How it works
From an empty hallway to a store that plans its own restock.
Here is how smart vending works at 8Kava, end to end. We score the site, install the hardware, take the payment, learn the demand and then automate the routine work. A typical smart-cooler program of up to 10 units goes live 10 business days after signature.
- business days from signature to first sale
- 10business days from signature to first sale
- from tap to open door
- < 1 sfrom tap to open door
- days of learning before the agent proposes
- 14days of learning before the agent proposes
Five stages, one platform underneath
Every 8Kava program moves through the same five stages, whether it starts with one cooler in a clinic or five hundred retrofits. The data never resets.
Score the site before anything ships
Site Intelligence models foot traffic, shift patterns, dwell time and nearby food options, then recommends a format, a placement and an opening assortment. Sometimes the honest answer is a smaller format.
Plug in, connect, configure
8Kava technicians install across the Colorado Front Range, and vetted, 8Kava-trained field partners cover the rest of the continental US. A Kava Cooler needs a standard 115 V outlet. A Kava Link retrofit takes a median 22 minutes per machine.
Tap, open, take, go
The shopper taps a card, phone, badge or the Kava app. The door releases in under a second, and the receipt is final within 10 seconds of the door closing. No cashier, no line and no convenience fee.
Every sale becomes a forecast input
Each transaction, door opening, restock and temperature reading flows into Kava OS. Forecasts are built per item and per device, so the cooler on the third floor stops getting the lobby's assortment.
Hand over the routine, keep the decisions
After 14 days of observation, Kava Agent starts proposing pick lists, route changes, markdowns and service tickets. You set each action type to Suggest, Approve or Auto.
A smart cooler has an anatomy. Here is the tour.
From the hallway, a Kava Cooler looks like a glass door and a few shelves of food. Inside, separate systems each do one job. Four edge cameras (six on the C2-XL) watch what moves. Per-shelf load cells with ±2 g resolution confirm what left. An on-device neural processor fuses both signals locally, so recognition never waits on the network, and no images of faces are stored or sent.
Around them, the cabinet handles the physical world: an electromagnetic lock, R290 refrigeration holding 33–41 °F, and a rule that locks the door and raises an alert if the interior stays above 41 °F for 30 minutes. LTE Cat-4, Wi-Fi 6 and Ethernet keep it online. When all three fail, 72 hours of offline buffering keeps it selling.
- 99.4% checkout accuracy, audited against restock counts.
- Restock events are recognized and reconciled, not mistaken for theft.
- 5 adjustable shelves hold up to 240 items (C2) or 480 items (C2-XL).
What happens after someone taps at 3:12 a.m.
- Tap
The session starts
A contactless card, mobile wallet, badge or Kava app QR code opens the session. Employer subsidies apply automatically where the host has set them up.
- Under 1 s
The door releases
The electromagnetic lock opens. Cameras and load cells start watching the shelves, not the person in front of them.
- Door closes
Vision and weight agree
The device compares what the cameras saw leave with what the load cells lost. Look-alike items are settled by their weight signature.
- Within 10 s
The receipt is final
The shopper pays only for what they took. If the network is down, the transaction waits in the device's 72-hour buffer and syncs later.
- Overnight
The forecast updates
The sale joins the item-level forecast for that device, next to its door openings and temperature log.
- Before the route
The pick list is drafted
Kava OS turns the forecast into a pre-kitted pick list and an ordered route, so the driver arrives carrying exactly what this cooler needs.
Kava OS does the thinking between visits
The same platform runs every format, from a $349 retrofit module to a 160 sq ft walk-in store. These modules carry most of the weight.
Fleet Command
Live telemetry, alerts and remote price changes for every device, including legacy machines through DEX and MDB data.
Forecasting & Auto-Replenishment
Item-level forecasts, pre-kitted pick lists and dynamic routing. Out-of-stock events fall 41%.
Dynamic Pricing
Expiry-aware markdowns that sell tonight's sandwich before it becomes tomorrow's waste.
Payments & Loyalty
Tap, wallets, badges, payroll deduct and subsidies, through your own processor or Kava Pay.
Maintenance & Energy
Compressor health and door-seal alerts before a failure, plus scheduling that cuts kWh 19%.
Kava Agent
An operations agent that drafts, proposes and, inside your guardrails, acts.
What runs on the device, and what runs in Kava OS
Anything that must be fast or private happens on the device. Anything that needs history happens in the cloud.
| Job | On the device | In Kava OS |
|---|---|---|
| Product recognition | Vision and weight fusion on the neural processor | Accuracy audits against restock counts |
| Payments | Tap, wallet, badge and QR acceptance | Settlement, subsidies, payroll deduct and refunds |
| Food safety | 33–41 °F control; auto-lock after 30 minutes above 41 °F | Temperature logs, alerts and audit-ready reports |
| Lost connection | Keeps selling and buffers up to 72 hours | Syncs and reconciles when the link returns |
| Restocking | Detects restock events as they happen | Forecasts, pick lists and routes |
| Pricing | Shows the current price on the door display | Markdowns and time-of-day rules within your guardrails |
What stages four and five are worth
Same five stages. You choose who does the work.
Run it yourself
Buy the hardware or retrofit with Kava Link, pick a Kava OS plan, and stock with your own team. Built for operators.
The agent drafts tomorrow's pick lists before my drivers wake up. I approve them over coffee.
Which of your stops do you visit out of habit, not need?
Most routes are still planned from memory: the same stops, the same quantities, the same Tuesday. Stage four is where that habit gets tested. Once every device reports item-level sales, the question changes from "what did we load last week?" to "what will this shelf sell by Thursday?" The answer is usually fewer visits, fuller shelves and a handful of stops that deserve more attention than they get.
Questions about the process
How long does it take to go live?
A smart-cooler program of up to 10 units typically goes from signed agreement to first sale in 10 business days. A Kava Box micro-store takes about 6 weeks, because it needs a level pad and power. Retrofitting a legacy machine with Kava Link takes a median 22 minutes per machine.
What does my site need to provide?
A standard 115 V outlet and floor space: a Kava Cooler C2 is 30 inches wide (54 for the C2-XL), 32 deep and 80 tall. It connects over LTE, Wi-Fi or Ethernet. Site Intelligence checks the placement before anything ships.
What happens when the internet goes down?
The device keeps selling. Every 8Kava device buffers transactions offline for up to 72 hours and syncs them when the connection returns. Recognition runs on the device, so checkout never waits on the network.
Do I have to let the agent act on its own?
No. Every action type, from pick lists to price changes, is set to Suggest, Approve or Auto, and Auto only works inside guardrails you set, such as "never below cost". Every action is logged, and price changes roll back with one click.
Who restocks the machines?
That's your choice. Operators restock with their own drivers, guided by pre-kitted pick lists. Location hosts who don't want to touch inventory can choose Managed Operations, where we stock, clean and service everything.
Where to go next
Pick one hallway. We'll walk it through all five stages.
Tell us where people are and when they get hungry. We'll come back with a format, a placement, an opening assortment and the numbers.