Overview
Our client, a leading coffee supply chain and ecosystem platform provider based in Singapore, aimed to revolutionize the coffee roasting industry and enhance the accessibility to fresh, ethically sourced coffee. To achieve this, they sought to develop a sophisticated smart coffee roasting appliance, establishing an intelligent and synchronized ecosystem for the market and industry.
They partnered with HCLTech to provide comprehensive, end-to-end new product development services. This collaboration spanned across engineering, design and the meticulous coordination of production processes with manufacturing partners.
The Challenge
The digital and engineering know-how to engineer the next-generation coffee roaster
Fueled by the surging demand for gourmet coffee in upscale cafes and restaurants, our client ventured into the market with the ambition of introducing a premium coffee roaster that would not only satisfy the burgeoning market demand, but also position them as a market leader within the niche segment. A successful launch and acceptance of the product in the market would position them as a leader in the segment. With ambitious goals for the product and a tight timeline of ten months, the client sought a specialist team capable of not only comprehending the product engineering and digital requirements, but also understanding the pulse of the users.
Modernizing the coffee machine was crucial to delivering an enhanced consumer experience and ensuring consistent results for roasters — presenting a prime opportunity for innovation in product development.
HCLTech, leveraging our deep expertise, delivered cutting-edge solutions that prioritized engineering innovation, sleek enclosure design and enhanced maintainability and durability.
The Objective
Crafting a smart, premium coffee roasting experience
The goal was to introduce a unique prosumer appliance tailored specifically for the specialty coffee segment. This appliance was designed to offer automated batch coffee roasting on-demand, preserving freshness and enhancing coffee quality with its aromatic richness. Furthermore, the team aimed for IoT-enabled automation, empowering users to customize roasting profiles and monitor the process in real-time, ensuring consistent, high-quality roast without the need for specialized skills.
The Solution
Leveraging our patented Airflow Speed and Temperature (AST) technology to shorten the development cycle and ensuring global product certification
Our team embarked on a mission to transform a visionary concept into a product that's ready for mass production within a stringent time frame of 12 months. We were steadfast in our commitment to prioritizing innovation, safety, hygiene and achieving efficiency in the manufacturing and assembly processes.
HCLTech's consumer appliance team meticulously designed the coffee roaster backed by the precision of the patented AST technology. The product works flawlessly delivering high quality and safety.
Our strategy included:
- Envisioning and designing a unique prosumer appliance for the specialty coffee segment, facilitating batch coffee roasting on-demand
- Developing a fully automatic machine to ensure the freshness and quality of roasted beans
- Incorporating IoT capabilities for profile customization by end consumers, enabling real-time tracking of roasting profiles
- Guaranteeing consistently high-quality roast without the need for manual skills
- Providing a solution to replace the expertise required in manual coffee roasting with automated processes
- Offering variety and personalization through profile selection, enhancing the user experience
The Impact
Evolving into a one-stop solution provider for the coffee industry
Leveraging our expertise, particularly in the design and commercialization process and tapping into the capabilities of contract manufacturers specialized in coffee machine production, our client is poised to introduce groundbreaking solutions to the market.
This collaboration has the potential to significantly transform the future of the coffee industry, catalyzing innovation and setting new benchmarks for quality, customer experience and efficiency.
