Marley Coffee Kiosk for USA Marines.

The U.S. Marine Corps is famous for depending on its secret weapon, Go Juice, also known as coffee. The Marines are deploying a battalion of self-service coffee-vending kiosks from AVT Inc., which recently announced the contract with the Marines that will allow the Corps to deploy custom coffee kiosks in several bases.

The deal is good news for AVT in the wake of its recent Chapter 11 filing. While AVT President Wayne Salvino stressed that the bankruptcy proceedings were never a threat to the company's existence, he did acknowledge that this deal couldn't help but improve the company's bottom line.

"We had a few systems within the Marine Corps on a pilot program," Salvino said. "After months of use, the Marine Corps ordered additional units. This validates the quality of the system under rigorous daily use; it reaffirms that consumers enjoy using the interactive machine; and demonstrates that people love the flavor of the premium coffee and hot beverages the kiosk dispenses."

The custom coffee vending machines were first available at the Quantico Marine Base in Virginia, according to a press release. They will now be situated in five bases: 29 Palms, Miramar, San Diego, Parris Island and Camp Allen.
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Corona, Calif.-based AVT, a developer of custom vending machines, kiosks and automated retailing, said demand is growing for the self-service coffee kiosks it supplies to Marley Coffee Automated Stores.

Marley Coffee, also based in Corona, was founded by Rohan Marley, the son of Jamaican music legend Bob Marley. The company has been growing its retail presence rapidly, and its kiosks are now available in national U.S. grocery chains including Safeway, Kroger and Albertson's stores.

Marley Coffee said the growth in demand for its kiosks has been helped by the announcement by Outerwall, parent company of Redbox, that it plans to close its Rubi coffee kiosks venture.

"We will be significantly increasing the number of Marley Coffee kiosks throughout the nation," Joe Menichiello, Marley Coffee Automated Stores' vice president of sales, said in a statement. "We have already secured many of the former Rubi locations and are now expanding on this sizeable base."

The AVT-designed Marley 360 has an interactive touchscreen that allows customers to order any of 15 different gourmet blends including espressos and cappuccinos. As they watch, the beans are ground and filtered water is added to custom-brew the coffee.

"The Marley 360 is the first automated system that truly duplicates the coffee shop experience in terms of quality, variety and loyalty," Menichiello said. The freshly brewed coffee costs about half the price charged by a typical coffee shop, according to the company.
Marley Coffee said AVT is currently manufacturing hundreds of Marley Coffee automated kiosks, which are being deployed in shopping malls, universities and military bases.
Marley Coffee is offering automated coffee kiosks to individuals on a turnkey basis. Entrepreneurs can purchase a Marley Coffee automated kiosk as a passive investment, while AVT and their partners handle everything from identifying a location to restocking the machine, the companies said.