Published • 6 Mar 2023
Evergreen Refreshments, an unattended retail operator serving the Washington and Oregon area, has always leaned on innovation for success. Founded in 1976, Evergreen’s entrepreneurial focus led the company to focus on more than just vending - expanding toward micro markets, office coffee, and pantry service solutions.
In an effort to continue innovating and providing excellent technology to their customers, Evergreen Refreshments installed the 365 PicoCooler in their locations and have seen notable effects since August 2022.
Spotlighted by Vending Market Watch in a December 5th, 2022 article, continuing reading to see how Evergreen Refreshments delighted their customers with the new PicoCooler technology:
Arthur Siller, SVP of Evergreen Refreshments, is ecstatic about how sales have doubled—and even tripled—in various locations.
Siller notes that one of the most obvious use cases of this self service technology is the replacement of existing vending machines.
“The PicoCooler has already unlocked new opportunities for our markets,” said Siller. “Simply installing it has strengthened relationships with our clients, filled gaps in our revenue, and enhanced variety in our product mix at those locations.”
The PicoCooler becomes a no-lose situation when combined with how much route drivers appreciate how much simpler stocking is when compared to a vending machine.
That’s not the only way Evergreen Refreshments benefits from this self service technology. The PicoCooler has also kept clients’ consumers happy while in the office. In wake of COVID-19 and the era of working from home, in-office micro markets are seeing fewer transactions, meaning clients are looking for self service technology solutions that keep hybrid on-site workers happy.
Evergreen Refreshments found such a solution. By installing PicoCoolers in low-traffic micro markets, they could efficiently use the space by selling fresh food and beverages side-by-side. Want to make more use of the space? Just add a snack rack.
Siller has found that the PicoCooler creates a low-friction purchasing experience compared to vending, where consumers can explore products and read labels before selecting their items. If this doesn’t improve the consumer experience enough, Siller and the Evergreen Refreshments team take it a step further by providing informational signage to help first-time users.
“Really, the learning curve is not steep. It truly is easy as 1-2-3, and our clients and consumers all appreciate that,” said Siller.
What’s next for Evergreen Refreshments and the 365 PicoCooler?
“I see us continuing to put these out in the field at a fast clip. They are helping us meet client needs in all sorts of scenarios and it just makes business sense,” Siller added.
He is especially eager to set up markets for clients that have locations across multiple office buildings. It’s the perfect arrangement to foster an enhanced level of convenience for consumers who may need to collaborate across multiple locations in a single campus,” Siller said.
The 365 Connected Campus℠ allows for this collaboration, making it easy for operators to reap the benefits of having interconnected market locations. Operators can connect their 365-based micro market, office coffee service (OCS), vending, and dining technologies across various locations to create a fully integrated consumer experience ecosystem that seamlessly works together.
“If I have a client that has employees in three adjacent buildings, I can place a micro market in the highest traffic office and still provide a great client experience with a PicoCooler in the buildings across the parking lot, that may have less employees on-site,” Siller said.
Operators can use the self service technology solutions from 365 Retail Markets individually or as a cohesive ecosystem, benefiting themselves, their clients, and end consumers. The flexibility of the the solutions is key for operators to meet consumer needs while being at the forefront of innovation and technology.