Dartmouth Students Now Enjoy Fizz and Flavors on Tap with this Commercial Sparkling Water Machine
Introduction
Unlike the sleepy New Hampshire town outside its walls, Byrne Hall is filled with commotion as students pour in on a Tuesday afternoon. The self-operated dining hall for Dartmouth College’s Tuck School of Business, Byrne Hall serves over 500 people each day, offering both grab-n-go and made-to-order meals for students and faculty alike.
Having worked at Dartmouth for almost 23 years, Doreen, the Dining Hall Manager, knows there’s a fine line between what students want and what they need. “When we removed the soda fountain from the dining hall for health reasons,” explained Doreen, “we got a lot of complaints about not having ‘bubbly’ water available.” And while Dartmouth has an active sustainability group that’s working towards removing plastic bottles from campus, Doreen mentioned that sometimes students make not-so-sustainable choices if they’re more convenient.
Problem
Needless to say, Doreen had her work cut out for her. She needed a new beverage solution that hit all the marks: healthy flavors, carbonation, sustainability, and convenience. While attending the National Association of College and University Food Services’ annual conference (NACUFS), she found the solution.
While perusing the booths at NACUFS, a sleek commercial sparkling water machine called Bevi caught her eye. She tried a sample of Bevi’s Strawberry Lemongrass water and was immediately sold. The touchscreen smart water dispenser made it easy to get a custom healthy beverage on demand. The commercial sparkling water machine gave the option of still or sparkling, as well as the ability to control flavor strength and mix flavors. In short, there was something for everyone!
For Doreen, Bevi “hit all the marks. We were in the process of looking for something with sparkling water, but without sugar, so I loved all the variety of low- and zero-calorie flavors that Bevi offered.”
Upon returning from NACUFS, Doreen “made the mistake of showing everyone the [Bevi] flier. Everyone kept asking me, ‘Wow! When is it coming?’”
Solution
The following semester, Bevi was installed in Byrne Hall.
Since then, Doreen and her food service staff have had great success with both the commercial sparkling water machine and Bevi’s customer service. Though Doreen had seen a countertop machine at NACUFS, the dining hall ultimately opted for a floorstanding Bevi as it better fit into their existing setup. Once the Bevi technicians installed the standup machine, Doreen was easily able to train several members of her staff to refill the machine’s flavors and CO2 . In addition, Doreen’s Customer Success Manager at Bevi has been “very receptive,” and the dining hall even participated in Bevi’s Halloween Costume Contest.
On the whole, “more people are drinking water,” Doreen says, “even my staff is now drinking water instead of soda!” As for the students, their reviews have also been overwhelmingly positive. “I love drinking seltzer,” explained one student, “and it’s way easier for me to refill my water bottle, rather than worry about carrying around a plastic bottle or can every day.” Another student revealed that she no longer buys cases of sparkling water, since she can now fill her reusable bottle with sparkling water in the cafeteria.
Like Doreen, both the students and staff love the variety of flavors and customization options their new commercial sparkling water machine provides. “I like that you can control the strength of the flavors,” said one student; another mentioned her favorite flavor was Lemon. Doreen and her staff like to offer students things that are “ new, and exciting,” as much as they can, so they always opt for new flavors students have never tried before when restocking the Bevi.
These days, as students pour into Byrne Hall at noon on Tuesday, students no longer need to purchase bottles or cans to enjoy a bubbly beverage. Instead, they line up by the Bevi, and fill their stickered water bottles and Tuck Dining cups with their favorite pour of Bevi’s still or sparkling, flavored water.
Want to learn more? Bevi is more than just a smart water cooler: learn more about our full line of Products, healthy Flavors and hassle-free Service here.
