1. Why Pokka's Founder Got Cold Coffee at the Yoro Service Area
Toshiaki Tanida, the founder of Pokka, ordered hot coffee at the Yoro Service Area on the Meishin Expressway, which had just opened. However, while he waited, the coffee went cold. From this experience, the idea of "putting coffee in a can" was born, according to Pokka's account [4]. Pokka released a 190-gram can of coffee in 1972. The next year, in 1973, they worked with the vending machine manufacturer Sankyo Denki (now Sanden) to create a vending machine that could keep selling cans while keeping them warm [4]. However, canned coffee itself existed before this. So, who made the very first can?
2. Who Made the World's First Canned Coffee?
Yoshitake Miura ran a coffee shop in Hamada City, Shimane Prefecture. He struggled with the weight and bulk of bottled coffee when exporting it. To solve this, he thought of using cans and completed his canned coffee in July 1965. On September 14, it was sold as "Mira Coffee" at the Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi Main Store [1]. However, due to a lack of funds, production stopped around 1968 [1]. There is another claim for the "world's first." In April 1969, UCC Ueshima Coffee released "UCC Coffee with Milk." UCC states this was the world's first canned coffee [2]. This date conflicts with Mira Coffee's 1965 release, so this article presents both claims side by side.
3. How the 1970 Osaka Expo Boosted Canned Coffee Sales
It is explained that UCC's canned coffee had a slow reaction when it first launched. When the Osaka Expo opened in 1970, the situation changed from the quiet start in spring. Sales exploded in the summer [2]. UCC itself explains that sales were initially gentle but became a huge hit at the Expo [3]. The design of the initial three-color cans (tea, white, and red) remained in circulation for about 8 years until a change in 1978 [3].
The machines selling cans also advanced. Japan's beverage vending machines began in 1962, when machines from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and the American company Bend were delivered to Tokyo Coca-Cola. That same year, 880 units were placed nationwide [7]. In 1970, can vendors appeared, allowing many types of non-carbonated drinks to be sold [7]. However, the machines at that time mainly sold cold cans. Did canned coffee sell on cold winter days?
4. How Pokka and Sankyo Denki Built a Hot Vending Machine for the Highway
In 1973, Pokka and Sankyo Denki (both using their names at the time) jointly developed a hot-and-cold vending machine that could sell both warm and cold cans. They installed it at the Yoro Service Area. This machine is said to be the world's first and is credited with helping expand the domestic soft drink market [5]. The flow is that a machine dispensing warm cans stood at the place where Tanida encountered cold coffee. Coffee in cans can be kept warm inside the machine and served without making customers wait. The term "world's first" is a description found in sources, so it is written here as "said to be." Did it suffice to simply switch to warm cans in winter and cold cans in summer?
5. How the Vending Machine Sold Warm and Cold Cans Together
The 1973 machine was a "Hot or Cold" type, meaning it had a switch to load either warm cans or cold cans. Later, a "Hot and Cold" type appeared, which sold both at the same time. UCC says this made year-round sales possible [6]. The year for this simultaneous sales type is 1977, according to UCC's announcement [6]. Please read 1977 as "according to UCC's explanation." You can choose hot on a hot summer day or iced on a cold winter day. UCC explains that because the selling machine changed, canned coffee went from a seasonal item to an all-year-round item.
6. How to Investigate Hot and Cold Vending Machines Yourself
What you can do today: Look at a vending machine to see if warm and cold cans are lined up in the same machine. If there is a road with passing cars nearby, please observe from a safe place.
What you can do by going out: According to figures introduced by nippon.com, the number of vending machines peaked at 5.6 million in 2000 and decreased to 4.27 million by the end of 2017 [8]. Calculating this, there are more than 20% fewer machines than at the peak. However, the method of aggregation changed in 2017, so a simple comparison is not possible.
Official information: By reading and comparing the histories on the official websites of UCC, Pokka, Sanden, and Coca-Cola, you might see the reasons for the differences in dates.