One-year-old Malaysian startup Coffee Star has provided self-service dispensing machines – dubbed ‘Coffee ATMs’ – to medical frontliners serving free beverages during the coronavirus pandemic.
The machines were delivered to the Malaysia Agro Exposition Park Serdang (currently serving as a quarantine and treatment center for 600 patients) and Sungai Buloh Hospital, providing fresh coffee to frontliners for free, serving more than 10,000 cups of fresh coffee since April.
The unmanned Coffee ATMs are completely automated machines allowing users to select drinks via a touchscreen panel.
“Our frontliners who are courageously and selflessly serving the nation in the coronavirus crisis represent the best of who we are,” said MAEPS CEO Zaidi Shahrim. “We are honored to support this initiative by partnering, Coffee Star, to provide the heroes in our communities fresh coffees to recharge.”
“We have tremendous admiration for all of the frontliners fighting in this unprecedented time,” said Coffee Star Malaysia “coffee enthusiastic officer” Raja Ahmad Fauzan bin Raja Hassan. “When we heard that they needed an energy booster to help them through their long days, we were eager to help.
“We experience the impact of coronavirus directly throughout our business locations in airports, shopping malls and office towers. So, we are redeploying our machines from those locations and utilised for a greater good to serve fresh, free coffee to the frontliners. The machine serves fresh coffee on-demand at the right moment they need it.”