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Traditional merchandising and Office Coffee Service in combination delivered £3.13 billion in earnings, whilst product earnings rose 6.8% to £2.28 billion, just about 10% above pre-pandemic ranges. Category enlargement used to be led via chilly beverages, up 15.4%, adopted via meals at 12.2%, snacks at 5.7% and scorching drinks at 4.1%. Operators reported moderate earnings enlargement of seven% in 2025, and 90% be expecting the marketplace to develop once more in 2026.

Standalone sensible refrigerators had been the fastest-growing layout, emerging via round 50% in a yr to two,850 devices, pushed via call for for versatile foods and drinks choices in hybrid offices. Micro-markets additionally grew to 785 installations. Cashless generation is now suited to 95% of pay-vend machines, with 84% of transactions on enabled machines made with out money. Mobile bills account for 62% of cashless purchases, up from 8% in 2017, and cashless customers now spend two times as a lot consistent with transaction as coin customers.

Premiumisation additionally continues to boost revenues. Coffee-to-Go generated £645 million from 33,200 machines, with a median promoting worth of £2.89 when put next with £0.56 for a standard merchandising scorching drink. More than 40% of recent tabletop machines now come with recent milk programs for barista-style beverages.

The record additionally highlights development on well being and sustainability, with 80% of chilly beverages now assembly low-sugar requirements and plastic cups virtually eradicated.

David Llewellyn, Chief Executive of the AVA, mentioned the findings display an trade reworked via generation, high quality and comfort, whilst caution that proposed law on power beverages may considerably injury operator revenues regardless of present voluntary safeguards.

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They met with the AVA workforce to achieve perception into how the affiliation helps its participants and represents the merchandising and automatic retail business. Discussions targeted at the key legislative and regulatory demanding situations lately going through the business.

Topics integrated the proposed ban on high-caffeine power beverages, Defra’s Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) reforms, and paintings through the Food Standards Agency and Public Health Scotland on dietary profiling for merchandise offered via merchandising and automatic retail.

David Llewellyn, leader govt of AVA, emphasized the significance of enticing policymakers on those problems. He mentioned:“We are grateful to our local MP for taking the time to visit and engage with us on some of our industry concerns. As a not-for-profit association, the AVA’s role is to ensure policymakers understand the practical realities on the ground, so regulation supports innovation, fairness, and consumer choice rather than unintentionally holding the sector back.”

The AVA continues to paintings intently with govt our bodies, regulators, and elected representatives to verify the merchandising and automatic retail business’s voice is heard as new regulation and coverage proposals are advanced.

It is encouraging participants to ask their native MPs to discuss with their companies so they are able to acquire a greater working out of the merchandising business and the problems that topic to it – specifically the proposed ban on excessive caffeine power beverages. For steering on arranging a discuss with, please touch our Public Affairs Manager, Scott Sherlock.

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AVA participants have persisted to turn resilience whilst the trade moved previous its pre-pandemic efficiency. Diversification and technological evolution have broadened the attraction to shoppers and glad the call for at high-foot fall environments akin to airports, teach stations and gymnasiums, whilst proceeding to care for high quality requirements.

Throughout 2025, the point of interest of the AVA group has been on serving to participants reduce during the noise. Whether thru coverage paintings, conversations with executive or day by day steering, the purpose has been to assist participants ship the excessive requirements that shoppers and shoppers now be expecting.

The annual census as soon as once more proved very important as a useful resource for operators making plans sustainable expansion, each this yr and past. As a core good thing about being a member, the whole census and marketplace document supply important knowledge and perception. Research unearths that product earnings rose 13% year-on-year, achieving £2.14 billion in 2014, whilst, with related classes incorporated, the full trade worth now stands at greater than £3.6 billion.

AVA participants have additionally benefited from coaching programmes, high quality audits and toughen during the Business Support Service. A big focal point in 2025 has been the redevelopment of the Engineer’s Electrical Safety Awareness coaching, with a brand new two-day face-to-face type presented.

