A vending machine for businesses needs to store food at cold temperatures, deliver it without damage, and notify restocking personnel when supplies are low. Awayter developed a refrigerated machine from scratch, capable of holding 120 trays within one square meter and operating 24 hours without staff. In chapter 66 of “Toque de Ingenio,” Eudald Bover explains how he designed the machine in a year, how he organized restocking with local workers, and why the platform managing it became a second business for manufacturers of machinery.
Guest: Eudald Bover, who is presented in the episode as the founder of Awayter. Interview published: October 28, 2025. Episode: 66. Duration: 54 min.
In this episode:
- What does a vending machine offering fresh food solve for offices, universities, and hospitals?
- How the product is stored and delivered without breaking the cold chain.
- Why the initial market research misled the team, and what question could have prevented the mistake.
Self-service bar for businesses: what it offers and who it’s for.
Eudald Bover describes this as a common problem: many people don’t want to plan their meals for the following day. Meal delivery services require advance ordering. Awayter’s canteen offers prepared, refrigerated meals available at any time, without reservations or waiting.
According to the report, these machines are being installed in companies, universities, and hospitals. For a typical company, a minimum of 50 or 60 people is needed. In some locations, 70 people use them daily, while in others, only 15 do, and this difference determines how frequently replacements are needed.
The usual product is a selection of dishes in trays weighing approximately 400 grams, at a price between 5 and 7 euros. The machine dispenses the packaged product, and users can heat it in standard microwaves, with eight or nine available to allow multiple people to heat their meals simultaneously.
The business model operates through two channels. In some cases, Awayter sells its catering service to prepared food businesses, who are looking for final distribution locations. In other instances, Awayter goes directly to the company and partners with nearby catering businesses who are responsible for restocking and logistics.
Maintaining 120 trays within one square meter.
The innovation highlighted by Eudald, which is protected by a patent, is the machine’s ability to handle approximately 120 units within a one square meter base and a height equivalent to a refrigerator. The trays are kept horizontal to prevent damage to the product, and they are delivered with care, without tilting or dropping them.
The cold storage team is the most important supplier. This involves a standard industrial refrigerator, which the manufacturer adapts with minor modifications. From this point on, as they explain, everything else was developed internally – including the mechanics, software, electronic boards, and management platform.
The cold chain also relies on the packaging. The plates are packaged under controlled atmosphere, with a shelf life of approximately 15 days, and without any additives or preservatives – although, for safety reasons, this period is slightly reduced. This allows the kitchen to avoid visiting each machine daily.
Buying a standard refrigeration system and concentrating product design and development The changes in delivery methods and electronics reduced the scope of the project.
Developing the machine from scratch in one year.
Before starting, Eudald spent seven years in Girbau’s R&D department, a manufacturer of industrial machinery. He is a specialist electronic engineer, focusing on software, and recounts that he was involved in numerous machine developments, including certifications.
The idea came about after noticing that a nearby restaurant had adapted a vending machine to operate 24 hours a day. He parked his car nearby to see how many people were buying and then researched what was available in other countries.
To fund the initial launch, he combined his own savings with two partners who continued to work in their businesses and contributed capital. This allowed him to receive a small salary during the 9-12 month development period, and to hire an initial intern. The partners – one focused on sales and the other on technical aspects – helped in the evenings and on weekends.
The machine was designed over approximately one year, including its certifications and risk analysis. Eudald admits that they took the machine to its first fair, but it wasn’t yet sufficiently robust, and they extended delivery times while it was being finalized. He describes the process as involving countless hours, many prototypes Several iterations, with external support in mechanical design.
Managing inventory and replenishment using an IoT platform.
The main challenge, beyond the machine itself, was the platform that managed it. As Eudald explains, it allows for control over stock levels and sales, and the workers can see how their products are being used, identify trends, and plan logistics.
The logistics are adapted to each location. Some workshops restock daily, while others do so every two or three days. Because the canteen is refrigerated, the workshop can restock it outside of its peak production hours in the morning.
