Those of us that have lived in Japan for a while are obviously familiar with the concept of getting your morning (hot or cold) caffeine fix in can form from a vending machine.
For the US, however, this novel idea is only just catching on. A new company, Hotshot, will be America’s first to bring the phenomenon to the country’s shores as early as January 2016.
According to the company’s website, “HOT canned coffee was invented in Japan and is an estimated $14 billion a year business. We knew the timing was right to introduce the concept to the US, but we quickly realized we couldn’t just copy the Japanese. Their coffee cans are smaller and weren’t hot enough, nor did they have insulating labels. And the taste profiles just didn’t fit what Americans liked. We spent years developing our beverages to suit American tastes and expectations for Hot Coffee.”
While we don’t necessarily agree with the criticisms of Japanese canned coffee, it’s nice to see such a typical, everyday product in Japan find its feet in other parts of the world.
Due to America’s vastly different vending machine market, Hotshot will sell their products from a “Hot Box”, available for both retailers and in the consumer’s home.
–Chris Zajko
Images: Hotshot website
