Costa Coffee delivers the next generation in self service with embedded Intel®technology

Costa is one of the UK’s largest and fastest-growing coffee shop brands and a wholly owned subsidiary of Whitbread PLC.With over 1,300 coffee shops across the UK and more than 600 internationally, the company is a global success story witha growing network of retail sites and franchises. Costa Express, a wholly owned subsidiary formed through the acquisition ofCoffee Nation in 2011, focuses on self-serve, all-fresh, bean-to-cup coffee vending through autonomous concessions locatedin attended or semi-attended areas such as motorway forecourts, transport hubs (like airports and railway stations), andcorporate offices. Costa Express is the fastest growing part of Costa and of Whitbread.

CASE STUDY

Intel®Core™i7 Processor Intel®Solid-State Drive 520 Series

Brewing an enhanced customer experience

CHALLENGES

• Stay ahead. Continue to set standards in the coffee industry with new approaches tocustomer engagement

• Encourage self-service. Build on investment in self-service coffee specialist to createthe next generation of vending experience that maximizes financial performance

• Immersive experience. Create the world’s first vending machine to deliver premiumquality and provide a comprehensive, five-sense user experience

• Reduce truck rolls. Create the first aerospace/medical-grade international vending systemusing a start-of-the art computing platform and control system

• International management. Administer devices and content distribution dynamicallyand efficiently

• Future proof. Ensure that the concessions are future-proofed for up to seven years

SOLUTIONS

• Dream team. Experts in multiple fields were brought together in a highly aggressive,integrated product development (IPD) team to deliver a new vending system, includingIntel for the computing elements

• Standardize on Intel. All computing components are based on Intel® technology, includingthe Intel® Core™ i7 processor and Intel® Solid-State Drive (Intel® SSD) 520 series

• Understand customers. Intel® Audience Impression Metric Suite (Intel® AIM Suite) helpseach machine target content most appropriate to the local customer base

• Fleet control. Devices are managed using Intel® Active Management Technology (Intel®AMT) and Intel-provided content distribution facilities

IMPACT

• Revenue potential. Costa is planning to roll out 10 times more new machines than itinitially expected.

• New market segments. The attractive design and advanced, interactive features meanthe new machines are suitable for more environments – from gas stations to boardrooms

• Amazing customer experience. Customers can choose from over 200 freshly-made drinkcombinations and a number of payment methods while being engaged with compellinginteractive content

The next generation of vending

Costa is recognized as an innovator in the coffee retail industry. Wanting to expand itsoperations beyond the traditional coffee shop format, it embarked on developing an ad-vanced concession aimed at new, international market segments including transportationhubs (like airports and railway stations), as well as corporate environments.

“The power efficiency associated

with the Intel® Core™ i7 processor

and more reliable components,

such as Intel® Solid-State Drives

(Intel® SSDs), allowed us to create a

higher performance, lower-total-cost

design than we have had before. ”Eric Achtmann

Marlow Program Director/Architect Costa

This undertaking, code-named “Project Marlow,”was sponsored by Jim Slater, MD Costa Enter-prises, and Scott Martin, MD Costa Expressand Coffee Nation founder, under the leader-ship of Eric Achtmann, Marlow program directorand system architect. Project Marlow soughtto deliver a fully functional system withinaround six months using advanced aerospaceproduct development techniques.

Besides delivering an enhanced self-serveexperience that would support its mission to“save the world from mediocre coffee,” Costawanted to develop a next generation of CostaExpress* vending machines that would also:

• Encourage customers to pay prices commen-surate with premium quality Costa coffee,whether it is served by a barista in-storeor through a Costa Express self-serveespresso bar

• Offer the right product mix, tailored to thecustomer demographic, using each self-servebar

• Increase the number and value of sales pertransaction at Costa Express self-serveespresso bars

• Boost the operating margins of each vend-ing unit by increasing its revenues and/oroperational efficiency

“Having spent the last 12 years developingthe segment, there was always the risk that,to quote Henry Ford, ‘if you do what you'vealways done, you'll get what you've alwaysgot’,” says Martin. “As such, with ProjectMarlow, we made a conscious decision tostart from a clean slate, challenge fundamen-tal assumptions and try to do somethingtruly novel.”

Taking its reputation for standard-settingvery seriously, Costa tasked Eric Achtmann,MD Global Capital Advisors, with assemblingand leading a crack team of specialists toarchitect and deliver the next generation ofself-serve coffee vending that would be fu-ture-proofed for up to seven years of use.

