The Advanced Refill Solution

Water Vend is the next generation beverage facility - a technologically advanced refill station for chilled water and a range of healthy drinks, brought to market under the Freshie brand.

It presents a simple commercial solution to demands on institutions to be more environmentally responsible by providing a real alternative to bottled beverages and in so doing reducing plastic and associated resource use, emissions and waste.

Users present a bottle or cup that is filled with their drink selection (or the machine will dispense the drink in a paper cup). The facility boasts top-line energy efficiency, state-of-the-art audit systems, precise metrics on carbon reduction and a naturally derived line of drinks.

In a commercial context Water Vend extends beverage choice and represents a candid proposition for a growing league of 'green' consumers. For vendors it is a ready path to reduce plastic while sustaining revenues in a changing marketplace.

In an institutional setting it is a highly practical and visual statement of corporate responsibility and goodwill that provides tangible benefits in terms of brand and reputation, staff and student performance and customer satisfaction.

Water Vend in the Media

The Sydney Morning Herald

Carbon Reduction

The WaterVend machine is highly energy and water efficient, accredited with the top A++ rating under the European Vending Association Energy Protocol. It's Flash cooling technology uses power and water only when it dispenses, making it far more energy efficient than traditional vending and refrigeration options – and management costs as well.

Based on an institution's bottled beverage consumption data, Water Vend will deliver a precise metric on how much energy is saved (in substituting bottled beverage with direct vends) in MJ/l and kWh.

In this respect, the facility can actually represent a 'carbon negative' solution that can enable participating institutions to offset emissions in other areas of operation, with these metrics readily extrapolated to popular measures for accounting and reporting purposes.

Machine Operation

The machine works like a typical vending
machine, but with a digital prompt that
directs users to insert a bottle which is
hygienically filled – unlike other facilities,
the bottle lip does not touch the dispenser.

The facility supports most single serve bottles,
including sports bottles, standard plastic bottles
and aluminum and steel reusables (that we can help
our partners source). For cup serves, glasses and cups
are accepted and filled - if not presented, the machine will dispense a paper cup.

An on-board audit reporting system provides Excel-compatible reports on sales and use to underscore machine management and payments. Likewise this facility can be fitted with telemetry to issue alerts in relation to machine stock requirements and to report any faults.

Placements Abroad

The machine itself is manufactured in the UK and delivered in Australia
under an exclusive distribution agreement. Over 5,000 machines of this
type are already successfully in operation in the UK, USA and Europe.

These placements include:

Financial institutions like Barclays Bank
Professional services firms
Universities in Canada and the USA
High schools in the UK and Ireland

Beverage Options

A multi-stage filtration mechanism purifies and
invigorates the vended product as its dispensed,
using commercial grade Brita and Flash Fresh™
UV filtration to deliver great tasting water and
water-based drinks free of impurities, heavy metals
and bacteria.

Each machine has four vend selections with options
such as Sparkling Water, and naturally flavoured drinks
like Lemon Iced Tea, Orange Mango & Vitamin C, Blueberry
Pomegranate + Vitamin B and 100% Apple and Blackcurrant juice (with no additives).

Freshie on Campus

Freshie made a high profile launch on World Water Day 2011 when the Vice Chancellor of the University of Canberra ratified a student-based sustainability initiative in announcing that all campus outlets would cease to sell bottled water. In the same breath he announced the Water Vend Freshie facility as the commercial replacement to bottled water at the University.

Since then the facility has been installed at several other university campuses where it has slotted in as part of the facilities mix alongside refrigerators carrying the world's biggest drink brands.

At universities like Newcastle and Wollongong, students and staff now have the opportunity to refill their bottles in an eco-friendly fashion with a great range of drinks, buying in to the ideal of 'refill not landfill' and the appeal of 'every drink made fresh'. Furthermore, the machine can be seen as a hands-on learning facility that resonates with the school curricula.

Jon Dee, the Founder of Do Something! and Planet Ark and NSW Australian of the Year 2010, has suggested machines like the Water Vend are the future of bottled water in Australia:

Dispenser Unit

Our dispenser unit performs the same functions as the vending machine minus the payment mechanism.

As the next generation facility for your internal water and beverage needs, the dispenser:

Pairs up perfectly with your 'corporate' bottle
Extends well beyond water coolers in flexibility and features
Is readily customised with your brand and aesthetic (in collaboration with us)
Can even be coupled to coffee machines and a reusable bottle vending machine

Short-term placements of the dispenser unit for site-specific events and promotions can be arranged. Opportunities to consider here include: in-store dispensers tied to the release of reusable bottles, designed as the new fashion accessory; for service providers to highlight their stance on the environment with 'free' vend machines in retail outlets; sponsored machines on our other sites or 'pop-up' outlets in public spaces…