially deployed in 16 locations around Greater London.[35] They are also now in Five Guys UK branches.[36] The selection of brands available from a UK coke freestyle machine is different from the USA, as only brands that are usually sold in the UK are available. Schweppes Lemonade and still versions of Fanta are brands that are available.[37]

In late February 2015 Coca-Cola started rolling out a major Operating System redesign that divides the drink selection into four categories: Low/No Calorie, Caffeine-free, Fruit flavored and All drinks.. The Operating System update significantly reduces the amount of available drink combinations. Prior to the update, flavorings could be added to nearly every drink selection, whereas after the update only certain flavorings are available for certain drinks.

Products

Customers choose a base product,[38] which they can supplement with additional flavoring. Diet and Zero products remain low or no calorie even with flavorings added. The machines include flavors not previously available to the American market, including Orange Coke, which was previously sold only in Russia and the Baltics (and briefly in the United Kingdom and Gibraltar).[10]

Flavors

Base product Available flavors[39]
Regular Vanilla Lime Raspberry Cherry Orange Cherry Vanilla Lemon Strawberry Grape Peach Fruit Punch Raspberry Lime Orange Vanilla
Coca-Cola Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No No No
Diet Coke Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No No No
Coca-Cola Zero Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No No
Caffeine-Free Diet Coke Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No No No
Sprite Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes No No Yes Yes Yes No No No
Sprite Zero Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes No No Yes Yes Yes No No No
Fanta N/A No Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Yes Yes Yes Yes No No
Fanta Zero N/A No Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Yes Yes Yes Yes No No
Minute Maid Lemonade Yes No No Yes Yes Yes No No Yes No No Yes No No
Minute Maid Light Yes No No Yes Yes Yes No No Yes No No Yes No No
Dasani (water) N/A No Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No
Dasani Sparkling Yes No No No No No Yes No No No No No No No
Glaceau FruitWater (replaces Dasani Sensations) N/A No Yes Yes Yes No No Yes Yes No Yes No No No
Powerade N/A No Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes No Yes No No
Powerade Zero N/A No Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes No Yes No No
Hi-C N/A No No Yes Yes Yes No No Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes
Mello Yello (replaces Vault) Yes No No No Yes Yes No No No Yes Yes No No No
Mello Yello Zero Yes No No No Yes Yes No No No Yes Yes No No No
Pibb Xtra/Dr. Pepper Yes No No No Yes No Yes No No No No No No No
Pibb Zero/Diet Dr. Pepper Yes No No No Yes No Yes No No No No No No No
Barq's Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No
Diet Barq's Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No
Seagram's Ginger Ale Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No No No No
Seagram's Diet Ginger Ale Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No No No No
Seagram's Seltzer Yes No No No No No No Yes No No No No No No
Water (tap) Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No
Carbonated Tap water Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No

Freestyle fountains located in Firehouse Subs locations offer the chain's signature Cherry Lime-Aid.[40]

Freestyle fountains at Sea World Orlando offer an exclusive vanilla-flavored freestyle flavor called 'South Pole Chill.'[41]

Freestyle fountains located in Moe's Southwest Grill locations offer an exclusive vanilla/peach-flavored freestyle flavor called 'Vanilla at Peachtree.' [42]

Dr. Pepper and Diet Dr. Pepper will be served instead of Pibb Xtra and Pibb Zero in areas where Dr. Pepper is distributed by Coca-Cola bottlers.

