Start-up cracks clogging challenge in coffee vending machines to serve kopi 24/7
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Loh Jian Yuan (left), 40, and Leow Jun Heng, 27, co-founders of Kopi Near Me, with one of the local start-up’s vending machines at Ubi Techpark which serves up freshly brewed Nanyang-style coffee.
ST PHOTO: AZMI ATHNI
- Kopi Near Me solved clogging issues in coffee vending machines by customising them to brew Nanyang-style kopi using proprietary recipes, enabling 24/7 fresh coffee service.
- The start-up has deployed 170 machines across various locations and plans to expand into Malaysia, gaining recognition at the IP for Growth Awards.
- Their machines reduce manpower needs and standardise kopi quality, while the company keeps its brewing process as trade secrets to protect intellectual property.
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SINGAPORE – For years, getting a cup of freshly brewed Nanyang-style coffee, or kopi, from a vending machine round the clock was a pipe dream.
Using conventional machines meant for preparing Western-style coffee could cause the equipment to spoil after dispensing 10 to 20 cups of kopi.
The reason? Nanyang coffee beans are roasted with sugar and butter, and produce a sticky and hard caramelised residue when ground. This residue can clog the grinders of conventional vending machines.
But local start-up Kopi Near Me cracked this messy problem using food science and engineering. The company prevented the clogging issue by customising traditional coffee vending machines using its proprietary recipes and brewing processes – the details of which are trade secrets.
Kopi Near Me’s breakthrough was recognised on Aug 25 at the inaugural IP for Growth Awards, with the company named an emerging champion in the food technology category. The accolade honours early-stage enterprises and start-ups that build strong brands or technologies whose innovations are backed by intellectual property (IP).
Singapore start-up Kopi Near Me’s tabletop coffee machine that offers freshly brewed Nanyang-style coffee, in an office pantry.
PHOTO: KOPI NEAR ME
A cup of freshly brewed kopi from a Kopi Near Me vending machine at Ubi Techpark.
ST PHOTO: AZMI ATHNI
The awards are organised by the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) and 11 winners across various categories were announced at a reception event at Clifford Pier for Singapore IP Week.
Since its first coffee machines launched at the end of 2024, the company has deployed 170 machines, including a smaller tabletop version, in locations ranging from office pantries and eateries to shipyards and army camps. The firm also has plans to expand into Malaysia.
Kopi Near Me chief executive Leow Jun Heng, 27, said that his company’s machines also address a manpower challenge faced by businesses that serve Nanyang coffee, which is a staple at heartland coffee shops and hawker centres.
“Some companies with several outlets have to cut their headcount from two to one because it’s difficult to find and hire enough people who know how to prepare Nanyang coffee and are willing to put in the hours to brew hundreds of cups of kopi a day,” explained Leow.
Another problem is that the quality of kopi prepared by different employees can vary, depending on the brewer’s skill. Kopi Near Me’s machines address this by standardising the quality of each cup of coffee.
Kopi Near Me spent about a year experimenting with the coffee ingredients used, their proportions and the steps needed to brew each cup, including getting the machine to deliver a cup in 30 to 45 seconds.
While the company could have patented its coffee recipes and brewing process, Kopi Near Me decided against it and kept them as trade secrets after consulting IP lawyers and IPOS.
Said Loh Jian Yuan, 40, Kopi Near Me’s chief operating officer: “If we had filed patents, that would mean our coffee-making processes and recipes would become public. If someone infringes on our patent, especially overseas, we won’t have the financial muscle to enforce our patent as a small company.”
Similarly, another local start-up honoured at the IP for Growth Awards, CRecTech, decided to keep key parts of its innovations a trade secret over concerns that businesses may wilfully infringe the firm’s IP in some jurisdictions, and enforcing its IP overseas can be challenging. The deep-technology firm’s chief executive officer Lim Kang Hui, 31, was named a Young Innovator at the event.
Lim Kang Hui, co-founder and chief executive officer of CRecTech.
PHOTO: CRECTECH
CRecTech developed a way to reduce the cost of converting waste products of palm oil production into methanol, which can be used as less polluting green fuel for ships, by up to 50 per cent. It is now exploring business opportunities in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, which have oil palm plantations.
The catalysts developed by CRecTech that can reduce the cost of converting waste products from palm oil production into methanol used as green fuel for ships.
PHOTO: CRECTECH
The company patented the chemical compounds, called catalysts, which help speed up chemical reactions in the palm oil to methanol conversion. But some key details are secret, such as how the compounds are used and what precise steps and temperature conditions are needed to optimise the conversion.
“Our catalysts don’t work on their own,” said Lim. “You also need to understand how to maximise the usefulness of the catalysts to improve the conversion process.”
