NEWS | Industry Updates
Vending machine distributor wins investment from Sky Ocean Ventures
Sky Ocean Ventures, the media-powered impact investment fund, has announced investments worth one million pounds into two new blue start-ups – Algramo, a vending machine distributor from Chile and EcoFlexy from Denmark. Both businesses were recognised at the inaugural ‘Ocean Plastic Innovation Challenge’ (OPIC) in
Washington, a global search, by Sky Ocean Rescue and National Geographic, for innovative solutions to help tackle the world’s single-use plastic problem. Jamie Rowles, head of investments at Sky Ocean Ventures commented: “The awareness around
single-use plastic has led to a real advent of an area that we’re calling blue tech – businesses developing ideas that are solving the plastic crisis and influencing consumers to reduce their single- use plastic use”. He added: “It’s an issue that affects everyone across the world and we’re excited to help these two brands support people in their countries around the world.” Algramo is literally translated from native Chilean as ‘by the gram’. It distributes vending machines
containing staple items that were traditionally sold in small plastic sachets. These are now available for communities in convenient, smart and reusable packaging. The second investment is EcoFlexy. It uses a pioneering new method to transform fruit waste into
a brand new form of plastic free packaging. The two companies, chosen from a pool of 300 from around the world, are leading by example by
joining Sky’s campaigns in the fight against single-use plastic and have demonstrated the dedication required to help others reduce and turn off the plastic tap. Sky Ocean Ventures in partnership with Sky Ocean Rescue has been leading the way to make a
difference in the nation’s attitudes and behaviours towards single use plastic. Set up in March 2018, with capital from Sky, Sky Ocean Ventures is driven towards financing companies tackling ocean plastic.
INDUSTRY CALENDAR NIVO Seminar
February 25, 2020 Lingfield Racecourse
China VMF Show March 4-6, 2020
Guangzhou Pazhou, China
International
Exhibition of Vending Technologies and
Self-Service Systems March 23-25, 2020 Moscow, Russia
A solution to the service
station tea crisis Drinks-to-go supplier, eXpresso PLUS, is offering a slim line PG tips machine which can sit next to existing coffee-to-go solutions. It’s described as an innovative solution for the recent demand for the comeback of tea at service stations. One of Britains’ largest forecourt chains recently
received complaints that many of its sites were no longer selling tea after the coffee-to-go solution Costa Express pulled this option from their machines. And with tea considered an institution in the country, service stations have been under pressure to bring back tea. Now eXpresso PLUS, drinks-to-go supplier, has
a dedicated tea machine that can sit snuggly alongside existing coffee towers including the Costa Express. The fresh leaf tea tower serves PG tips to allow service stations meet the needs of tea lovers and also make a healthy profit. Manish Shah, founder and managing director
of eXpresso PLUS states: “We are here to provide solutions to consumer demand and our PG tips tea-to-go machines do just that. We saw a huge demand for a good brew across the UK six years ago and the demand is only getting stronger.” Not only does eXpresso PLUS offer tea
machines, its Lavazza and Nescafe coffee towers and table tops serve fresh leaf tea and Thorntons Hot Chocolate as standard.
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vendinginternational-online.com
London Coffee Festival 2020 April 2-5, 2020
Old Truman Brewery, London
Vendex Midlands April 22, 2020 Milton Keynes
Venditalia 2020
May 20 to 23, 2020 Fieramilano-Rho
The Vendies June 3, 2020
Cafe De Paris, London
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