Barhand
Young Scottish entrepreneur Michael Bowes was given a helping hand by Dialogues and has now gone on to develop a new alcoholic vending machine he hopes will revolutionise the bar and clubbing industry across Europe.
The University of Glasgow law graduate has developed a vending machine which has a robotic arm to serve bottled alcoholic drinks directly to customers in bars and clubs.
The revolutionary new product, named BARHAND, has been manufactured in partnership with Fuji, the world’s biggest vending machine company, and is the result of three years extensive research and development, with support from Dialogues.
Designed primarily for the bar and club market, BARHAND can provide customers with bottled drinks quickly to reduce bar queues during busy periods.
The machine works by using a robotic arm which takes the selected bottled beer and placing it in the consumer’s hand. It cools the drinks to the premium drinking temperature and has a timer which can switch the machine off when last orders have been called.
Each machine holds around 300 glass and plastic bottles of varying shapes and can also stock over 30 different brands of drink at any one time.
Michael, 23, who runs Bowes Enterprises Ltd, came up with the concept after waiting over half an hour queuing in a busy bar before being served:
He said: “When I go out I’m just like anyone else in that I like to spend the majority of my evening socialising with friends rather than spending the entire night standing in needless and endless queues.
“After queuing for a great deal of time, it dawned on me that a system could be put in place to provide customers ordering bottled alcohol, such as beer, with an alternative point of purchase.
“This would relieve undue pressure on bar staff often struggling to keep up with orders during peak times and also provide customers with a drink far more quickly.”
Commenting on the support he received from Dialogues, he added: “It took a lot of time and effort to reach the stage where I was ready to introduce my new vending machine to the Scottish drinks industry and the support I received from Dialogues has been invaluable in making it happen.
“The whole process of bringing BARHAND to the market has been daunting at times so it was reassuring to know Greig was at the other end of the phone on a constant basis and he has been a positive mentor from start to finish.”
Michael approached Dialogues to help get his enterprise up and running and received a range of advice in areas such as business planning, developing financial forecasts, sourcing industry contacts, intellectual property and enterprise awards.
Each BARHAND machine is fully computerised and can be programmed to operate over 100 different functions. Machines can be timed to operate during specific times on certain days and have a fully remote-controlled system that can provide a full stock inventory, including when a drink was sold and when the machine needs to be refilled.
BARHAND will be marketed at venues where the concept will work at its most effective, namely the larger bars and clubs which operate a strict over-18 door policy. The machines are designed to be positioned in areas close to a bar, where staff can monitor the machines or where they are covered by CCTV.
Greig Sinclair, Business Development Manager at Dialogues, said: “Michael has shown a tremendous amount of determination and drive to turn this concept into a reality and we wish him every success in his plans to sell his vending machine across Europe and further afield.
“As well as providing a link between the University and SMEs across the West of Scotland, our link with Michael shows how we are helping our students set up their own businesses after graduation or on a part-time basis during their studies.”