Automatic Merchandiser - 33

Brown said OCS operators should
choose a roaster that has experience
with matching their coffee profiles to
the bean-to-cup recipe file to ensure
that the coffee is extracted correctly.
"Grind-size, coffee-to-water ratio,
and the bean's roast profile all matter,"
she added. "Since we are the roaster, we
understand why this is so important."
Brown said it's also important to
demo the machine for a week and teach
the client the importance of the daily
rinse, which cuts down on service calls
and frustrated clients. Lastly, she said
OCS operators need to ensure technicians are properly and frequently cleaning the equipment.
"The profit margin will more than
make up for the increase in labor costs,"
she said. "If a gunked-up machine goes
down, everyone loses."
COLD BREW, NITRO BREW MAKE
WAVES IN OCS

Cold brew, which is brewed in room
temperature or cold water over 12 to 24
hours, is growing increasingly popular
in the ready-to drink category and
among younger generations.
"Rise Nitro Coffee cans offer clients
premium and on-trend beverages like
their signature Oat Milk Latte, while
giving our operators shelf stability and
one-year shelf life, which is unheard of
in RTD," explained Clark.
No matter if it's fresh brewed, prebottled or brewed on site, cold brew is
on fire right now.
"Clients are asking operators to
help them bring cold brew into their
office," said Karalynn McDermott,
senior vice president of market development with BUNN. "The younger
office worker has spoken, and the new
coffee is cold."
Some coffee roasters, including
Independence Coffee Company, manufacture cold brew packs, or two-ounce
pouches that the consumer can use
to easily make cold brew coffee. The
end user simply adds the pouch to 16

ounces of water, refrigerates the mixture for 12 to 16 hours, and then mixes
one part of the brewed concentrate
with two parts of water or milk over
ice. Each pouch makes three servings
of concentrate.
You may have seen the coffee
"kegerator" at industry trade shows.
It's similar to beer
on tap, but it
utilizes nitrogen instead of
carbon dioxide
to pump coffee
through the keg
tap and into a
glass, creating
nitro coffee. Nitro
cold brew has a
rich, silky taste
with a creamy
head like a stout
beer and is popular with younger
coffee drinkers. McDermott pointed
out that offering nitro coffee through
OCS helps encourage employees to
stay in the office - where they're
more likely to be productive -
instead of venturing outside the
building to get a morning or afternoon pick-me-up.
"It is especially effective at keeping
office workers from leaving their offices
in the mid-morning snack and afternoon snack times," she explained.
For OCS companies that don't want
to use a kegerator, equipment manufacturers make cold brew machines, like
BUNN's Nitron.
"Our Nitron uses a cold brew
concentrate," McDermott explained.
"The ability to have multiple types of
cold brew in one machine is important for operators. The new trend to
use a Nitron Gas Module instead of
a Nitrogen Gas Tank means it is now
even easier to bring this fast-growing
product to the office."
STAYING AHEAD OF THE CURVE

So, what will the next trend be?

Cold brew is on fire in OCS.
Dreamstime

It is especially effective
at keeping office workers
from leaving their offices
in the mid-morning
snack and afternoon
snack times."
Karalynn McDermott,
senior vice president of market
development, BUNN

Staying attuned to the ever-changing trends affecting OCS, which you
can do by connecting with local roasters and other providers and learning
as much as you can, will help you keep
your accounts happy with your service
instead of leaving you for OCS providers that are better-informed. After all,
you have to assume this is what your
competitors are doing.
"The OCS industry is changing,"
Brown said. "Be a part of that change
and watch your client satisfaction and
profit margin climb." ■

October/November 2019 * VendingMarketWatch.com

http://www.VendingMarketWatch.com

Automatic Merchandiser

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