Self-Service Innovation Summit Tradeshow – aka ARKI

By | May 29, 2025
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Self-Service Innovation Summit and ARKI Event

We would be remiss if we didn’t mention the Self-Service Innovation Summit, now with yet another promising name, ARKI. Held in a hotel, there are speakers, a few educational sessions, and they hand out some awards. The hotel ballroom serves as the expo. People ask about it, what it is, how popular it is, etc.  They seem to focus on smaller attendance with higher sales per attendee. Overall, it’s a much smaller event, usually held in a nice hotel in Florida during early winter.

The latest development is the newest rebranding to ARKI (Automated Retail and Kiosk Innovation). Remember – ARKI is a much smaller industry gathering (hotel seminars with less than 200 attendees) where vending, micro-markets, and unattended retail receive more focus, and only a limited number of kiosk innovations are featured.

We have to mention KioskCom (albeit a dead trademark). KioskCom eventually tried to diversify into digital signage and “retail engagement,” whatever that is. It was a sweet ride for a while.

The largest reported attendance for the KioskCom tradeshow was more than 1,400 qualified buyers, with over 200 exhibitors at the 2009 event held in Las Vegas. This event is cited as a high-water mark for attendance and exhibitor participation, illustrating KioskCom’s position as the world’s largest kiosk and self-service event during its peak years.

While earlier and later years saw strong participation, the 2009 figures of 1,400+ attendees and 200+ exhibitors stand out as the most concrete and widely cited record for the show’s peak size.

Comparison

The National Restaurant Association (NRA) Show absolutely outranks smaller events like ARKI in both scale and influence for the self-order kiosk sector. In 2025, the NRA Show hosted over 53,000 to 60,000 attendees and 2,000+ exhibitors at McCormick Place in Chicago, including at least 20 self-order kiosk companies, making it the industry’s premier event for restaurant technology and innovation.

NRA Trade Show Versus ARKI Hotel Event

Event Typical Attendance Self-Order Kiosk Exhibitors Industry Influence
NRA Show (2025) 53,000–60,000 20+ Largest, most impactful in sector
ARKI (2025) Under 200 Few Minor, limited to vending focus

  • The NRA Show is the largest foodservice and hospitality technology showcase in the Western Hemisphere, routinely debuting new solutions from leading kiosk, POS, digital signage, and AI-driven order automation vendors.

  • Self-order kiosks are a featured product category, with major association booths and product launches from top global providers in the restaurant and retail space.

  • ARKI, by contrast, is a much smaller industry gathering (hotel seminars) where vending, micro-markets, and unattended retail receive more focus, and only a limited number of kiosk innovations are featured.

When evaluating attendance, the NRA Show deserves far greater priority, visibility, and discussion for anyone tracking self-order kiosk trends in 2025.

2025 Schedule

  • Website
  • Date and Venue: December 10-12 in Tampa (Hilton Tampa Downtown)
  • Speakers – so far just two people from Networld
  • Expo – none listed so far
  • Sessions — Vending (2), Kiosk UI, Micromarkets, Payments (2)
  • Awards – there are awards but no idea of judges or criteria
  • Ventus is a sponsor of sessions as is Burroughs though Burroughs has fallen on tough times we think.

Steering Committee

he steering committee for the ARKI (Automated Retail and Kiosk Innovation) Show, as of the most recent update, includes the following members guiding the event’s vision and direction1:

  • Jeremy Cauble (Canteen North America): Brings expertise from the convenience services industry.

  • David Golden (Tampa International Airport): Offers insights on integrating technology in transportation hubs.

  • Steven King (Blue Sky Robotics): Represents advancements in automation technology.

  • Alejandro Rodriquez (Amerikiosks): Focuses on automated retail innovation.

  • Bill Stutzman (Ventus): Provides strategic initiatives expertise.

  • Ben Wheeler (“The Kiosk Guy,” IncrediVend Skittles Remix Kiosk): Highlights innovative vending concepts.

  • Dave Wurm (Networld Media Group): Represents the show’s host organization.

These individuals are described as “key players in the self-service and retail worlds,” collectively shaping the direction and content of the ARKI Show1.

2025 Speaker Line Up

As of May 29, 2025, the official speaker lineup for the 2025 Automated Retail & Kiosk Innovation Show (ARKI), formerly known as the Self-Service Innovation Summit, has not been published in the available sources. The event website and media coverage primarily reference the 2024 speakers and encourage visitors to join a mailing list for future speaker announcements.

For the 2025 event, the only confirmed detail is that the program will feature two dedicated content tracks covering trends and innovations in automated retail and kiosks, with a steering committee composed of key industry figures guiding the event’s vision.

ARKI 2025 Exhibitors

The 2025 event formerly known as the Self-Service Innovation Summit is now called the Automated Retail & Kiosk Innovation Show (ARKI), taking place December 10-12, 2025, in Tampa, Florida. As of now, the official and complete list of exhibitors for 2025 has not been published in the available sources. However, some details can be inferred:

  • The event will feature a broad range of exhibitors from the self-service, kiosk, vending, micro-market, automation, and digital solutions sectors.

