News

Ice cream vending comes to NRA

May 23, 2016

Stoelting Foodservice is showing its AutoVend ice cream vending kiosk at the National Restaurant Association Show May 21–24 in Chicago. The machine is a recipient of the 2016 NRA Kitchen Innovations Award, according to a press release.

The AutoVend features a reporting dashboard that can connect and monitor the machine via Wi-Fi or cellular data. It is designed to dispense two flavors individually or combined and carries up to four toppings. It can dispense 154 servings of ice cream before being refilled, according to the release.

Companies can use the dashboard for real-time product inventory management; the tool can also send an email alert if it detects a problem with the kiosk.

"The AutoVend system offers frozen soft serve from a vending machine that operates independently in only 18 square-foot of retail space," said Rich Koehl, general manager of Stoelting Foodservice. "The primary application for these machines is any retail environment that offers up to 24-hour access including colleges, convenience stores, transportation venues, healthcare facilities, business and industry locations, etc."

At the NRA show, Stoelting will also showcase its portion-control machine, the U431-Portion Control, and the  F231-2X Gravity Soft Serve-Yogurt Freezer. The portion-control machine is designed to hold two eight-gallon mix containers, and the F231-2X is able to hold two five-gallon hoppers.

The company will also showcase its new solution, the Organized Hopper Cover. The cover is designed to make it easier to disassemble machines for cleaning and maintenance, according to the release.