NRA 2025: Coca-Cola Pours Into Restaurant Tech
The HT team enjoyed an in-depth guided tour of the Coca-Cola booth, “The District,” at the 2025 National Restaurant Association Show, in Chicago, on May 19. Josh Gurley, VP of Digital Partnerships & Capabilities at The Coca-Cola Company (one of the newest members of our Restaurant Technology Network), gave us an immersive experience — and a glimpse of the future.
From interactive touchscreens and connected drink dispensers to a digital avatar that answered attendee questions, Coca-Cola showcased how tech and data are transforming the guest experience — and helping restaurants tap into consumer behavior to drive new revenue.
We experienced Freestyle beverage dispensers, which collect data on beverage consumption, flavor preferences, and maintenance needs, allowing restaurant operators to reduce syrup, waste, optimize inventory, and restocking, and create unique customer experiences such as QR code enabled drink selection.
And we got a look at various ways in which Coca-Cola partners with operators to deliver digital marketing campaigns, including personalized offers through mobile apps or kiosks, co-branded digital promotions via loyalty apps or social platforms, and QR code activations on cups or menus that link to games, surveys, or deals.
Join HT’s Coca-Cola Webinar
Wish you had joined us on Coca-Cola's booth tour?
Good news!
You can join me and Josh for our upcoming webinar, Taste the Innovation: Coca-Cola Pours into Restaurant Tech with Purpose, on Thursday, June 12 at 11:00 AM EDT.
The webinar will examine Coca-Cola’s approach to restaurant digital transformation — starting with what may be its most valuable ingredient: insight. Backed by exclusive consumer research, Coca-Cola has identified key patterns in digital ordering behavior. For example, roughly half of consumers browsing digital menus don’t know what they want until something catches their eye. That moment of indecision is a golden opportunity for upsell — especially with beverages.
We’ll explore:
- How data and digital optimization can grow beverage sales
- More on what Coca-Cola’s exclusive research reveals about consumer behavior
- A real-world success story from a restaurant brand that partnered with Coca-Cola and won big
