Office coffee options become common perk of the job
Wang Jun has fallen into a cosy routine at a multinational company in Beijing.
The 27-year-old buys Starbucks coffee at her office vending machine every working day. The price is almost half that of the branded store downstairs and the wait time is next to nothing, so it’s a no-brainer.
“We are busy at work and have no time to buy coffee at the shop downstairs,” Wang said.
The We Proudly Serve Starbucks service, operated by Nestle Professional, provides maintenance on a daily basis, which means constant refills of fresh beans and milk.
“My colleagues have expressed high levels of satisfaction with the coffee services thanks to affordability, convenience and quality,” Wang said.
Wang is among a rising number of office workers at multinational firms or leading IT companies that have had automated coffee-brewing machines installed in their workplaces.
Coffee drinking is considered an integral part of office culture in many workplaces in
China, and many offices have been providing instant coffee as refreshments.
“Coffee vending machines offer more choice and convenience to employees,” said Jason Yu, general manager of Kantar Worldpanel China.
But consumption survey updates have encouraged employers to use better catering services to attract and keep top talent, he said.
Office coffee businesses, including Nescafe Office cafe as well as freshly brewed coffee-making machines such as Costa Express and We Proudly Serve Starbucks have blossomed.
Nestle Professional opened its Nescafe Office cafe business in China last March and has discovered that more people are choosing to buy coffee within their office spaces, Nestle said.
The Swiss company bought perpetual rights from Starbucks in 2018 to market Starbucks consumer packaged goods and food service products globally outside the company’s cafes.
In China the We Proudly Serve Starbucks coffee program that takes a range of
coffee beverages to workplaces or catered locations was launched last year and has now entered many large companies across the country, Nestle said.
Costa Coffee’s vending machine business, Costa Express, signed a collaboration agreement with COFCO Coca-Cola in September to further expand its coffee vending machine network in China to better cover the daily demand for coffee at work.
In March, Costa Coffee introduced its ready-to-drink coffee products and expanded its distribution through COFCO Coca-Cola’s network in supermarkets, convenience stores and vending machines.
Zhou Liewen, general manger of Costa China, said China is the most significant market for Costa and sees continuing immense potential in it.
“With the increasingly diversified coffee consumption categories and ways to drink coffee, consumption occasions keep expanding,” Zhou said.
However, the model requires time to gain popularity because consumers must first cultivate a strong coffee consumption habit and culture to develop a large enough network to boost profits, Kantar’s Yu said.
The vending machine business has faced major challenges from delivery services of coffee and tea chains.
Starbucks has enjoyed a steady outlet expansion and had 4,700 stores in the country in September. The Seattle company is on track to open 500 new stores in China this fiscal year. In April Starbucks announced a strategic partnership with the investment firm Sequoia Capital China to further digitalize its retailing and optimize operations.
The race has been further escalated as the Canadian coffee chain Tim Hortons’ China unit plans to open 20 new stores in Beijing by the end of this year as part of its drive to have 1,500 stores in China over the next nine years.