5 Things The Coca-Cola Company Shared at NAMA
Highlights include cashless payments and micro-market expertise
In late April, thousands of vending and refreshment services operators and suppliers came together in Las Vegas for the 2015 NAMA OneShow, the annual tradeshow of the National Automatic Merchandising Association. Attendees at the event saw the latest and greatest in vending, coffee service, foodservice and micro markets, including that from The Coca-Cola Company. At the show, The Coca-Cola Company demonstrated how vending operators can optimize their businesses and increase sales via The Company’s experience and expertise. Here are highlights from the show.
New Online Vending Portal
The big announcement from The Coca-Cola Company was the launch of FLO.CokeSolutions.com, a new vending-specific portal on CokeSolutions.com. “Our goal is to provide operators with the information they need to grow their businesses. With more than 128 years of experience, we can offer unique insights, tools, proven best practices and more,” said Scott Corley, vice president of Foodservice On-Premise and Vending. “For the first time, full-line operators have direct access to this expertise in one convenient location.”
C-Store Expertise for Micro Markets
Additionally, a fully stocked sample micro market at The Coca-Cola Company booth showcased best practices and The Company’s deep convenience retail experience. Micro markets continue to gain popularity, and The Coca-Cola Company is committed to helping retailers increase their return on investment. FLO.CokeSolutions.com is aligned with that mission as well.
Workplace Trends
As NAMA Annual Meeting keynote speaker, Julie Seitz, director of The Company’s Workplace 2020 initiative, talked about finding new workplace solutions and trends that inspire growth for The Company and its partners. She shared trends, research and best practices for using physical workspaces to attract and retain millennials.
Cashless Payments
In March, The Coca-Cola Company announced that its North America vending fleet will include 100,000 Apple Pay-enabled machines by the end of 2015, making The Coca-Cola Company one of the largest retail acceptors of Apple Pay and other near field communications solutions like Softcard and Google Wallet.
New Products
Trade show attendees got the first taste of two new vitaminwater® flavors:vitaminwater vital-t (lemon iced tea flavored) and vitaminwater refresh (mango flavored).