Made through a collaboration between illycaffe and The Coca-Cola, illy issimo is a ready-to-drink, Italian espresso style beverage that is now available in 9.5-ounce resealable glass bottles in three flavors: latte macchiato, cappuccino and mochaccino flavors, according to Convenience Store People. For the full story, click here.
Editor’s Insight: Ready-to-drink (RTD) coffee was the second fastest growing liquid refreshment category in 2011, according to the Beverage Marketing Corp., which studies beverage data. RTD coffee posted a 9.4 percentage point gain in 2011, trialing only energy drinks, which jumped by 14.4 points.
Vending and refreshment service operators cannot ignore these small but vibrant markets. Cold beverage refreshments have become more challenging for vending and refreshment service operators as consumer tastes have become more diverse.
Many of these small but growing beverages also carry higher price points than traditional soda.
Operators need to have machines that are capable of merchandising a wider variety of offerings in order to capitalize on diverse customer needs. They also need to have a good working knowledge of the liquid refreshments market. 05-18-12 By Elliot Maras