The resulting design aimed at making thenew Costa Express concessions the first in-telligent system in the vending industry andthe first vending machine to provide a com-prehensive user experience, addressing thefive senses:

1. Sight. Pininfarina, the world-leading designerof Ferrari and Maserati fame provided theaesthetic design of the body. The systemalso features a large, fully integrated 27”HD screen, with the user experience beingdeveloped with the Web designer who pro-vides the Harry Potter Web experience, aswell as lead development for Xbox* andPlayStation*.

2. Sound. eMixPro, sound engineer for U2,Katy Perry and Coldplay*, was enlisted torecreate an authentic Costa café soundexperience

3. Scent. Givaudan and Scentys, the worldleaders in flavor and fragrance delivery,joined the team to create an authentic, all-natural olfactory experience

4. Touch. Every aspect of the concessionsis high quality, using the finest materialsassembled by production experts from theaerospace and race car industries. Thesame hands that build body componentsfor Ferrari craft the body components forthe Marlow concession. Even the cupssport a high-quality, Costa “fluted” design

5. Taste. The new machine uses only fresh,natural ingredients (i.e., fresh milk, freshground coffee, premium chocolate andoptional natural, low-sugar flavors) includ-ing the same premium Mocha Italia beansused in Costa cafés worldwide. The coffeecore of the machine was developed usingcomponents from Thermoplan, the world’sleading manufacturer of bean-to-cup cof-fee-making equipment.

To provide seamless, rapid, fool-proof andhighly secure cashless payment, the Marlowteam turned to SIX, the payment services armof the Swiss Stock Exchange.

Leading coffee chain breaks new ground with itsinteractive self-service experience powered byIntel® technology

“Project Marlow is anchored by the

principles of high-performance, inte-

grated product development teams.

We were up-front with Intel from the

outset that we sought a true team

member, not merely a supplier. For us,

that meant providing thought leader-

ship, as well as sharing risk and reward.

Intel responded by allocating top people

and significant resources to our team.

The Intel team was habitual in ex-

ceeding expectations, and made an

outstanding and enduring contribution

to the program”Eric Achtmann

Marlow Program Director/Architect Costa

Another important member of the develop-ment team was Intel, which was asked to pro-vide the computing elements to underpin thenew control system and interactive experi-ence. The control system itself was pro-grammed by a former Rolls-Royce jet enginecontrol and test system designer.

An added challenge was presented by thetight deadline for having the new machineready. The team wanted the first alpha pro-totype delivered within just 50 businessdays, with a view to being in a position togo to market as quickly as possible. A fullyfunctioning beta prototype was deliveredafter only 100 business days, with initialproduction following shortly thereafter.

Embedding the right technology

The technical requirements to enable thesystem to support all this innovation werequite specific. The team needed strong com-puting performance and graphics capabilitiesto create the most engaging and attractivedigital signage and user interface. However,power consumption needed to be kept low tofacilitate passive cooling. At the same time,the complexity of the machine had to be keptto a minimum in order to minimize cost whilesimultaneously maximizing performance andquality.

“Project Marlow is anchored by the principlesof high-performance, integrated product de-velopment,” comments Achtmann. “We wereup-front with Intel from the outset that wesought a true team member, not merely asupplier. For us, that meant providing thoughtleadership, as well as sharing risk and reward.Intel responded by allocating top people andsignificant resources to our team. The Intelteam was habitual in exceeding expectations,and made an outstanding and enduring con-tribution to the program.”

The team opted to use the ultra-low-voltageIntel Core i7-2340UE processor to power the

device, supported by Intel® Mobile ExpressChipset QM67 and Intel® HD Graphics 3000for a truly eye-catching display. It also imple-mented Intel SSDs 520 series instead of ahard drive, in order to reduce complexity andmoving parts.

The integration of the Intel® Audience Impres-sion Metrics Suite (Intel® AIM Suite) with theIntel Core i7-2340UE processor-powered plat-form supported Costa’s objective of betterunderstanding – and therefore targeting – thecustomer base for each self-serve coffee bar.“We implemented Intel AIM Suite’s AnonymousViewer Analytics (AVA) functionality,” Acht-mann explains. “It assesses usage patternslike the number of viewers that observe agiven machine and how long they look at it.This enables it to show content that hasproven to be the most engaging for visitorsat that location.”

After weeks of effort from the whole devel-opment team, the alpha prototype was deliv-ered on time and above the specified targets.The beta prototype also met its deadlines andexceeded its targets. “The first productionunits were ready to ship just six workingmonths after we first assembled the team,”says Achtmann. “This was a great accomplish-ment, whereby Intel made a significant andenduring contribution toward the successof the program.”

