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Feb 18, 2024

Offer Popular Cold Brew Coffee Without Maxing Out Labor

As convenience store retailers continue to face labor challenges, they are seeking ways to trim labor demand on staff members without sacrificing product variety or customer service. According to

As convenience store retailers continue to face labor challenges, they are seeking ways to trim labor demand on staff members without sacrificing product variety or customer service.

According to Technomic’s 2022 C-Store Market Annual Report, staffing and labor are issues for many retailers—94% say they are concerned about the ability to hire enough workers at store level, and 86% say they are concerned about the ability to retain current store level employees.

One way retailers can address labor issues is by switching to more efficient beverage equipment. Cold brew, which has become increasingly popular over the past few years, is showing no signs of slowing in growth. For retailers, though, it presents a tricky situation. Because preparing cold brew can be labor intensive, some retailers may opt not to offer it at all, which can lead customers to travel elsewhere for their preferred drink. There’s a solution, though—a machine that allows retailers to offer cold brew coffee without stretching labor.

The Infusion Series Platinum Edition® from BUNN can produce batches of cold brew concentrate, as well as ready-to-drink cold brew and iced coffees that consumers can customize. Additionally, the new cold brew mode on the Infusion Series Platinum Edition® saves on labor demand.

“Traditional cold brewing methods may require up to 24 hours of preparation and staging, all requiring manual tasks for operators. With the new cold brew mode, the brewer automatically controls temperature, water volume and delivery, allowing retailers to brew quickly,” said Brandi Goodin, Vice President of Marketing Communications at BUNN. “This brewer makes it easy to incorporate brewing into daily tasks, reduce planning time for store managers and shift leaders, and reduce the chance of waste at the end of the day.”

The exclusive cold brew mode on the Infusion Series Platinum Edition® models means retailers can have a dedicated coffee machine that makes cold brew in minutes on-demand, which offers convenience for consumers and frees up staff to focus on other tasks. “The Infusion Platinum Cold Brew Mode enables retailers to brew an on-demand batch of cold brew, utilizing a new range of lower brewing temperatures and BUNN’s SmartWAVE brewing technology,” said Jamie Schroetlin, Vice President of Product Management at BUNN.

BUNN’s Infusion Series Platinum model has several advanced technical features, including a touchscreen for an enhanced operation experience—which allows users to customize recipes with Visually Intuitive Programming™. It also has the powerful duo of BUNN-exclusive Peak Extraction™ Sprayhead along with SmartWAVE® technology that delivers increased turbulence in the coffee bed during brewing, unrivaled uniformity of extraction and complexity in the finished beverage. The Platinum Edition® is also BUNNlink compatible, which means it has an IoT machine management platform built by BUNN to provide a secure mechanism to remotely monitor and communicate with connected equipment.

“Infusion Series Platinum Edition® models are extremely versatile with two different brew modes to convert the machine to a dedicated hot or cold brewer,” Schroetlin said. Retailers can use the Hot Brew mode for hot coffee, iced coffee, hot tea, iced tea and bubble tea, and the Cold Brew mode for batches of cold brew on-demand.

The new Cold Brew Mode on BUNN Infusion Series Platinum Edition® models allows retailers to make cold brew coffee with operational ease. For more information, click here.

This post is sponsored by BUNN