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.

GlobalData

GlobalData, the leading provider of industry intelligence, provided the underlying data, research, and analysis used to produce this article.

GlobalData’s Patent Analytics tracks patent filings and grants from official offices around the world. Textual analysis and official patent classifications are used to group patents into key thematic areas and link them to specific companies across the world’s largest industries.