The AVA’s occasions calendar has all the time been a spotlight and 2025 was once no exception. From golfing days in Wetherby and Surrey, to a sold-out Christmas Luncheon at 8 Northumberland in London, participants loved alternatives to community, rejoice achievements and construct relationships.

Looking to 2026, the point of interest might be on more potent advocacy, extra coaching, persisted toughen and a hectic occasions calendar. 

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As we sit up for 2026, the United Kingdom merchandising and automatic retail sector is coming into considered one of its maximum transformative classes but. What used to be as soon as thought to be a purely convenience-driven carrier has developed into a complicated, data-enabled retail channel that responds without delay to how and the place other people paintings, trip and socialise. The business’s adaptability, confirmed via contemporary demanding situations with packaging regulation and effort drink attainable bans, continues to power innovation throughout generation, sustainability and shopper enjoy.

Defining traits for 2026

Digitalisation, diversification and sustainability are the 3 subject matters shaping the yr forward. Automated retail is now not with regards to dishing out merchandise; it’s about developing hooked up, clever and adapted retail stories that supplement conventional shops. Operators are increasing well past espresso and snacks into contemporary meals, purposeful merchandise, micro-markets and multi-channel codecs.

This evolution comes as broader sustainability targets, new regulation and moving shopper behavior redefine how merchandise are packaged, allotted and recovered. Through smarter answers and accountable operations, AVA contributors are making an investment in an business this is cleaner, extra effective and extra responsive than ever.

Packaging, sustainability and the round financial system

Packaging lies on the middle of exchange. With the just lately presented Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and the United Kingdom’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) ultimate at the desk for 2027, merchandising operators are rethinking their product supply and waste restoration as vital in new regulation to steer clear of pricey fines. The sector is uniquely positioned to assist those reforms: sensible merchandising applied sciences can combine reverse-vending purposes, monitor recycling information in genuine time or even praise sustainable possible choices.

The DRS, first of all protecting PET plastic, aluminium and metal drink bins, items each problem and alternative, requiring machines that may acquire in addition to vend. DRS is definitely established throughout many nations and early UK trials, corresponding to the ones with Coca-Cola Europacific Partners in Scotland, have proven that customers reply definitely when recycling is made handy and rewarding.

At the similar time, sustainability ambitions run deeper. Across the AVA neighborhood, the point of interest is on decreasing single-use fabrics, adopting recyclable and compostable packaging and designing energy-efficient apparatus with decrease carbon have an effect on.

Regulation and shopper selection

Legislative shifts round top fats, salt and sugar (HFSS) merchandise and restrictions on loose refills for sugary beverages are reshaping merchandising menus. These adjustments are opening the best way for low- and zero-sugar choices, purposeful drinks, and plant-based choices, all spaces the place merchandising’s agility and responsiveness supply a transparent merit. Consumers now be expecting merchandising to fulfill the similar requirements they to find somewhere else: visual freshness, dietary readability, cashless fee, and moral sourcing.

Trust and transparency subject greater than ever. Customers care the place merchandise come from and the way responsibly they’re delivered. Operators who mix hygiene, reliability and transparency whilst providing fashionable, attractive interactions will lead on this new generation of expectancies.

The function of generation

Technology continues to underpin merchandising’s transformation. Smart programs, cashless and contactless fee,and real-time information analytics at the moment are central to operational excellence. These gear now not most effective support comfort for shoppers but additionally permit operators to analyse buying behaviour, optimise routes, scale back waste and dynamically tailor product levels.

AI and automation are turning into precious allies. Predictive analytics helps proactive upkeep and insist forecasting, whilst long term packages may just personalise suggestions on the level of acquire. The biggest alternative lies in the use of generation to reinforce, now not change, human experience and stay carrier high quality and perception on the centre of each and every interplay.

Looking forward

Despite broader financial pressures, the outlook for 2026 is shiny. Consumers increasingly more select computerized retail for reliability, comfort and sustainability, now not simply affordability. Stronger collaboration throughout providers, producers and web site homeowners will proceed to embed commonplace sustainability targets and perfect practices making sure the business stays agile, aggressive and accountable.

