Today Costco announced that it will no longer stock Coca-Cola products in its stores.  Costco does not plan to remove existing Coke products from their stores but is not placing any more orders unless an ongoing price dispute is resolved.

While this may not be a big deal for the average consumer, vending machine operators may be adversely affected by the move.  Many business owners supply their vending machines with products from warehouse retailers such as Sam’s Club and Costco.  However, this does not mean that vending companies will no longer be able to stock Coke sodas.  The sodas are available in bulk from Coca-Cola and other retailers as well.

Costco posted notices in stores and on its website  saying, “Costco is committed to carrying name brand merchandise at the best possible prices. At this time, Coca-Cola has not provided Costco with competitive pricing so that we may pass along the value our members deserve.”

It is not immediately clear which company will blink first in this latest standoff but it should be resolved fairly quickly.

Coca-Cola announced that it is coming out with a new soda dispenser called the “Coca-Cola Freestyle.”

Most soda fountain machines now have separate nozzles for each flavor and generally have a maximum of about 6-8 choices. With this new equipment, Coca-Cola can now offer virtually limitless flavor options (100+) in a single machine without the need for separate nozzles and dispensers for every flavor.

The drink machines use a technology called “PurePour” which is very advanced. According to Fast Company, “The “PurePour” technology was originally developed to measure extremely precise amounts of dialysis and cancer drugs. Beyond that, RFID scanners are used to match cartridges to dispensers, and the onboard computer confirms everything is in place. Existing soda fountains use five-gallon concentrate bags and lots of backroom labor. Now all that is required is a highly concentrated 46-ounce cartridge inside a self-contained machine.

The sleek design of the machine is thanks to Pininfarina Extra. While Pininfarina may not be a household name, they are best known for designing cars such as Ferrari 599 GTB and various Maseratis.

Also the machine is connected to Coke’s headquarters, which allows it to send usage data back with information about the top selling products and stock levels. Furthermore, Coke can control the machine remotely to add or remove products that are to be dispensed.

The Freestyle machines are said to be undergoing testing in about 60 locations in Orange County, California and Atlanta with a wider rollout expected in 2010.