In this article, you’ll learn:
- What a commercial drink machine does and the products it can make
- How a single machine can produce cold brew, iced tea, mocktails, and more
- The business case: cost savings, consistency, and visual impact
- How to future-proof your café with versatile, hygienic equipment
For hospitality and foodservice businesses, speed and efficiency are essential. After all, the average coffee shop serves anywhere from 100 to 600 customers a day. Investing in a commercial drink machine helps businesses meet these demands without investing in more staff or facilities.
Equally important is versatility: the range of drinks you can offer to customers, and your ability to adapt to new trends. Investing in versatile equipment, therefore, can transform how your business serves cold beverages. However, you also need to consider consumer preferences, operational demands, and flexible, scalable solutions when choosing a commercial drink machine.
To learn more about the uses and benefits of a commercial drink machine, I spoke to Ben Irvine. He is the Trade Marketing Manager at Seven Miles Coffee Roasters, which partners with over 700 cafés around Australia.
How does a commercial drink machine help you meet customer demand?
For foodservice businesses, the landscape is constantly changing. While some drinks, such as coffee and soft drinks, will remain menu staples, the products and flavours that customers want never remain static.
More than before, consumers expect variety and quality from their drinks. That’s especially true for Gen Z and Millennials, who often seek out drinks with unique, adventurous flavour profiles.
Your commercial drink machine should be capable of adjusting to these trends on the fly. “Among the cafés we partner with, commercial drinks machines are becoming a key tool to serve cold drinks that are consistent, high-quality, and fast,” Ben explains.
The Baby Hardtank, for example, has a singular filter basket where you can add a range of ingredients, ranging from ground coffee to fruit. By offering extended drink production from the same equipment, you can meet demands without investing in more equipment.
As the sector evolves, investing in a commercial drink machine means you aren’t playing catch-up with competitors. “Iced coffee, matcha, and other specialty drinks are booming, especially with younger customers looking for something different,” Ben tells me.
Your equipment shouldn’t just be limited to these drinks, though. In the USA, iced tea is now the third most popular drink after water and soft drinks. Cold brew coffee is also gaining ground, with its menu penetration increasing by a staggering 245% since 2021. These aren’t just fleeting trends – they’re proof that customer expectations are constantly evolving.
Having a single machine that can make all of these drinks – and any future products that come into fashion – is worthwhile. “These machines help cafés meet demand while also making a visual statement: that this is a destination for standout specialty drinks,” Ben adds.
The operational benefits of a commercial drink machine
Adding a commercial drink machine to your operations isn’t just about menu development and diversity. Just as beneficial are the marked improvements to your efficiency and profit margins.
For example, making iced tea manually is time-consuming, inefficient, and requires significant storage space. You’ll need to constantly steep the tea, find somewhere cool to refrigerate it, and could easily run out on a hot day, leaving you unable to meet customer demand. Space-efficient machines that automate the process help address these concerns.
Hardtank machinery uses patented recirculation technology to constantly agitate the ingredients in its filter basket. This slashes the extraction time, meaning you can prepare a range of drinks quickly throughout the day.
This is particularly relevant for businesses that want to offer different drinks each day but lack the time or staff capacity to do so manually. Time-saving machines allow you to scale production dynamically, helping you meet peak demand without overproducing – a key factor in reducing waste and controlling COGS.
“But it’s not just about speed,” Ben says. “The best machines are easy for staff to use, quick to clean, and built to keep up with the daily rush.”
Hygiene is an important aspect of any foodservice business’ operations – but for cold drinks, it can present a challenge. For cold brew in particular, its lower acidity and colder steeping temperature make it susceptible to microbial contamination.
Machines such as the Baby Hardtank have self-cleaning programmes and are constructed from food-grade stainless steel, helping venues stay compliant with health regulations. Therefore, your commercial drink machine can remove a significant operational burden while also expanding your menu.
Ease of use is another benefit of a commercial drink machine. Choosing equipment with user-friendly systems, such as touchscreen interfaces and built-in memory programmes, allows your staff to use it with minimal training. It’s particularly important if you operate across locations with constantly changing shift cycles, maintaining quality and consistency during peak times.