At the AVA, our focal point stays on supporting contributors via analysis, requirements and shared studying. As automation, sustainability and virtual connectivity converge, the United Kingdom’s merchandising and unattended retail business stands able to steer the following section of recent retail, turning in high quality, innovation and consider anywhere shoppers are.

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On a European stage gadget fieldbase and vends have proven little or no expansion in comparison to the former yr, with simplest earnings proceeding to develop. Worth additionally noting is a transparent trade within the total breakdown of machines positioned within the place of work, losing to 70% from 80% pre-pandemic. This demonstrates concretely that gadget operators are diversifying their websites, with a view to make amends for partial house running through workplace staff.

Out of the Tier 1 ‘Big 6’ international locations, the Italian marketplace seems to be declining, with drops reported in gadget fieldbase, intake in addition to in total earnings. Indeed within the later standards, Italy is the one marketplace a number of the 24 lined within the record that noticed a drop in product earnings (-2.9%). This is regardless of the overall development to compensate intake discounts through worth will increase. Italy alternatively, through a long way stays the marketplace with the biggest collection of machines (809,000).

France overtakes Germany as the most important marketplace relating to general product earnings with €3.69 billion. With regards to intake, the Netherlands as a essentially OCS marketplace stays on the most sensible, totalling on its own 5.66 billion vends.

The record covers the marketplace place as much as the top of 2024, however with the industrial headwinds noticed already because the get started of 2025, the brand new figures might level to the start of a extra normal slowing down of the merchandising marketplace, with considerations that it would sadly morph right into a extra normal stagnation of the business within the coming years.

The annual record is as freely to be had for EVA contributors, whilst non-members can get in contact for pricing choices and whole main points of the content material lined. Email ue.eporue-gnidnevnull@gnidnev

Some decided on findings 

• The general collection of machines throughout Europe stays at 5 million
• Number of vends stands at 5 billion
• Total business earnings is €26.4 billion
• Micro-markets and sensible refrigerators keep growing swiftly with a respective 15% and 95% building up because the remaining record
• Across Europe cashless fee programs at the moment are suited to 85% of the pay vend fieldbase

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AVA leader government David Llewellyn mentioned: “From both an environmental and industrial perspective, this move completely undermines the extraordinary progress our sector has made in moving away from single-use plastics”.

“Across the United Kingdom’s merchandising and coffee-to-go sector, we’ve noticed an enormous transition to paper-based cups: round 93% of all beverages we serve are actually in paper cups — a shift the AVA Census unearths is pushed now not simply by environmental credentials and simplicity of recycling, but additionally by means of client choice for upper high quality and extra sustainable packaging.

“At the AVA we’re proud to be a part of the Alliance for Fibre-Based Packaging. The Alliance supplies knowledgeable voice for the business on key subjects when it comes to fibre-based packaging. Focussing on some great benefits of fibre and fibre-based composites (FBC) which carry out vital packaging purposes to offer protection to meals and different client items, supply client protection and hygiene, and allow comfort and potency to fulfill lately’s way of life wishes.

“It is complicated that the ones making an investment closely in fibre-based innovation will have to now be penalised, whilst fossil fuel-derived plastics obtain a monetary bonus. This is precisely the flawed sign to ship to business and customers alike; it ignores real-world recycling charges and dangers pushing us backwards, now not forwards.

“If this coverage is left unchanged, it threatens to undo years of hard-won development: shops may well be compelled again against plastic as it’s less expensive, and British fibre packaging producers, the actual leaders in sustainable innovation, will probably be hamstrung. How does that are compatible with any definition of a ‘circular economy’ or a plan to scale back plastic waste?

“The Government must rethink these fee structures urgently. We should be supporting materials that are actually recycled at scale in the UK, reducing plastic dependency, and championing British industry. The current approach does the exact opposite.”

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The EVA Director General, Erwin Wetzel

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David Llewellyn, Chief Executive of the AVA

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David Llewellyn, Chief Executive of the AVA

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