With fast food joints offering a limited soft drink menu of usually Coke, Diet Coke, Orange, 7up and Root Beer (or their Pepsi “equivalents”) sometimes the only way to keep drink options interesting is with the classic “suicide,” (mixing them all). Well now, Coca Cola is poised to introduce a Fountain Machine that will dispense soft drinks with up to 100 flavor combinations.

What’s advantageous to store owners is that they won’t have to redesign their beverage stations to accommodate the new dispenser, as it takes up the same space as current machines offering 8 flavors. The design can do this thanks to high-concentrate ingredients which come in cartridges, a design that’s much like that of a printer, thereby allowing for the simple swapping out of replacement cartridges on the fly, or for changing out unpopular flavors for new ones.

“Innovation is our lifeblood,” said Chris Lowe, president of the Coca-Cola North America food service and on-premise division, “and we wanted a dispenser that offers consumers greater beverage variety while helping our customers increase beverage profitability.”

Early prototypes underwent testing earlier this summer with Coke planning a limited release sometimes next year.

Hat Tip – The Big E (Engadget)