The consumer industry continues to be a hotbed of innovation, with activity driven by aesthetics, and health and wellness, as well as the growing importance of personalised nutrition, and food waste reduction, and technologies such as 3D food printer and digital food management. In the last three years alone, there have been over 450,000 patents filed and granted in the consumer industry, according to GlobalData’s report on Robotics in Consumer: Intelligent beverage dispenser.
According to GlobalData’s Technology Foresights, which uses over 110,000 patents to analyse innovation intensity for the consumer industry, there are 40+ innovation areas that will shape the future of the industry.
Intelligent beverage dispensers is a key innovation area in robotics
The intelligent beverage dispenser ensures that the drinks are poured automatically to enable an easy grab-and-go format. The dispenser integrates well with the point of sales (POS) system and comes equipped with a guided workflow to ensure accurate order completion. It is synced with driver and customer arrival times.
GlobalData’s analysis also uncovers the companies at the forefront of each intelligent beverage dispenser and assesses the potential reach and impact of their patenting activity across different applications and geographies. According to GlobalData, there are 70+ companies, spanning technology vendors, established consumer companies, and up-and-coming start-ups engaged in the development and application of intelligent beverage dispenser.
Key players in intelligent beverage dispenser – a disruptive innovation in the consumer industry
‘Application diversity’ measures the number of different applications identified for each relevant patent and broadly splits companies into either ‘niche’ or ‘diversified’ innovators.
‘Geographic reach’ refers to the number of different countries each relevant patent is registered in and reflects the breadth of geographic application intended, ranging from ‘global’ to ‘local’.
Patent volumes related to intelligent beverage dispenser
Company | Total patents (2010 - 2021) | Premium intelligence on the world's largest companies |
Nestle | 1929 | Unlock company profile |
JDE Peet's | 1149 | Unlock company profile |
Midea Holding | 696 | Unlock company profile |
JS Global Lifestyle | 571 | Unlock company profile |
Kraft Heinz | 323 | Unlock company profile |
Tyson Foods | 268 | Unlock company profile |
Freezio | 261 | Unlock company profile |
Caffitaly System | 210 | Unlock company profile |
Groupe SEB | 133 | Unlock company profile |
Koninklijke Philips | 119 | Unlock company profile |
K Fee System | 108 | Unlock company profile |
QBO Coffee | 78 | Unlock company profile |
Unilever | 65 | Unlock company profile |
Breville Group | 63 | Unlock company profile |
De Longhi Industrial | 36 | Unlock company profile |
JURA Elektroapparate | 35 | Unlock company profile |
Caffita System | 32 | Unlock company profile |
Finlav | 32 | Unlock company profile |
Mondelez International | 30 | Unlock company profile |
Foshan Midea Chungho Water Purification Manufacturing | 28 | Unlock company profile |
Coway | 26 | Unlock company profile |
Robert Bosch Stiftung | 26 | Unlock company profile |
Starbucks | 26 | Unlock company profile |
Coca-Cola | 23 | Unlock company profile |
Midea Holdings | 23 | Unlock company profile |
Lavit | 22 | Unlock company profile |
Touch Coffee & Beverages | 22 | Unlock company profile |
Cometeer | 21 | Unlock company profile |
Gree Electric Appliances of Zhuhai | 20 | Unlock company profile |
Middleby | 20 | Unlock company profile |
Hausbrandt Trieste 1892 | 20 | Unlock company profile |
Artemis Group | 19 | Unlock company profile |
Ethical Coffee Company | 19 | Unlock company profile |
PepsiCo | 18 | Unlock company profile |
Keurig Dr Pepper | 18 | Unlock company profile |
Luna Technology Systems Lts | 18 | Unlock company profile |
Vorwerk & Co | 17 | Unlock company profile |
Tsann Kuen (Zhangzhou) Enterprise | 17 | Unlock company profile |
Gruppo Cimbali | 17 | Unlock company profile |
N&W Global Vending | 16 | Unlock company profile |
Hamilton Beach Brands | 15 | Unlock company profile |
Melitta Professional Coffee Solutions | 14 | Unlock company profile |
Foshan Shunde Midea Water Dispenser Manufacturingco | 13 | Unlock company profile |
Whirlpool | 13 | Unlock company profile |
Truebird | 12 | Unlock company profile |
Elec-Tech International | 12 | Unlock company profile |
Koc Holding | 12 | Unlock company profile |
Pi-Design | 12 | Unlock company profile |
Melitta Single Portions | 11 | Unlock company profile |
Haier Group | 11 | Unlock company profile |
Source: GlobalData Patent Analytics
Nestle is one of the leading patent filers in intelligent beverage dispensers. Some other key patent filers in the space include JDE Peet's, Midea Holding, JS Global Lifestyle, and Kraft Heinz. Recently, Nestle piloted reusable and refillable dispensers for soluble coffee in an effort toward eliminating usage of single plastic packaging. The consumers can bring their reusable containers that can be refilled with different Nescafe soluble coffee.
In terms of application diversity, Freezio leads the pack, with Lavit and Truebird in the second and third positions, respectively. By means of geographic reach, Kraft Heinz holds the top position, followed by Freezio and Artemis Group.
The intelligent beverage dispenser will be of immense help to the leading restaurants in the coming years, as they strive to provide a seamless order experience for the customers, while easing their day-to-day operations and reducing the overall serving time.
To further understand the key Robotics and technologies disrupting the consumer industry, access GlobalData’s latest thematic research report on Robotics in Consumer.