By Emily Refermat, Editor
Explore the consumer trends, popular equipment
and interconnected future deep within the
office coffee service segment.
he office coffee service (OCS) indus-
try has enjoyed growing revenues
for close to a decade. No prior year
was stronger than 2016, thanks to
exacting consumers who value coffee
differently, wanting not only qual-
ity over quantity, but a unique drink
experience and information about the
coffee itself. This change was fostered
in coffee houses where young coffee
drinkers experimented with different
flavors, brewing methods, customiza-
tion and sourced beans for a crafted
coffee beverage that expressed their
identity. As these young professionals
moved into the workplace, they brought
their increasingly sophisticated view of
what coffee is and should be with them,
driving more out-of-home coffee con-
sumption and an increasing demand for
gourmet coffee options at work.
Personalization is a priority
In the early 2000s, single-cup coffee
brewers began to appear in offices,
heralded for the convenience and vari-
ety they offered. A few years later, the
home single-cup units flew off shelves
and became well-known to the masses,
who realized a more personalized coffee
experience was now available beyond the
coffee shop. In 2016, growth on this idea
of personalization has diversified OCS
into a variety of directions, all of them
focused on producing customizable gour-
met drinks at work.
"We have seen the market switch to
more specialty coffee service with the
Popularity of bean-to-cup will drive connectivity
"As operators have more machines in the field for a longer time, we expect to see
a stronger focus on lowering machine service touches per year, with improved
serviceability and ease of maintenance," said Arjan de Groot, managing director
of Bravilor Bonamat North America. "Undeniably, operators have to answer to the
bean-to-cup trend, but costs are sometimes unpredictable." Different features
and physical systems can help manage costs, but smart technology will be a
large part of managing those operational expenses.
INSIDE THE
Corporate
Coffee Culture
18 Automatic Merchandiser VendingMarketWatch.com October/November 2016
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