  • Past expos and recent coverage suggest that companies specializing in kiosks, vending machines, payment solutions, robotics, and AI will be present.

  • The event’s steering committee includes representatives from Canteen North America, Tampa International Airport, Blue Sky Robotics, Amerikiosks, Ventus, IncrediVend, and Networld Media Group, indicating these organizations may have a presence on the expo floor.

The speakers at the 2024 Self-Service Innovation Summit included:

  • Mike Abecassis (Founder & CEO, GameTime & General Vending Service)

  • James Boushka (Head of Emerging Digital Experiences, Aramark) — Aramark, Grubhub, Elo and Ingenico food order for student union Ole Miss, Restaurant Self-Order Kiosks Ole Miss Student Union

  • Jeremy Cauble (Director of Strategic Innovation, Canteen North America)

  • Charece Conklin (Director of Customer Engagement, Buffalo Strive Vending)

  • Tim Fern (Chief Commercial Officer, Eyebot) — Eyebot Kiosk for Vision Screening Test – The company has tapped Crane Payment Innovations as its kiosk’s field service technician and white glove installer.

  • Rebecca Kahn (Franchise Business Leader for U.S. & Canada, Gong cha Global)

  • Steven King (CEO, Blue Sky Robotics)

  • Steve Lieber (VP of Franchise Development, BurgerFi) — How BurgerFi self-order ROI is calculated, and what it is. GRUBBRR, Samsung and Oracle part of the equation. 

  • Candra Livsey (Founder & COO, Delightful Vending)

  • Sassan Rahimzadeh (President, ARYA Cleaners)

  • Dr. Anora Morton (CEO & Founder, The Nori Project)

2024 Exhibitors

The 2024 Self-Service Innovation Summit expo featured a diverse lineup of exhibitors showcasing the latest advancements in self-service technology, including kiosks, vending, payments, logistics, and automation. While a complete, official exhibitor list for 2024 is not directly provided in the search results, the following companies are confirmed or highly likely to have participated, based on event coverage and previous expos:

  • 365 Retail Markets Inc.: Presented micro market solutions, including the MM6 countertop kiosk with a 22-inch touchscreen supporting multiple payment options.

  • Hassett Logistics: Showcased logistics services tailored for self-serve retail and kiosk industries, including scheduling, handling, and delivery solutions.

  • Honeywell: Featured the Xenon Ultra family of handheld barcode scanners and scan engines for self-service kiosks, vending, access control, and more.

  • Ingenico: Introduced the Self/3000 unattended payment device, designed for vending, car wash, EV charging, and other self-service environments, in partnership with Payroc.

  • Kiosk Information Systems: Displayed a variety of self-service kiosks for retail, hospitality, healthcare, transportation, and other sectors, including inventory returns and tracking systems.

  • Kiosoft: Presented the VQ-M payment solution, a compact payment device with touch keys and LCD screen for unattended environments

  • Gong cha: Highlighted its kiosk-driven customer engagement and omnichannel ordering experience, as discussed in keynote presentations.

2023?

Based on available information, several exhibitors at the 2024 Self-Service Innovation Summit also exhibited at the 2023 event. The following companies are confirmed to have exhibited in both years:

  • 365 Retail Markets Inc.

  • Hassett Logistics

  • Honeywell

  • Ingenico

  • Kiosk Information Systems

  • Kiosoft

Attendance

There is no direct reporting about the specific attendance numbers for the 2024 Self-Service Innovation Summit or how those numbers compare to previous years. The provided sources discuss attendance trends for other summits and events in 2024, but not for the Self-Service Innovation Summit itself.

Based on available industry event patterns and the previously reported figure of 252 confirmed industry experts for 2024, the attendance appears consistent with the summit’s typical scale, which is generally described as attracting “hundreds” of attendees. Prior years have also been characterized by similar attendance levels, usually in the low hundreds

Let’s look at traffic (we’ll use Semrush which #1 SEO engine)

  • automated retail and kiosks website – currently 1
  • vendingtimes.com — 4,000 traffic
  • qsrweb — 16,000
  • retail customer experience – 9,000
  • Biblical Leadership — 2,400
  • Pizza Marketplace — 10,000
  • ATM Marketplace — 5,200 (peaked in 2021 at 7000)
  • Kiosk Marketplace — 7500 (in March 2024 around 1400)

Quick Look at The Industry Group

  • Overall last 30 days — 12 million requests
  • Kiosk Industry — 30,000 peak now — 80,000 users
  • Retail Automation – 18,000 users
  • Thin Client, Media Players and MiniPC — 19,000
  • Digital Signage Blog – 12,000
  • KMA Global – 13,000 users

More Self-Service Innovation Summit Resource Links

Posts2025: 532

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