Crew Mode

Coca-Cola Freestyle machines have a hidden menu known as 'Crew Mode', used to check cartridge levels and as the entry point for the password-protected Service Menu. Crew Mode is accessed by selecting a brand, then touching, one after the other, the top, bottom left, and bottom right parts of the brand's logo that is displayed at the top of the screen.[43][44]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Wilson, Zachary (May 10, 2010). "Coca-Cola's 100-Flavor Interactive Freestyle Soda Fountain in Action". Fast Company. Retrieved May 12, 2010.
  2. ↑ Eaton, Kit (May 10, 2010). "Coke's Freestyle Machines Ready to Rock Tongues With 104 Flavors". Fast Company. Retrieved May 12, 2010.
  3. ↑ Bell, Josh (March 17, 2010). "ShoWest’s Coolest Offerings". Las Vegas Weekly. Retrieved May 13, 2010.
  4. 1 2 3 Luna, Nancy (July 21, 2009). "Video: Coca-Cola Freestyle Demo & How It Works". Orange County Register. Santa Ana, CA. Retrieved October 18, 2009.
  5. ↑ "Coca-Cola Freestyle Touch Screens". The Coca-Cola Company. September 21, 2009. Retrieved October 18, 2009 – via Facebook.
  6. ↑ Ozler, Levent (September 11, 2009). "Pininfarina Partners with the Coca-Cola Company on Coca-Cola Freestyle". Dexigner. Retrieved December 22, 2011.
  7. ↑ Bigg, Matthew (September 30, 2009). "Coca-Cola to Expand Testing of New Drink Fountain". Reuters. Retrieved October 18, 2009.
  8. 1 2 "Bsquare-Coca-Cola Team Up on High-Tech Soda Machine". Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle). July 20, 2009. Retrieved August 25, 2009.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 Collier, Joe Guy (September 29, 2009). "Coke Targets Freestyle Expansion for 2010". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved October 18, 2009.
  10. 1 2 Goodwin, Jenifer (July 22, 2009). "Futuristic, 100-Flavor Coke Dispenser Tested". Union-Tribune (San Diego). Retrieved August 25, 2009.
  11. ↑ "Coca-Cola's Freestyle, Dean Kamen, and More". Businessweek. September 2009. Retrieved October 18, 2009.
  12. ↑ https://web.archive.org/20110622173738/http://www.bsquare.com:80/retail--point-of-service.aspx. Archived from the original on June 22, 2011. Retrieved July 13, 2011. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  13. ↑ Cook, John (August 17, 2009). "Coke's 'Coolest Soda Machine Ever' Utilizes Impinj's RFID Chips". Tech Flash. Retrieved July 2, 2010.
  14. ↑ Sullivan, Laurie (August 17, 2009). "Coca-Cola 'Freestyles' a Smarter Soda Machine". Media Post Publications. Retrieved 2010-07-02.
  15. ↑ Collier, Joe Guy (September 16, 2009). "Coke Tests New Dispenser in Atlanta". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved October 18, 2009.
  16. ↑ "The Amazing Technology Journey behind Coca-Cola Freestyle" (Press release). VMware AirWatch. October 7, 2015.
  17. ↑ "Plexus Wins Coca-Cola Work for New Drink Machine". Milwaukee Business Journal. June 10, 2009.
  18. ↑ "New Soda Machines Customizes Flavors". San Francisco: KGO-TV. July 22, 2009. Retrieved October 18, 2009.
  19. ↑ "Event @ AMC". The Coca-Cola Company. October 2, 2009. Retrieved October 18, 2009 – via Facebook.
  20. ↑ Sweigart, Christ (October 2, 2009). "More Flavors of Coke Coming to a Restaurant Near You" (Video). Atlanta: WXIA-TV. Retrieved May 13, 2010.
  21. ↑ "Coke's Freestyle Machines Ready to Rock Tongues With 104 Flavors". Fast Company. May 10, 2010. Retrieved June 10, 2010.
  22. ↑ "Cosi: Coke Machines Have 106 Warieties". iStockAnalyst. United Press International. November 12, 2010. Retrieved November 14, 2010.
  23. ↑ Johnson, Christie. "'Coca Cola Freestyle' Machines Debut at Taco Time Restaurants". KING 5 News (Seattle: KING-TV). Retrieved March 18, 2011.
  24. ↑ "What to Drink? Now You Have More than 100 Choices at Roy Rogers". Frederick News-Post. May 12, 2011. Retrieved June 9, 2010.
  25. ↑ "Davannis Pizza & Hot Hoagies - Past News Details". Archived from the original on August 28, 2011.
  26. ↑ "One Giant Leap for Soda Fountains". Star Tribune (Minneapolis). June 2, 2011. Archived from the original on June 4, 2011. Retrieved June 5, 2011.
  27. ↑ "Wall Photos By Fuddruckers · 50 of 50". Fuddruckers. June 24, 2011. Retrieved June 24, 2011 – via Facebook.
  28. ↑ "Our Parkville, MD location just got Coca-Cola Freestyle installed!". Five Guys. Retrieved May 21, 2012 – via Facebook.
  29. ↑ Sams, Douglas (June 21, 2011). "Coke Expanding Plant to Make Freestyle Dispenser". Atlanta Business Journal. Retrieved July 21, 2011.
  30. ↑ "One Giant Leap for Soda Fountains". Boston Globe. June 15, 2011. Archived from the original on April 6, 2012. Retrieved June 27, 2011.
  31. ↑ "Coca-Cola Freestyle at CG Burgers". Miami Herald. July 11, 2011. Retrieved October 18, 2011.
  32. ↑ "Firehouse Subs, Buffalo Wild Wings and Coca-Cola Freestyle". Firehouse Subs.
  33. ↑ "Coca-Cola Freestyle at Boloco Natick" – via Facebook.
  34. ↑ "Burger King to use Coke Freestyle Machines". Marketwatch.com. December 6, 2011. Retrieved December 22, 2011.
  35. ↑ "Coca-Cola to Go Self-Serve with BK". Retrieved July 2, 2012.
  36. ↑ "Our Menu". Five Guys UK.
  37. ↑ "Coca Cola Drinks Fountain Nutritional Information: Ingredients". Coca-Cola GB.
  38. ↑ "Coca-Cola Freestyle Jet Machine" (Video). CNBC. November 9, 2009.
  39. ↑ "100+ Flavor Selector". Coca-Cola. Retrieved July 31, 2012.
  40. ↑ "Our Menu". Firehouse Subs. Retrieved November 24, 2012.
  41. ↑ Brigante, Ricky (May 23, 2013). "Inside Antarctica: Empire of the Penguin as SeaWorld Orlando Unveils Icy New Realm with 'Cool' New Attractions – Literally". Inside the Magic (Distant Creations Group). Retrieved April 21, 2014.
  42. ↑ Meier, Eric (May 14, 2014). "Sampling Vanilla at Peachtree Soda at Moe’s Southwest Grill". Marcy, NY: WLZW. Retrieved May 15, 2014.
  43. ↑ Coke Machine Secret Menu – via YouTube.
  44. ↑ "Coca-Cola Freestyle Dispenser Crew Guide".

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