Vending

COVID challenges continue for European vending/coffee industry

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July 12, 2021

The vending and coffee services industry in Europe continues to struggle with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a report from the European Vending & Coffee Service Association.

The report is published as a combined European report of all the responses, as well as five individual country reports — France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the U.K.

The findings demonstrate that both operators and suppliers see working from home as the main threat for the industry, while key opportunities include cashless payments. Other findings include:

• More than half of operators (56%) declared a reduction in turnover in 2020 of between 21-40%.
• In 2022, 37% of the suppliers expect growth compared to 2019.
• 91% of operators are impacted by people working from home while 76% of suppliers are affected by reduced orders.
• The scale of business investments appears to be flexible with 30% operators and 23% of suppliers planning an investment based on sales performances for this year.

As restrictions continue to ease throughout Europe, companies are reporting less machine/site access issues or closures but supply chain difficulties, changing demands and reduced orders from clients are some of the main challenges this year for suppliers.

With regards to opportunities, 66% of operators plan to adapt their machines by providing cashless payment options at their machines by the end of 2021, a significant figure which aims to meet new consumer demands.

For an update on how the coronavirus pandemic has affected convenience services, click here.