When it comes to innovations and technology, you might usually associate that with things like electronics, cars, big machinery, and small gadgets. The fact is, everything can be innovated, there is potential for improvement everywhere you look. The beverage and drink industries are no different and there is a multitude of ways the industry has evolved to not only improve the way you drink but completely change it.
Beverage Machines
A huge innovation in the beverage industry has been the invention of beverage machines. These machines will dispense different drinks as you desire, and they will do so quickly and easily.
Imagine going to a bar, and every time a patron asks for a coke and rum, the bartender has to open a new bottle or can. Or what if these machines were not available at places that had large amounts of customers like movie theatres and convenient stores? The lines would take forever to get through and you’d have a lot of very angry patrons.
These machines are perfect for convenience store businesses because dispensing the drinks would be ‘conveniently’ fast and easy; leaving you with happy customers. It’s also a great way to drive up your sales as more customers would happily want to buy their refreshments from your store. With the innovation for speed and efficiency, your drinks are served bubbly fresh each time.
Carbonating Machines
Speaking of bubbly fresh, people have been drinking fizzy drinks for years. People love their sodas. So it was bound to happen that someone invented a home appliance to bring those sparkling refreshments home with you.
You’ll be surprised at how creative some people can get, carbonating a variety of drinks like orange juice, coffee, tea, cocktails, and wine. Of course, the goal of these machines was not exactly to explore other drinks than carbonating the water, but innovation needs to step outside the boundaries of just carbonating water.
Straws
If you think about innovations that changed how you consume drinks, the straw has to be up there in the biggest game-changer in the smallest package. The straw has done more that we think of in terms of changing how you drink.
The use of straws is more sanitary, limiting the surface area your mouth is touching. It makes things easier and cleaner, especially with children. It’s made things like tumblers and to-go drinks a lot easier to use and bring around, and it’s made drinks like slushies, smoothies frozen drinks easier to consume. And as far as continuing innovation with environmental issues in the front of everyone’s minds, straws continue to see changes.
Companies are going more environmentally friendly with straws made out of paper or bamboo for one time using straws, while others are making steel and aluminum as reusable options.
Ice
Ice is a constant staple at parties and BBQs for keeping beverages cool. The problem is that once they melt, they water down your drink. So inventors figured there had to be a way to keep drinks cold without sacrificing what it was you were drinking.
In comes new ways to cool your drinks. There are now different items like metal balls to cool down alcoholic drinks like whiskey, wines, and spirits or using metal cooling rods to quickly chill your beers. Never again do you have to wait for drinks in the fridge or freezer or have them watered down to enjoy a nice refreshing cold one. They even have cold trays and platforms to keep your drink cold at the bar.
So, you don’t have to worry that your drink warms up, just simply set it down on the tray on the bar to keep it refreshing from the first sip to the last drop.
Thermoses and Tumblers
With so many drinks to have, whether it’s coffee and tea on the go, or that all-important workout drink for before a run or gym visit, tumblers, water bottles and thermoses have taken steps to innovate, as you can have your hot tea or cold coffee stay that way all day with insulated containers. And for those gym workouts, specifically designed tumblers will allow you to shake up your drinks without shaking up the routine. Everything is on the go and you can bring that drink with you.
We don’t often think of the innovations of things like drinks, but they have come a long way. And if these innovations never existed, our lives would be much more difficult. Maybe not drastically, but many of these inventions have given the convenience to not just our day to day lives, but businesses of all kinds as well. The next time you take a sip of your next drink, keep an open mind as you might never know what you could improve or innovate.
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Interesting related article: “What is Innovation?”