Introducing the future of shopping

Coca-Cola HBC Hungary is preparing to open 15 staff-free and cashier-free stores in three years for a total of HUF 250 million, and the company plans to triple its revenues from the future-oriented retail solution by the end of 2026. Coca-Cola HBC Hungary is not only the largest Hungarian soft drink manufacturer, but also a full-service beverage partner for more than 50,000 retailers. This primarily means that it offers relevant and high-quality products to its customers and, through them, to consumers, every day of the week. The company’s scope of activity can now be interpreted in a much broader spectrum: it has an extensive sales network, is constantly developing its commercial capabilities, and monitors consumer and industry trends in order to make the right business decisions in order to achieve joint business successes with its customer partners. Automated commerce is a new, modern trend in retail, which offers the opportunity to develop and transform existing sales and shopping routines with the help of artificial intelligence-driven technology.

The new market segment holds promising business opportunities and promises new consumption opportunities for Coca-Cola HBC Hungary. The company has almost twenty years of experience in the unmanned automated commercial solutions market, currently worth around HUF 50 billion, including cold and hot beverage, snack and ready-to-eat food vending machines. Based on existing market experience, Coca-Cola HBC Hungary is the first in the country to invest in the creation of a fully automated and customizable retail unit that can operate without staff and cashiers, providing consumers with a simple and convenient shopping experience at any time of the day.

“We look forward to the introduction of the first store without staff and cashiers, which is a unique innovation not only in Hungary but also in the Coca-Cola HBC Group, which encompasses 29 countries. In the years since the coronavirus pandemic, domestic retail has undergone a strong transformation, new technologies have taken root, new shopping habits have developed, the sector is struggling with a noticeable labor shortage and digitalization is permeating everything. As a leading food company, we also want to keep up with these changes and invest in technologies that will provide us with a long-term business advantage. Our current plans include opening a total of 15 units within three years, including the existing store at Yettel Hungary’s headquarters, representing a combined investment value of over HUF 250 million, and we expect to triple our revenues from this groundbreaking commercial solution by the end of 2026,”

said Ágnes Kovács, Managing Director of Coca-Cola HBC Hungary.