The value is in the system

For a long time, much of the evolution of coffee systems could be seen in their individual components: a new machine, a different capsule, an improvement in brewing, more connectivity or new features.

These changes remain important. But some recent movements help reveal a broader transformation.

Two ways to evolve a system

Vertuo Creatista represents one path: expanding an existing architecture by incorporating new capabilities and experiences without abandoning its base.

Dolce Gusto NEO shows another: when important elements change, different parts need to be redesigned together — capsule, machine, recognition, brewing and industrialisation.

They are different strategies, but they help reveal the same idea:

And this perspective goes far beyond these two examples.

What appears when we look at the whole?

A coffee system brings together much more than what the consumer sees on the counter.

Coffee, capsule, machine, brewing, software, operations, maintenance, service, data and experience can all be part of the same value architecture.

When these elements are developed in isolation, each improvement can create some benefit.

When they are designed as an integrated whole, however, other possibilities emerge:

• simpler consumer experiences;
• more efficient operations;
• new services;
• new consumption occasions;
• better use of data;
• and even new business models.

Technology stops being only a product feature and begins to contribute to the performance of the whole system.

Evolution does not necessarily mean replacement

There is another important consequence.

A new architecture does not automatically eliminate the one that came before it.

Established systems carry habits, infrastructure, knowledge, channels, installed bases and relationships built over many years.

That is why evolution can also happen through coexistence.

The new can expand possibilities while the established continues to deliver value.

This may be one of the most interesting questions for anyone developing coffee products and businesses: understanding what needs to change, what is worth preserving and which new connections can create more value.

There is still much to discover

NEO and Vertuo are only two visible signals of a broader transformation.

As machines, materials, software, data, services and experience connect in new ways, a much larger territory for innovation opens up.

Not necessarily by creating more complexity.

But by building better systems.

At iCatuai, this is exactly the territory we seek to explore: connecting knowledge of product, coffee, technology, operations and experience to understand what can be developed differently — and better.

Sources for this perspective