Articles

This October, CFIN is bringing three Canadian innovators to SKS Japan — the country’s largest foodtech conference and one of the most influential gatherings of its kind in Asia. SKS Japan brings together food manufacturers, retailers, tech firms, investors, and policymakers to explore how technology can reshape food systems. For CFIN, it’s a chance to put Canadian companies on the global stage, open doors to export markets, and showcase the kinds of solutions that can solve Japan’s most pressing food challenges. 

Dartmouth-based Dispension Industries is one of those companies. With Japan’s legendary vending machine culture, strict alcohol regulations, and labour challenges in hospitality, the market is a prime destination for the company’s innovative compliance-first automation solutions. Dispension will use SKS Japan to showcase SmartServ™ — an automated kiosk that streamlines alcohol service in high-volume venues. We spoke with CEO Corey Yantha about why Japan is such a natural fit for their technology, and what they hope to achieve by being part of the country’s leading foodtech gathering. 

For stadiums, arenas, and large venues, alcohol sales can account for 20–30% of total revenue — yet they remain one of the biggest operational pain points. Traditional concession stands are slow, with peak-time lineups stretching 10–20 minutes, frustrating fans and leaving millions in missed sales. Labour shortages make it difficult to staff these stands properly, while manual ID checks introduce compliance risks that can lead to fines or liability issues. 

SmartServ™ kiosks were built to solve this. They enable secure, unattended self-service that reduces lines by up to 70%, eliminates the need for additional staff, and ensures repeatable, accurate age verification. In doing so, they turn concessions from a bottleneck into a seamless, revenue-generating experience. And because today’s live events are under growing pressure to compete with at-home entertainment, concessions can no longer be an afterthought. Fans expect frictionless, digital-first experiences; operators need to monetize every minute; and regulators demand strict compliance. SmartServ sits at the intersection of all three, helping venues increase sales, cut costs, satisfy consumers, and future-proof their operations 

Dispension's SmartServ™ technology stands out from traditional points of alcohol sale in stadiums due to its innovative features tailored to high-traffic, high-compliance environments. It combines biometric age verification with ID scanning for unmatched accuracy, and an upcoming Intoxivision feature will add thermal imaging to detect impairment. The kiosks complete transactions in under a minute, open cans automatically to meet venue safety rules, and operate without staff, cutting labour costs and boosting throughput.  

Unlike staffed concessions or basic vending machines, SmartServ also captures anonymized purchase data that helps venues and sponsors optimize pricing, inventory, and marketing. Compact, ADA-compliant, and easily scalable, it allows operators to expand points of sale in underutilized spaces while delivering a frictionless digital experience for fans 

The theme of SKS Japan is "Singular Visions, Collective Impact," which emphasizes cross-border collaboration to address food system challenges like sustainability, labour shortages, and technological integration—areas directly relevant to Dispension's tech, which enhances efficiency in food and beverage service through AI-driven age verification, intoxication detection, and data analytics.  While Dispension's current deployments are primarily in North American stadiums, SKS Japan offers a gateway to the Asia-Pacific market, where Japan's food tech sector is booming amid an aging population, labour shortages, and a push for smart automation in venues and retail.  Our goals are to connect with beverage leaders like Suntory, Sapporo, and Asahi, as well as venue operators in stadiums and convention centres who could pilot the technology. Demonstrating SmartServ’s ability to reduce wait times, cut labour costs, and ensure responsible alcohol service is critical for securing those first deployments in Japan. 

In summary, attending SKS Japan 2025 would position Dispension at the epicenter of Asia's food tech scene, accelerating expansion into a market ripe for automated, secure beverage dispensing solutions. With Japan's emphasis on efficiency and international co-creation, the event could yield partnerships, funding, and insights that propel SmartServ's global adoption, ultimately enhancing Dispension's competitive edge in a post-pandemic world of hybrid events and smart venues.  

Japan’s regulated product and high-volume food service sectors are the right market for Dispension due to their alignment with SmartServ’s solutions for compliance, labour efficiency, consumer demands, and venue modernization. SKS Japan 2025 is the ideal event to capitalize on this opportunity, offering targeted access to Japan’s food tech ecosystem, networking with key stakeholders, visibility for SmartServ’s innovations, and insights into local dynamics.  

Dispension’s SmartServ is transforming the way stadiums, arenas, and large licensed venues serve beverages by enabling secure, self-service access to canned beer and ready to drink beverages. By combining cutting-edge verification technology with a seamless guest experience, we are helping operators reduce wait times, increase sales, and deliver a new standard of convenience for fans; all critical for navigating a competitive market with strict regulations and discerning consumers. By attending, Dispension can position itself as a leader in automated beverage solutions, securing partnerships and market entry to drive global growth. 

Joining the CFIN delegation at SKS Japan 2025 will empower Dispension to overcome Japan’s market entry challenges by providing high-value introductions, amplified visibility, and deep market insights. Obtaining these benefits would be harder to achieve alone and we intend to leverage CFIN’s credibility, Canada’s trade reputation, and SKS’s platform to position SmartServ as a leading solution for Japan’s regulated, high-volume food service sector. The collective presence could secure partnerships, funding, and pilots, driving Dispension’s global expansion in a market primed for its innovative, compliance-focused technology. 

Dispension’s SmartServ technology has the potential to significantly shape the future of the global food and beverage industry for responsible alcohol service, particularly in high-volume environments such as stadiums, arenas, festivals, and other large venues. By addressing critical challenges like compliance, labour shortages, consumer expectations, and operational efficiency, SmartServ can drive transformative trends in automation, sustainability, and data-driven decision-making.  

We provide SmartServ to our customers under a lease or revenue share agreement which includes the hardware rental, the software license and technical support.  Dispension has developed a phased scaling plan for production, installation and support for up to 200 units per month.  Dispension has established a network of contract manufacturing, equipment assembly and installation/aftercare support partners who will be instrumental to fulfilling the high-volume orders that we anticipate.   

Want to learn more about what makes Japan a high-potential export opportunity for Canada? Read CFIN’s Going Global: A Market Guide for Canadian Food Innovators for insights on where the biggest international opportunities lie, and how we’re helping Canadian companies take their technologies to the world.