Challenge
- Mobile coffee setups are often restricted by counter space.
- At large events like the PGA Championship, Merlo Coffee requires high-speed drinks service to prevent long queues.
- Preparing drinks like iced coffee or cocktails manually is time-consuming and can require multiple staff members to prevent slowdown.
Solution
- Flo-Smart’s portable rigs integrate refrigeration, storage, and dispensing in a single setup.
- The system can dispense a drink in six seconds, helping businesses handle queues and demand.
- You can use concentrates or batch-made servings to quickly dispense drinks without additional preparation.
Merlo Coffee is one of Australia’s most influential coffee roasters. What started as a coffee bar in Brisbane’s historic CBD in 1992 is now one of the country’s most prominent wholesale roasters, supplying coffee to more than 1,500 coffee shops and restaurants across the globe.
The team at Merlo began working with Flo-Smart last year. At the BMW Australian PGA Championship in November 2025, they used Flo-Smart’s portable rigs to serve high-margin cocktails and iced coffee quickly and efficiently. They were able to dispense 12 different servings in one minute, using pre-prepared concentrates for maximum efficiency.
To learn more about Merlo’s use of Flo-Smart equipment, I spoke to Mitch Branson, the company’s Marketing Coordinator. Read on for his insight.
Why Merlo uses Flo-Smart’s portable rigs for events
Merlo chose Flo-Smart’s portable rigs for drinks service at the BMW Australian PGA Championship because of its ease of use and convenience.
“Currently, we have a portable Flo-Smart unit for events, which is super convenient and allows us to serve our coffee with ease,” Mitch tells me.
The Merlo team found it especially useful for saving on countertop space, which comes at a premium when managing pop-ups. “Anyone who has served mobile coffee of any sort knows the logistics nightmare that comes with power requirements, storage, refrigeration, and stocking,” he says.
Since Flo-Smart’s portable rigs encompass all of these factors in one unit, from refrigeration to service, they could bypass these concerns. “The portable Flo-Smart unit is also our storage unit,” Mitch explains. “It only requires one outlet connected to a power board, and still produces quick, efficient, and delicious coffee using our own coffee concentrate.”
At crowded events like the Australian PGA Championship, fast service is essential. Flo-Smart can dispense a serving of iced coffee, matcha, or a cocktail in six seconds, significantly cutting down the time required to prepare each drink manually.
“The main advantages are definitely the simplicity of use and speed,” Mitch continues. “Once it’s set up, anyone can use the machine with the touch of one button. Coupled with delivering 12 drinks in 60 seconds, it makes the Flo-Smart a no-brainer for any high-volume coffee shop or event.”
The system uses a simple touchscreen layout, where you can pre-program serving volumes or quantities. This means you can have one setting for an Old Fashioned, one for an iced coffee, and one for an iced matcha – and your staff can switch between them instantly. As a result, you can offer a diverse menu at pop-up stalls or events, capturing a range of consumer demands.
The other benefits of Flo-Smart for Merlo
The Merlo team also found that using Flo-Smart rigs for drinks service helped them to save money and maximise their profit margins.
“At events, we normally see the cost savings through staffing,” Mitch says. “We only need one person to run the Flo-Smart unit, compared to two for a traditional coffee vehicle setup. The person using the point-of-sale system can very easily also dispense drinks simultaneously to ensure maximum efficiency.”
On average, it takes a barista at least one minute to make an iced coffee manually. Steps like pulling a shot of espresso and pouring milk by hand are time-consuming and prone to human error. With Flo-Smart, you can either batch-prepare iced coffee before an event, or use the multi-tap feature to dispense espresso concentrate with one tap and milk with the other in just six seconds. That way, you can serve a significantly higher number of drinks in an hour, translating to higher sales and higher profits.
However, Flo-Smart can also boost your profits by allowing you to quickly and efficiently serve high-margin drinks like iced coffee. Its cost in concentrate is $0.85 per cup and approximately $0.30 in milk per serve. This equates to a cost of $1.15 for a 12-oz iced latte, which retails at $7.00 in an event setting – all served in six seconds.
As a result of the successful partnership at the BMW Australian PGA Championship, Merlo is now looking to incorporate Flo-Smart systems elsewhere. “The portable unit has been great, and I can’t wait to get the benchtop units incorporated into our retail stores.”
Evidently, Flo-Smart excels as a portable unit for high-margin drinks service at events. With its versatility and quick dispensing speeds, you can easily handle surges in demand and optimise your profit margins at the same time.
To get a quote for your own Flo-Smart dispenser, visit our website or get in touch with us directly.
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