Automatic Merchandiser - 6

EDITOR'S NOTE

Looking Back
To Look Forward
Our annual State of the Office Coffee Service Industry report
stirs bittersweet feelings
WHEN PREPPING THE STATE OF THE OFFICE COFFEE SERVICE

Abby White
Editor
awhite@
vendingmarketwatch.com

Office coffee
service... had its
biggest year yet,
with revenue
climbing 4.8% to
$5.97 billion.

Industry report for this issue, I had the same bittersweet feeling I had
when I was working on the State of the Industry report on vending
and micro markets for the June/July issue. It just felt odd, in light of the
devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic, celebrating such strong numbers from 2019 in what was a year of success for so many operators.
But as I pointed out in the analysis for the State of the Industry
report, even though 2020 has been a very challenging year for operators, we came into the year stronger than ever. And that's certainly the
case with office coffee service (OCS), which had its biggest year yet,
with revenues climbing 4.8% to $5.97 billion. Read all about the other
findings from our annual report on page 20.
Many operators have reported that their OCS accounts have taken
the biggest hit due to COVID-19. With fewer people working in offices,
employers are looking to cut overhead costs, and OCS was one of the
first to go for many accounts. Fortunately, it's not all bad news for OCS.
Mike Ferguson has five survival tips for OCS operators who are open
to thinking outside of the box (page 10).
Contributing editor Emily Jed wrote two fantastic pieces that you
should definitely check out on your coffee break. Flip to page 12 to
learn about how plant-based creamers and functional flavors are big
wins with consumers, replicating their coffeehouse favorites in the
office. For those who saw big losses in their OCS accounts, it's important to stay on top of these trends as workers are starting to head back
into the office. Since no coffee break is complete without snacks, Jed
explores how the COVID-19 pandemic has shifted consumers' snacking habits (spoiler: they're snacking more!) and how this could affect
your vending and micro market accounts (page 16).
Our featured operator for September is Dependable Vending,
which has achieved massive growth in their region by expanding
services and products to meet its clients' needs (page 28). And for the
small operators out there, contributor Gary Joyner challenges you to do
business "the old fashioned way" - by earning it every day. Don't miss
his two easy tips to increase sales on page 36.
As we wrapped this issue, NAMA announced that it was cancelling
the 2020 Coffee, Tea & Water Show. While we're sad we won't get to see
you there, we look forward to meeting face-to-face again in 2021.

Automatic Merchandiser * September 2020

Editorial
Advisory
Board
Joe Hessling
365 Retail
Markets

Josh
Rosenberg
CEO, PLNTSOP

John Reilly
Avanti Markets

Anant Agrawal
Cantaloupe
Systems
USA Technologies

Elyssa Steiner
Cantaloupe
Systems
USA Technologies

Carl Moser
Canteen
Corporate

Chuck Reed
Crane Payment
Innovations (CPI)

Jeff Whitacre
Food Express

Cory Hewett
Gimme
Michael Miller
Mondelēz
International

Paresh Patel
PayRange

Jeff Deitchler
Prairie Fire
Coffee

Jim Carbone
Tradecraft

Sandy
Thornton
VendEdge

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