Personalized Drinking: Coffee Ripples Prints Images and Messages Onto Your Favorite Foamy Beverage

For some caffeinated connoisseurs, coffee is a true art form. Stylishly, the innovative folks at Coffee Ripples have made that kind of an aesthetic a reality with their patented technology in the beverage industry. Through a clever combination of inkjet and 3D printing, they’ve designed an original machine, the Ripple Maker, that actually prints vivid, high-resolution images and messages onto foamy drinks in just 10 seconds. The device has been brought into service by hospitality workers, independent coffee shops and businesses around the globe—personalizing pick-me-ups like never before.

This creative concept was spawned from Ripples’ co-founders, Eyal Eliav and Danny Lavie, both of whom got their start in local Tel Aviv coffee shops. As they slung frothy java all day long, they asked themselves the operative question, “Wouldn’t it be great if we could send messages on these?” After teaming up with Yossi Meshulam, the third co-founder and CEO of Ripples, the triumvirate illustrated their message of inspiration into coffee cups everywhere—and, in due time, even expanded their visual prowess to beer.

Ripple Effect

“When Ripples started, we understood that if we were to realize this vision, we would need more than just a device,” explained Meshulam to RewardExpert. “The guiding principle in the development and design was building a content platform and not just a printing device. As such, the Ripple Maker is a web-connected device with a range of cloud services and apps that give our customers full control over managing their engagement with their customers.”

This kind of groundbreaking platform has empowered Ripples to set the stage for beverage enthusiasts to craft specific imagery onto their collective brews, such as selfies, quotes, logos and special messages (even marriage proposals) to give an added flair and emotional connection to their sipping experience.

Content is controlled on the Ripple Maker through their developed Barista App, a large LCD touchscreen that is tantamount to using an everyday smartphone app—allowing Baristas to peruse Ripples’ ever-growing content library, easily master their online tools and to help grow their business’ personal brand message. Accordingly, customers can share and govern this experience by using the Coffee Ripples App to pick out their favorites, and likewise to upload their own images with mobile devices.

“Ripples is intuitive and doesn’t require any specific training,” outlined Meshulam. “After preparing a foam-topped drink the staff simply places the beverage on the Ripple Maker’s tray, selects the desired image and clicks the button. Ten seconds later the image will be printed on top of the drink and ready to serve to the customer.”

Perking Positivity

Ripples market of clientele spans the world over to some big names in business, as well as many smaller independent companies that have employed their unique technology. In addition to making undulations in the U.S., they have been hugely successful in Europe, China, Japan and Australia.

We have done a lot of work to bring Ripples to companies globally,” said Meshulam. “And, all in a relatively short period of time, which we believe proves just how important the experiences we are building with Ripples are.”

This widespread achievement in their field has made them a staple for customers in numerous major hotels, cruise lines and airport lounges; they’ve garnered some renowned name clients such as Google, Microsoft, Intel and Twitter. What’s more, they’ve had the distinct pleasure of providing services to many celebrated events; in particular, through Lavazza for the Academy Awards 2018, Golden Globes 2018 and Wimbledon.

Meshulam elaborated how Ripples has also “helped businesses such as the Carrera Café, a local café in Los Angeles, who built their entire business plan around the Ripples experience and became a pilgrimage location for tourists as part of their Hollywood tour. Going from 50 to 2,000 Ripples served monthly, Carrera Café uses Ripples on their Instagram account to attract foodies, influencers, fashionistas and tourists for a personalized cup of coffee they never knew existed.”

Brewed Milestones

There’s a lot of excitement building about Ripples’ nonstop invention in the beverage business. After debuting the Ripple Maker in 2015—in conjunction with their partner Lufthansa—the very next year they won the “Last Gadget Standing” award at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES).

With their rave success in the coffee world, Ripples took the next logically foamy step. In March of 2018, they graduated to offer their Beer Ripples machine—allowing images and messages to be applied to thick suds of beer.

“Beer is consumed in different social setting and represents new content opportunities for our customers to engage with their customers,” exclaimed Meshulam. “The new machine is being used at World of Beer locations across the U.S. and was even used in the Dallas Mavericks’ finale game celebrations.”

Also, this year, Ripples accomplished a key landmark with 1 million ripples being printed. Furthermore, they recently launched their Facebook Messenger Chatbot, which locates the nearest Ripple Maker and enables customers to print a picture in mere seconds—a revolutionary new way to let businesses network with their customers directly on a more individual level.

Meshulam assured that Ripples will “continue to turn an ordinary, daily drink into a fun and engaging experience. We definitely have more to come and will be excited to share it in the coming months.”

Finding out more about Ripples personalized beverage experience and to order a Ripple Maker for your business is easy, just visit coffeeripples.com.