IoT innovation: leaders in intelligent beverage dispensers

The consumer industry continues to be a hotbed of patent innovation. Activity is driven by convenience, technology, and contactless delivery and growing importance of technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics, and machine learning.

In the last three years alone, there have been over 662,000 patents filed and granted in the consumer industry, according to GlobalData’s report on Internet of Things in consumer: intelligent beverage dispensers. Buy the report here.

According to GlobalData’s Technology Foresights, which uses over 116,000 patents to analyze innovation intensity for the consumer industry, there are 30+ innovation areas that will shape the future of the industry.

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 innovation area and assesses the potential reach and impact of their patenting activity across different applications and geographies.  According to GlobalData, there are 160+ companies, spanning technology vendors, established consumer companies, and up-and-coming start-ups engaged in the development and application of intelligent beverage dispensers.

‘Application diversity’ measures the number of applications identified for each patent. It broadly splits companies into either ‘niche’ or ‘diversified’ innovators.   

‘Geographic reach’ refers to the number of countries each patent is registered in. It reflects the breadth of geographic application intended, ranging from ‘global’ to ‘local’. 

Nestlé is the leading patent filer in intelligent beverage dispensers. Some other key patent filers in the space include JDE Peet's, Midea Holding, JS Global Lifestyle, and Freezio. Recently, Nestlé piloted reusable and refillable dispensers for soluble coffee in an effort toward eliminating usage of single plastic packaging. Consumers can bring their reusable containers that can be refilled with different Nescafé soluble coffee.

In terms of application diversity, Freezio leads the pack, with Lavit and LG in second and third positions, respectively. By means of geographic reach, Freezio also holds the top position, followed by Kruger and PepsiCo.

The intelligent beverage dispenser will be of immense help to 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 themes and technologies disrupting the consumer industry, access GlobalData’s latest thematic research report on Consumer.