Redmond Taco Time now features the new Coca-Cola Freestyle, a greener, high-tech soda fountain dispenser with micro-dosing technology of more than 100 drinks.
The drink dispenser was installed at the Redmond Taco Time, at 17140 Redmond Way, on Wednesday — a week after its debut at a Seattle Taco Time March 9.
This modern marvel dispenses sodas not commonly found in fast food restaurants, including up to 60 different diet beverages, sparkling waters and sports drinks. It also features exclusive Coca-Cola products — like Diet Coke Raspberry, Orange, Cherry and Lime.
“When we talk to consumers they see a tremendous increase in the value you get with Freestyle,” said Gene Farrell, vice president and general manager of Coca-Cola Freestyle. “The consumers are really reacting positively to the broad variety of choice. With today’s machine there’s about six to eight choices and typically only one is diet, now Freestyle has 60 diet choices and 66 caffeine-free.”
Available at a variety of restaurants in other states, the Taco Time in Seattle and Redmond are the only locations where Freestyle is featured in Washington at this time. Taco Time Northwest plans to feature Coca-Cola Freestyle in 15 of its Seattle area restaurants by the end of March. It is expected to expand to other fast-food chains within Washington, said Farrell. Freestyle also has plans to supply restaurants that offer adult beverages with signature cocktail mixer blends. There is a five percent cost increase per beverage sold but, the beverage options are far greater.
“We have been working on this project since 2005,” Farrell said. “We started with small team of less than a dozen people and then grew to hundreds between development and manufacture.”
Local technology powerhouses, Microsoft, BSQUARE and Impinj collaborated with Coca-Cola in developing the unique device available in Atlanta, Salt Lake City, Dallas, Southern California, and now Seattle. BSQUARE, a mobile and embedded systems cooperation headquartered in Bellevue, developed the software of the user interface, the touch-screen monitor that displays beverage options. Essentially a computer that dispenses soda, Microsoft provided the operating system and device software. Impinj, a manufacturer of radio-frequency identification technology here in Seattle, provided the RFID, the data chip for the Freestyle.
People in Redmond now have the option of drinking sustainable soft-drinks. The carbon footprint of the Freestyle machine is about 30 percent less than other packaged products. This is a dramatic reduction, said Farrell. The machine does not require syrup, but instead uses concentrated ingredients stored in cartridges, according to the Coca-Cola Freestyle website. Every cartridge is equivalent to five gallons of syrup, saving the company money on transportation costs and reducing their fuel emissions.
Coca-Cola is working to put a Freestyle fountain in the Microsoft executive briefing center and is discussing other locations around the campus to feature this product. They use a lot of packaged products so this could help reduce their cost, said Farrell.
“It is a great innovation and there is certainly a great local tie with the companies involved,” said Farrell.
Adelaide Tillinghast, a senior at The Bear Creek School, is an intern for the Redmond Reporter.
