Vend, brew, repeat

Ho: Anyone can buy a good machine, but if your service and maintenance is not up to par, it won’t deliver the quality it’s supposed to.

EEYONG Ho was part way through studying for a chemical engineering degree in the United Kingdom when she discovered her passion for the food and beverage (F&B) business.

As a student working part-time behind the counter in a cafe, she found herself drawn to the pace of the coffee shop environment and the buzz of serving customers their daily brew.

Following a two-year post-graduation corporate stint in cybersecurity consulting back in Malaysia, she decided to take the plunge into the F&B world, helping to set up restaurants and bringing in new franchises from abroad.

However, the food service industry was not without its own difficulties.

“The biggest challenge was always manpower,” Ho recalls.

“Customer volumes are hard to predict, so scheduling the number of staff for each shift becomes a headache.

“Sometimes they would be overworked, while other times they were underutilised. In Malaysia, it’s common for people to just not turn up to work.”

The frustration led her to start researching ways to alleviate these issues with automation.

What caught her attention was a new generation of modern, high-tech coffee vending machines offering barista-level brews.

Gone were the days when machines would dispense cups containing stale instant coffee powder half-dissolved in too much hot water.

Today, they grind whole beans, pull espresso shots, and steam milk to order, delivering a fresh cafe latte or cappuccino in less than a minute at a tap of a touch screen.

“Coffee vending machines have advanced significantly over the last 20 years, and now have the ability to craft beverages at the same quality as a cafe, given that all the parameters are right.

“The advantages of serving coffee through a vending machine over a full-fledged cafe are evident,” Ho notes.

In addition to reducing manpower costs, the smaller space needed for a vending machine translates to lower rental and operational expenses.

These savings could then be passed to customers, who benefit from more affordable drinks on top of quicker service and greater convenience.

So began the development process for what would become Otter Barista, a robotic coffee vending machine business now boasting almost 80 machines across the Klang Valley, Perak and Penang.

Unsurprisingly, location is a critical factor when it comes to the vending machine business.

One environment in which Otter Barista’s machines have seen a strong response is hospitals, adds Ho, who serves as the company’s chief executive officer (CEO) and founder.

“Hospitals run 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” she explains.

“Staff are working after-hour shifts when most cafés are not open but still need the fuel – that’s where our service becomes crucial.”

In fact, a significant turning point in the company’s journey came when it secured its first hospital location, two years into its operations.

“It gave us a level of credibility and trust, as healthcare institutions have higher standards and stricter requirements. From there, it became much easier for us to get into other hospitals.”

Beyond this, office buildings are also key locations for Otter Barista, as workers in these spaces are more likely to seek out wallet-friendly, grab-and-go options for their caffeine needs, rather than pay a premium for a sit-down coffee-shop setting.

Given the importance of strategic location choice in the coffee vending machine market, competition for good spots can be especially intense.

For Ho, the company’s deep expertise in robotic vending machines, and rigorous emphasis on quality and service, remains its key differentiator.

“Anyone can buy a good machine and put it out there, but if your service and maintenance is not up to par, it won’t deliver the quality that it’s supposed to,” she says.

While some coffee vending machine players prioritise a wide and varied range of beverage options, Otter Barista machines notably feature a relatively streamlined menu, consisting mainly of core coffee, chocolate, and matcha favourites.

The reasoning behind this boils down to operation optimisation, the CEO shares.

“If you have a high number of stock keeping units, people will still gravitate towards a few bestsellers, while the rest remain stagnant. More ingredients mean smaller slots for each of them in a machine, resulting in more frequent restocking and higher operational costs.

“For this reason, we tend to stick to basics that people will buy on a daily basis.”

Looking ahead, the team’s strategic focus is on expansion, with sights set on extending its footprint into every state in Malaysia, Ho reveals.

On potential plans to leverage its robotic vending machine capabilities beyond coffee and beverages, she says the business is open to exploring new categories such as food or toys through partnerships with other brands.

“Over the past five years, we have gained extensive insight into the wider vending industry.

“We are looking to collaborate with brands that want to grow their distribution channels, and work together to build different types of vending machines.”