How a versatile commercial drink machine drives innovation, branding, and beverage expansion
As we’ve seen, commercial drink machines aren’t just suitable for one type of drink. Modern equipment is designed with versatility in mind, allowing you to produce a wide variety of drinks. Depending on your strategy, you can use them for spiced cold brews, mocktails, or infused waters.
The Baby Hardtank’s fine-mesh extraction basket can ensure maximum flavour without sediment build-up, meaning even brand-new experimental formulations come out smooth and drinkable. It also has variable steeping times and parameters, giving you full control over the process.
By extension, it means you can easily scale up your menu and diversify the kinds of cold drinks you offer, which has its own benefits. Once you’ve determined your daily volume, you can choose whether to use the Baby Hardtank or Hardtank 20 – and then scale accordingly. “The right machine isn’t just another bit of kit,” Ben says. “It becomes part of the café’s rhythm and reputation.
“When it fits the flow of service, it boosts staff confidence, keeps quality high, and gives customers something to come back for.”
The visual presence of specialised countertop equipment shouldn’t be underestimated, either. In modern coffee shops and bars, sleek equipment enhances your brand identity and communicates a commitment to quality and innovation.
Studies show that visually appealing equipment can create perceptions of higher quality from customers, which presents upselling opportunities. As such, a commercial drink machine can function as a front-of-house asset as much as a practical tool.
Equally, choosing equipment that is particularly suited to cold drinks creates more room for revenue growth. Cold drinks in general have some of the highest profit margins in the non-alcoholic beverage category. Presented as a premium option through visually appealing, bespoke equipment, which customers are willing to pay more for.
In conclusion, all foodservice and hospitality businesses can benefit from a commercial drink machine. As consumer tastes shift, it allows you to adapt to changes without investing in additional equipment. It also gives you the license to experiment with new drink concepts and launch them instantly, scaling your production to meet demand.
From streamlining your production times to increasing the consistency of your products, your commercial drink machine brings a lot to the table. For businesses looking to capitalise upon the growing demand for premium cold drinks, while also reducing overheads and future-proofing their operations, the investment is increasingly justifiable.
Key takeaways
- A single, high-performance drink machine allows you to offer multiple cold beverages with minimal labour.
- The right machine saves time, ensures hygiene, and scales with demand.
- Visually striking machines also support branding and premium pricing.
- Cold beverages have among the highest profit margins in foodservice.
- Investing now means future-proofing your business in a competitive landscape.
Ready to unlock 250 L/day of fresh, high‑margin cold drinks? Check our ROI calculator and see how quickly a Hardtank equipment pays for itself – then book your live demo.
FAQ
What types of drinks can I make with a commercial drink machine?
Using versatile drinks equipment, you can produce drinks including cold brew coffee, iced tea, mocktails, infusions, and more. You are only limited by your imagination because you can put all manner of ingredients in the filter basket.
Which businesses can benefit from a commercial drink machine?
Commercial drink machines are ideal for cafés, coffee chains, restaurants, hotel groups, and even event caterers – anywhere cold beverage speed, consistency, and creativity are needed.
How efficient is a commercial drink machine?
It depends on the model, but Hardtank machines can produce large volumes. For example, the Baby Hardtank has a daily output of 60 litres, making it suitable for smaller venues and the Hardtank 20 scales up to 250 litres for large operations. Hardtank equipment also uses controlled agitation to speed up production without compromising on flavour.
How do I calculate the ROI for a commercial drink machine?
Use our free ROI calculator tool to see how quickly your Hardtank machine can pay for itself.
What kind of training does my staff need to operate a commercial drink machine?
Most modern machines like the Baby Hardtank and Hardtank 20 feature intuitive touchscreens and preset programs, so basic operation can be taught in 15 to 30 minutes. We recommend a short hands‑on session covering:
- Loading and measuring ingredients correctly
- Selecting and customising brew programs
- Running the automatic cleaning and sanitising cycle
How quickly can I get up and running after purchase?
Typical lead times are four to six weeks from payment to delivery. On arrival, you can be fully operational within one business day: unbox, connect utilities (water and power), run a quick calibration, and you’re ready for your first extraction cycle.
