Drink dispensers ready for roll-out

The Aberdeen-based entrepreneurs behind revolutionary new technology aimed at speeding up the time it takes to grab a beer at big events are ready to speed its roll-out after a £670,000 crowdfunding drive.

It is the latest of a series of fundraising exercises for EBar Initiatives, which was launched by managing director Sam Pettipher and Nick Beeson, former Robert Gordon University students, in 2016.

The duo aim to improve the consumer experience at music and sports events, using innovative dispensing technology to reduce the time spent in bar queues.

A combination of EBar’s patented dispenser and rapid payment technologies allows beer or soft drinks to reach customers in less than 30 seconds, meaning people at major events will no longer have to choose between missing action and quenching their thirst.

Mr Pettipher and Mr Beeson, managing director and commercial director respectively, worked in the renewable energy and oilfield services industries respectively before honing their business skills in postgraduate studies at RGU.

Their idea for faster drinks – further developed by a business accelerator programme run by Aberdeen-based Elevator – won them a gong and £75,000 at the Scottish Edge awards in 2017.

That cash was followed a year later by a £228,000 injection of equity investment led by Londonbased Jenson Funding Partners’ SEIS and EIS Fund, with the likes of angel investor groups Gabriel and Equity Gap backing the business.

In early 2019, with EBar having successfully trialled its speedy, automated, selfservice drink kiosks at a string of high-profile events at venues including P&J Live in Aberdeen, Old Trafford in Manchester and Twickenham in London, the firm launched a crowdfunding campaign to help it refine its technology and build more units.

The £670,000 equity fundraiser was led by crowdfunding platform Seedrs, which boasts tennis star Sir Andy Murray among its investors, and Irish events entrepreneur Robert O’Dowd.

Mr Pettipher – who got the dispenser idea after missing a match-winning try at a rugby game in 2016, because he was stuck in a bar queue – said accelerated digitalisation and automation of many dayto-day services, as a result of the pandemic, made EBar’s mission to change the way drinks are served more relevant than ever before.

Mr Beeson added: “We see every day how customers are opting for digital and more streamlined experiences, across many of their dayto-day activities, and how they choose to get their drinks at events or in large venues is no different.

“Our hygienic, contactless, self-service EBars are a 21st Century solution for operators who are looking to new technology to increase revenue, address staffing shortages, reduce costs, and most importantly improve the customer experience.”

Mr O’Dowd, who is joining EBar’s board as a non-executive director, said: “With over 30 years in the events and hospitality industry, managing and attending all types of largescale sporting occasions, festivals and events, I have experienced, along with everyone else, the customer service issues that EBar now solves.

“I look forward to working with the team as we expand EBar’s operations in the UK, Europe and globally.”

QUICK SERVICE AT THE BAR: An artist’s impression of how the drink dispensers might look in a sports stadium.