FDBusiness.com

A manufacturer of juice dispensers is using augmented reality to transform its sales process, drive productivity and create new jobs. GenerationJuice, based in Bromborough, Liverpool City Region, makes app-driven drink dispensers, or drink hubs, designed to serve natural juice drinks from concentrate into reusable bottles, as an alternative to single use plastic and aluminium cans.

After success in the leisure and hospitality industry the business, which launched in 2019, has started to target emerging markets such as education and healthcare. It worked with Made Smarter’s Adoption Programme in the North West to develop a digital demo experience using augmented reality to enable customers to visualise the dispenser on their site while tasting samples of the drinks at the same time.

The app-based solution eliminates the time-consuming and inefficient face-to-face demonstration process which typically ties up two sales staff for half a day.

GenerationJuice estimates that with new marketing activity to generate demo leads, productivity will increase by 600% and turnover by 50%. The technology investment has also created two new jobs.

Simon Edwards, co-founder, said: “The pandemic had a significant impact on the business, restricting our access to potential customers. We used the time to rethink the way we approached certain processes. Made Smarter’s support came at a crucial time and its support has helped us to shape our digital roadmap and accelerate our ambitions.

“Our first step is to create more sales opportunities using emerging technologies which will drive our ambition of building 1,000 dispensers over the next three years.”

By using the app and sending tasting samples of its 180-drink portfolio by courier, GenerationJuice will cut its annual mileage by 20,000, reducing its own carbon footprint.

With sustainability high on the agenda, GenerationJuice estimates its products can offer resource efficiency for its customers in terms of waste reduction, energy savings, and environmental impact.

It estimates that an average customer can expect to save one ton of plastic or aluminium waste based on an average consumption of 75-90,000 plastic bottles or cans – potentially reducing the company’s energy consumption by up to 63%.

Donna Edwards, Director of Made Smarter’s North West Adoption programme, said: “We are delighted to be supporting GenerationJuice to accelerate its digital transformation. It is a fantastic example of a small business investing in emerging technologies as a route to growth, prosperity and sustainability.

“GenerationJuice is among hundreds of manufacturers in the region grasping the opportunities offered by Made Smarter which include expert, impartial technology advice, digital transformation workshops to help take that first step to transform a business, and support with technology investment. I would encourage other SME manufacturers to do the same.”

For more information, visit www.madesmarter.uk/adoption