“You can use these dead zones, these inactive areas, to replenish the supplies”.
Eudald Bover 10:58.
For the company hiring, the process begins with a product tasting, and if there’s sufficient stock, the canteen can be set up within a week. The company pays a fixed monthly fee, and each individual pays for what they consume. Many companies subsidize a portion of the cost, for example, €2 per employee per day, and the platform automatically applies these discounts.
From the old diner to connecting machines from other manufacturers.
Eudald explained that Awayter was their first client for their IoT platform. When they had the platform developed, they began receiving requests from machinery manufacturers who wanted the same platform adapted to their equipment. They started marketing it about a year and a half or two ago, and at the time of the interview, they had over 20 clients, with some having more than 2,000 connected devices.
The sectors range from industry and energy to livestock, and the platform also allows for remote operation, as well as providing access to after-sales service, R&D, and sales.
Awayter also provides modular hardware to connect the machines to the cloud. It supports Wi-Fi, Ethernet, or SIM cards, and stores data locally if the connection is lost. Eudald justifies this based on his own experience: “We have machines in basements and machines that move around. This feature Electronic engineering It’s what makes the end-to-end solution robust.
The focus is deliberate. According to their account, they refuse to connect entire factories because each machine is unique, and they concentrate on manufacturers with many similar machines distributed worldwide. They cite projects lasting 3 to 5 months, and, as part of the contract, the client retains the right to use the system and would become the owner of the code if the company were to cease operations.
Validate the market: asking whether they would pay.
When asked about his biggest professional mistake, Eudald chose the initial market research project. He interviewed potential clients, particularly restaurants that wanted to operate 24 hours a day, and everyone told him that the machine would save their businesses. He didn’t receive a single “no.”
“Saying “yes,” and saying you like something, is free”.
Eudald Bover 50:54.
Months later, when he returned with the machine, the responses shifted: there was no box, it wasn’t the right time. His conclusion was that he should have framed the conversation as a sales pitch, with a price and delivery timeframe, in order to elicit a response with a financial commitment. Fortunately, the study also included companies, universities, and hospitals, and that segment proved successful.
The initial launch took place at the University of Vic, near their headquarters, with a local workshop, and they already have another machine on a different campus. Trade fairs, such as Gastronomic Forum in Barcelona or HIP in Madrid, have brought them a significant number of clients. Eudald adds that he initially believed an excellent product would sell itself, and he discovered that it’s also necessary to communicate what’s being offered and to build a relationship with the customer.
What can another development team learn?
The Awayter case offers four applicable ideas for other machines installed in a customer’s home:
- Buy the standard and design the unique. Adapting an industrial refrigerator and focusing development on the storage and delivery mechanism shortened the project.
- Design the replenishment process as part of the overall product strategy. Refrigeration, modified atmosphere packaging, and consumption data allow the workshop to operate at times that suit them best.
- Prepare the connectivity for the worst-case scenario. Basements, unstable networks, or moving machines require multiple connection and local storage options.
- Verify with money, not with opinions. An interview with no mention of payment indicates little; a request with a price and deadline indicates a great deal.
At the time of the interview, Awayter operated over 30 soup kitchens across Spain, providing meals to over 500 people each day. The team consisted of 13 or 14 people, with two or three focused on running the soup kitchens and the rest working on the platform. Eudald estimated last year’s turnover at €300,000 and predicted reaching one million euros this year, with the addition of an industrial investor. The international expansion had just begun with a trade fair in Amsterdam.
At i-mas, we develop machines and products combining mechanics, electronics, software and connectivity, from prototype to production. If you are working on equipment that needs to preserve products, dispense them or connect without staff intervention, Tell us about your project..
To continue reading: How do “no-people” self-service stores (Big Fish) operate?.
Source of article: An interview with Edgar Guerrero and Eudald Bover on “Toque de Ingenio.” The excerpts cited link to the minute of the conversation. The project recommendations are a summarised editorial from i-mas.
