‘Beer Box’ Vends Opened Cans To Comply With Liquor Laws
By Emily Jed
June 27, 2018
HAUPPAUGE, NY — Intelligent Product Solutions (IPS), a global product design and development firm, partnered with ZX Ventures, a division of global brewing giant AB InBev (Anheuser-Bush), to design and develop an Internet-connected beer vending machine that dispenses opened cans of cold beer.
Called BeerBox, the machine has cellular, WiFi and Ethernet connectivity for payment processing, transaction reporting and maintenance functions, and GPS to provide machine location. Future versions will enable customers to select their beer of choice using a touchscreen interface.
ZX Ventures plans to roll out the machines later this year at select concert and sports venues nationwide.
“Instead of standing in long lines at a music festivals and sporting events, the BeerBox makes it much more convenient to purchase a beer and helps concessioners increase sales — it really doubles as a bar,” said global director of ZX Ventures’ Explore and BeerBox founder Robert Gaafar.
The idea for the BeerBox came out of ZX Ventures’ accelerator program. Gaafar selected IPS to take it from discovery phase to prototype to testing and manufacturing. ZX Ventures piloted the first protypes last summer at three music festivals and is now rolling out the improved version of BeerBox at select concert and sports venues this summer.
Gaafar said one of the design challenges that ZX Ventures worked with IPS to overcome was the size of the can, since dispensing a standard 25-fl.oz. can was essential because it is the size used at most concert locations. Other challenges included dispensing opened beer cans to comply with liquor laws, and cooling to ensure the beer was the right temperature for the customer’s maximum enjoyment.
IPS, a subsidiary of Forward Industries is a global product design and development company that is headquartered in New York, with an office in London. It specializes in product design and engineering services, including Internet of Things and wearable technology solutions.