As the federal and state governments imposed strict shelter-at-home orders for nonessential workers last year, office refreshment services abruptly came to a standstill and the telecommuting culture took hold.
Sales in the office coffee service channel declined from $5.9 billion in 2019 to $1.5 billion, or 75%, in 2020. COVID-19’s cataclysmic impact on office worker populations effectively reversed decades of growth of a continually advancing segment of convenience services.
The performance of OCS, as well as vending, micro markets and contract foodservice, traditionally has been tied to employment, but the relationships between these service segments and their clientele changed in 2020.
Click here to download Automatic Merchandiser's 2021 State of the Coffee Service Industry report.