Japan is the country in the world with more per capita vending machines. And there, the brands concentrate much of the innovations they carry out in relation to this point of contact with the consumer. Not only in terms of the typology of products offered through vending, but also in reference to energy efficiency and consumer data management to which the machines allow access, to offer a more effective service. In this sense, Coca-Cola has presented a Expendors machine for your drinks that works with hydrogen and dispenses with electricity.

The brand is working with the Fuji Electric technology company for development that will be presented with 58 units at the Osaka Expo in mid -April. As explained by Coca-Cola in a statement, it is The first vending machine of the world of this type. It works with hydrogen, is independent of the electricity supply and does not emit any type of CO2. Which makes it a value proposition within the framework of the company’s objectives to achieve carbon neutrality in 2040.

The vending machine also works with some Replaceable hydrogen cartridges that are inserted into its side. There is the chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen that allows the generation of electricity stored in a battery. The process allows drinks to cool sustainably, generating only water that then reuses in the same circuit.

The “Expensive machine of the future”, As Coca-Cola defines it in the statement, incorporates blue corporate red, and includes a screen where the brand will project information on environmental advantages and technology operation. In addition, the machine will be compatible with the coke on applicationwith which Coca-Cola offers a monthly subscription service to consume its products in Japan vending machines without the need for cash.

With this launch, Coca-Cola seeks not only to reduce its carbon emissions, but also ensure the provision of products throughout the Japanese market. The country is mostly formed by mountainous terrain, which on certain occasions hinders energy supply to brand vending machines. The new version would operate independently of the network, which would guarantee its operation in the face of possible electricity cuts, and which would also make it possible to place it in both rural and urban areas.

Coca-Cola, for the moment, has not specified What will autonomy will be From the hydrogen vending machine, not how often the cartridges that make it work will be to replace. But the assistants to the Osaka Expo will be able to know the rest of the details of an innovation that would position the brand in the technological avant -garde of this market.

“Innovation is everything new that creates value ”, John Murphy, president and financial director of The Coca Cola Company, explains in a statement. “When you adopt that mentality, you can apply it to all aspects of the business. Staying at the forefront requires constantly inventing and reinventing, with an understanding of what happens in the market.”
His CEO, James Quincey, already confirmed it, about the company’s results in 2023, when Innovationunderstood as a competitive advantage, contributed to 30% of the gross gains of Coca-Cola.