OFFICE REFRESHMENT


New office trends signal a new dawn Post Covid hybrid working patterns are transforming office


refreshment trends, and it seems most industry experts are in agreement about what the future holds. This is what they had to say…


David Llewellyn, chief executive, Vending & Automated Retail Association (AVA) Over the past 12 months, the landscape of office refreshment has experienced a dynamic shift, primarily due to changing work patterns, and technological advancements. These factors have


given rise to both challenges and opportunities that are reshaping the vending sector within the world of work. One of the big opportunities within the sector that is massively impacting office refreshment is the substantial growth within the industry is the micromarket sector, which has expanded by a staggering 500% over the past five years, a 17% increase on 2021. The reason for this rapid growth comes from the number of offices implementing flexible and hybrid work polices. With these policies in place the need for full-time traditional catering has steadily diminished with the need to cater for employees on a daily basis no longer being there. However, whilst the micromarkets serve as an excellent alternative for businesses and office refreshments, ‘traditional vending’ will always have some sort of place in or around offices. Yet, although micro-markets are thriving, the fact it looks likely


that hybrid working patterns are a permanent feature in the world of work means that vendors can continue to expect a reduction in day- to-day consumption. Another key decider in office refreshments, again, is the desire for


healthy snacks in the workplace. As part of a wider societal consensus to become a ‘better for you’ one, employees are increasingly seeking healthier snack and beverage options that vendors and micro markets will need to consider when stocking the shelves.


Simon Black, managing director, SB Software Office refreshment is going through a dramatic transformation here in the British Isles: one that is either fundamentally threatening to our sector or very exciting - depending on your ability to recognise and address the changes underway, and especially to harness data and technology to your advantage.


After the near-total shutdown during Covid, we are seeing the


return to office working onsite, albeit still at reduced volumes. But it’s not just the overall size of the population for the office refreshment market that has changed, it’s also the nature/quality of provision and the expectations (from office-based consumers) and the ability of data and technology to provide cost effective/targeted/efficient solutions.


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Here at SB Software we have longer experience with micro markets than any other company in the UK - we worked on the very first installations in this country. And today our clients span the length and breadth of the British Isles so we understand what is going on. We can see the data. Both right now and as a trend over time. To help us see better into the


future, we also keep abreast of what is happening elsewhere in the world today: because commercially relevant/viable elements of that will be coming to our shores tomorrow, and we prefer to keep our clients here ahead of the curve. Of late, for example, I myself have learnt valuable lessons for office refreshment at: - NAMA in Chicago, where the success of micro markets (and other unattended retail) suggests to me what we will be doing in the UK in three years’ time (or sooner)


- the European Vending Show in Paris, where the advances just over the Channel, in the deployment of smart fridges, for example, across the Continent shows we have some catching up to do. What we are seeing at the moment is partial (but now accelerating)


office re-opening. And with sites less likely to be fully occupied throughout the day/week, many are deciding to replace retail/ catering that was previously staffed, with self-service alternatives.


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