Trail-blazing unmanned coffee vehicle to debut at CIIE

Attracted by the huge potential in Shenzhen’s coffee market, Rhea Vendors Group, one of the world's leading manufacturers of tailor-made coffee and vending machines, said they would like very much to start in Shenzhen with its state-of-the-art innovative coffee solutions Barista On-Demand.

The official global launch of Barista On-Demand coffee solutions will be held on Monday morning at the China International Import Expo (CIIE) held in Shanghai, with the very first prototype on display.  

A Barista On-Demand prototype. Photos courtesy of Rhea Vendors Group

Redefining the coffee experience and setting a new standard in the fusion of high technology and premium quality beverage vending, Barista On-Demand is a new concept of mobile coffee station that integrates automatic coffee machines with a self-driving vehicle. 

The solution transforms the typical coffee consumption from a go-to-shop activity into shop-comes-to-customers. A coffee shop is not any more limited to a permanent address but can move around to reach a broader range of customers. Users can also easily order coffee by one click on a mobile application with their desired drink delivered by the unmanned coffee vehicle. 

Thanks to the collaboration with Neolix Technologies, a well-known Chinese company known for pioneering in the field of autonomous vehicles, Rhea works with the common objective of bringing vending to new places of consumption with tailor-made hospitality solutions. 

After placing an order through an mobile application, a Barista On-Demand vehicle will deliver the coffee ordered to the customer.

“In today's rapidly advancing world, we see the pace of daily routines accelerate at an unprecedented rate, calling for adaptive solutions to meet instant demand. This project responds to the shift and offers a new perspective on smart mobility in new retail. Instead of people moving to access coffee services, we can leverage our technology to mobilize coffee shops to reach consumers,” said Yu Enyuan, founder and CEO of Neolix Technologies. 

“The birth of Barista On-Demand is a symbolic outcome of Italian and Chinese business cooperation towards innovation and a new way of experiencing hospitality. Together, we harness Italy’s design legacy and our 60 years of coffee expertise, with Chinese tech advances to stay ahead of the age and provide a seamless coffee experience to our customers all over the world,” said Andrea Pozzolini, CEO of Rhea Vendors Group.

Related data showed that China’s coffee consumption capacity is growing at a rate of more than 30% per year. The number of coffee-related companies in Shenzhen has taken the lead among Chinese cities, making Shenzhen a veritable “city of coffee.”