N.S. ‘beer robots’ company hoping to get into North American pro sporting venues

Beer vending machines debuted at sporting centres in Halifax and Moncton.

A Dartmouth, N.S., company behind beer vending machines, known as “beer robots,” is hoping a pilot project in the Maritimes will help propel them to the international stage.

Dispension Inc., founded by Corey Yantha, has had two machines in both the Scotiabank Centre in Halifax and the Avenir Centre in Moncton. It’s part of a pilot project with both rinks, with the Scotiabank Centre featuring the machines during five events in January, while the Avenir Centre hosts the machines until the end of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League season.

“We had a great opportunity to showcase our technology to the local audience, some friends and family,” he says. “We also had some really great guest feedback, and we got to partner with our local arena.”

Eighty-five per cent of customers in Moncton are returning customers, Yantha says, with 20 per cent over the age of 50.

“This technology has really created a buzz around the building,” he says.

Now that the machines are no longer in the Scotiabank Centre, a review is underway to determine how the pilot project went.

“It’s modern technology that we find in most urban centers, and we’re really happy to be working with a local, Dartmouth-owned company,” said Dawn Delaney, the director of marketing and communications for the Events East Group, in an interview on Jan. 24.

Speaking to CTV News on Wednesday, Delaney says there’s no timeline for when they’ll decide if the machines could return to the rink on a long-term basis.

How they work

“(Customers) insert their ID. Once their ID is inserted, their age is verified and the expiry date of that document, and then their face is compared to that ID to make sure that they are the ones presenting that ID,” Yantha says. “No underage person can access our technology.”

He says the built-in camera that verifies identity uses facial comparison technology.

After identity verification and payment, the cans are cracked and served to the customer.

Planning for the future

He says their business shouldn’t be impacted by the trade war with the United States as the machines are leased, rather than sold.

But the company has ambitious goals, looking to close deals in the next six months to deploy dozens of machines.

“We anticipate having 40 of these ‘SmartServ’ units operating in venues across North America, whether it’s Major League Baseball, NFL, NBA, NHL, or even, the Canadian Hockey League here at home,” Yantha says.

A spokesperson for the Avenir Centre also says it’s too early to determine whether a long-term deal could be inked to include the machines next season.