Coffee break at the vending machine takes a break

In the office, the coffee break at the vending machine has taken a break. It may be the smartworking effect, or perhaps a change in habits, but in 2025 the volume of drinks purchased at vending machines, the vending machines, was 3.66 billion with a drop of 4.18% on 2024, while expenditure was 1.55 billion (-2.9%). This is what emerges from the sector study carried out by Jakala for Confida, the Italian Association of vending machines, presented at Venditalia 2026, the main international trade fair dedicated to vending machines, which this year, for the first time, is being held at the Rimini Trade Fair. The study also shows a slight drop in the number of machines, with 785,000 vending machines installed (-2.9%), which nevertheless remains the largest in Europe.

If the market seems to have entered a stand-by phase, the supply side is trying to intercept new consumer needs by focusing on products with a higher qualitative and nutritional value. The 2025 data show a growth in functional and balanced references, such as dried fruit (+3%) and new proposals for savoury snacks such as, for example, combinations of Grana cheese and breadsticks which grew by +15%, and ready meals (+29.8%). Among hot drinks, coffee beans are making their way and strengthening their positions, now accounting for 88% of the total coffee offered by vending machines, accompanied by an increasingly widespread focus on the quality of blends and the enhancement of the purchasing experience. An evolution that goes hand in hand with a consolidated offer of iconic and timeless products, which have always been central to the vending experience.

"Never as in recent years has the Italian food industry developed new products that combine taste and balance and, alongside traditional products, it has also promoted snacks that are smaller in size and have fewer calories, less fat and sugar," reports Massimo Trapletti, president of Confida. The challenge for vending is to continue to evolve, investing in innovation both in the made-in-Italy technologies of vending, which are increasingly digital and interconnected, and in the food offer, which must also succeed in intercepting the tastes of the new generation, the so-called Gen Z, who, thanks to frequent travel and study experiences abroad, have developed more international consumption habits'.

Analysing the purchases made in 2025 at vending machines, the drop concerns all the main macro-categories, starting with hot drinks (-3.33%), which nevertheless continue to represent the heart of vending, with coffee alone accounting for more than half of total consumption. The strengthening of coffee beans is accompanied by a reduction in portioned and soluble solutions, which are more exposed to competition from alternative modes of consumption. The growth of ginseng and barley reflects a change in consumer preferences, to which vending machines have been able to respond promptly thanks to new machines enabling them to expand their offerings. Cold drinks declined (-5.85%), penalised in particular by the drop in mineral water (-5.12%), affected by the growing spread of vending machines connected to the water mains. By 2025, in fact, 58% of managers had installed at least one dispenser, contributing to a structural change in consumption habits. Against this trend, there is growth in energy drinks (+5.9%), which intercept new consumption occasions as a possible alternative to coffee, and which respond to the growing focus on sport and physical activity. The snack segment (-5.85%) was also affected by the changed context, with a contraction in some sweet products such as bars (-17%), snacks (-7%) and biscuits. On the front of espresso coffee machines, capsules and pods for offices, 2025 shows a slightly more pronounced downturn, with consumption down by 5.42% (about 1.05 million) and turnover at -4.09% (over 384 million), confirming the difficulties linked to the reduction in workplace attendance. On the other hand, prospects are more favourable for the horeca channel which, according to sector professionals, is the segment with the best growth expectations.

"At a time of reduced consumption," comments Ernesto Piloni, CEO of Venditalia, "the success of this edition of our trade fair shows the willingness of operators in the sector to invest in innovation in order to respond to new consumption models, which are increasingly flexible and distributed throughout the day, less tied to traditional breaks and increasingly connected to evolving lifestyles. The concept of Venditalia 2026, 'Think Automatic', which recalls the sector's ability to adapt to consumer changes and to develop new consumption occasions, is part of this direction".