New opportunities

Costa had initially planned to roll out around2,000 of its new self-serve machines, butbased on initial consumer feedback, it nowexpects to deploy many more of the newly-launched model, the Costa Express MarlowCEM-200*.

Thanks to the machine’s sleeker design andsophisticated user experience, Costa expectsto be able to break into environments no othercoffee vending machine has been able to reachbefore. “Our current model has been highlysuccessful in traditional vending locations likegas stations and forecourts. These machineshave typically had a more functional designto be rugged enough for these locations, butthis also means they have not been particularlyvisually appealing,” says Slater. “The MarlowCEM-200 was designed to enter new, inter-national markets (such as corporations, loungesand catering), where the old machines couldnot penetrate. With the CEM-200 we are ableto cover the entire market spectrum from theservice station to corporate boardrooms.”

The new model offers over 200 drink com-binations, including various types of coffees,teas and hot chocolates. Each beverage iscreated using fresh ingredients added to themachine daily by the local real-estate owneror operator, and based on the selections madeby the user through the touchscreen inter-face. The extensive choice means customerscan always find the drink they want, makingself-service a much more attractive option.By making each drink to order using freshingredients, the machine also ensures that itis of as high a quality as if it had been pre-pared by a barista.

Other new features include the ability topay in seconds using Chip and PIN*, “Waveand Pay”, a European smart card paymentsystem, or even contactless mobile payment.By simplifying and accelerating the transac-tion process, the CEM-200 helps to signifi-cantly improve the customer experienceand increase revenue per customer.

Copyright © 2013 Intel Corporation. All rights reserved. Intel, the Intel logo, Intel Core, Intel Core Inside and Intel Solid-State Drives are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S.and other countries.

This document and the information given are for the convenience of Intel’s customer base and are provided “AS IS” WITH NO WARRANTIES WHATSOEVER, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED,INCLUDING ANY IMPLIED WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NONINFRINGEMENT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS. Receipt orpossession of this document does not grant any license to any of the intellectual property described, displayed, or contained herein. Intel® products are not intended for use inmedical, lifesaving, life-sustaining, critical control, or safety systems, or in nuclear facility applications.

Software and workloads used in performance tests may have been optimized for performance only on Intel microprocessors. Performance tests, such as SYSmark and MobileMark,are measured using specific computer systems, components, software, operations and functions. Any change to any of those factors may cause the results to vary. You shouldconsult other information and performance tests to assist you in fully evaluating your contemplated purchases, including the performance of that product when combined withother products. For more information go to http://www.intel.com/performance.

*Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others. 0413/JNW/RLC/XX/PDF 328911-001EN

Lessons Learned

Clarity of vision, teamwork, speedand decisiveness were the keys tothis project. By bringing togetherexperts in each aspect of the designand development of the Costa Ex-press CEM-200, the organizationwas able to create something trulyground-breaking. Intel’s expertise inembedded solutions meant that itscontribution throughout the projectwas as valuable a success factor asthe technology it provided.

A higher standard of coffee bar

“Vending, and in particular coffee vending, has traditionally suffered a bad reputationfor quality. With the CEM-200 we wish to redefine the segment and provide a truepremium café experience in places where a café may be neither available nor practi-cal,” comments Martin. “Achieving this requires relentless quality and a new concept inscalability. With more reliable components such as Intel SSDs, and power efficiencythanks to the Intel Core i7 processor, the machines are highly dependable and can berolled out in larger volumes, so it’s a much more scalable solution than we have hadbefore,” adds Achtmann.

“We’re moving towards vending using intelligent systems,” explains Slater. “We’re notjust creating a box that sells coffee anymore, but a fully integrated, connected retailexperience. We are trying to save the world from mediocre coffee.”

Meanwhile, the operators that manage the individual machines are also expected tosee an improvement with the new systems. The real-time reporting and telemetryand highly reliable Intel® technology-powered machines mean that operating costs canbe reduced while revenues are boosted.

Finally, the customers themselves can benefit. The five-sense vending experience hasbeen achieved, meaning that Costa Express customers will receive a unique, engagingexperience when using the machines, all while enjoying the high quality coffee theyexpect from Costa.

Find the solution that’s right for your organization. Contact your Intel representative,visit Intel’s Business Success Stories for IT Managers www.intel.co.uk/Itcasestudiesor explore the Intel.co.uk IT Center www.intel.co.uk/itcenter.

“Costa is moving towards vending

using intelligent systems. We are not

just creating a box that sells coffee

anymore, but a fully integrated,

connected retail experience. This is

all a part of our mission to save the

world from mediocre coffee.”Jim Slater MD Costa Enterprises