CASE STUDIES

The Coca-Cola Company: Freestyle® Beverage Dispenser

Next-generation fountain dispensers changed the game by delivering an unprecedented variety of beverage choices using technology initially developed for the medical industry.

Client: The Coca-Cola Company

Product: Freestyle® beverage dispenser

Awards

2011 Edison Best New Product Award, FORBES Coolest Product of the Decade

Expertise Used

Fluidics, Thermal Control, Motion, Experience Design, Usability/HFE, Design for Manufacture, Connectivity & System Integration, Consumable Design

Using medical technology to create a breakthrough beverage dispenser

When The Coca-Cola Company developed its proprietary PurePour Technology™ microdosing system for its Coca-Cola Freestyle® the Company wanted to revolutionize beverage dispensing.

Their plan was to use technology, initially developed for the medical industry, to dispense more than 100 branded beverages in the same amount of space as a standard eight-valve machine, using a touch screen interface.

The Coca-Cola Company launched the breakthrough development project with the aid of a number of global technology partners, including Invetech.

Invetech was selected as an engineering partner following an evaluation process which examined a range of key capabilities including mechanical and electrical engineering, innovation, functional design, project management and successful client history across a range of industries.

We performed a range of product development functions, including:

  • Partnering with the client team to create the intuitive, engaging user experience
  • Creating the dispenser system architecture to be consumer and service engineer friendly
  • Engineering the initial concept into a robust platform for implementation across several variants
  • Producing detailed designs and managing the integration of all the dispenser subsystems with the focus on manufacturability, reliability, serviceability and cost
  • Verifying dispenser system reliability
  • Transferring the dispenser design to the final contract manufacturer

The Coca-Cola Freestyle® dispenser is a simple to use, stylish, robust product which captures the 125-year fountain heritage of one of the world’s most recognized brands, along with state of the art fluid handling, intuitive user interface, and dynamic communication and control technologies.

Coca-Cola Freestyle® is the first of a family of new dispensers from The Coca-Cola Company that could transform the way we experience beverages.