Vending and the workplace: coworking as an increasingly attractive market

The European workplace is no longer what it was before 2020. Hybrid working, the alternation between time spent in the office and remote activity, has become firmly established, reshaping out-of-home consumption patterns and prompting a growing share of workers to seek alternatives to both traditional offices and home-based work.

Across Europe, the proportion of employees working remotely at least part of the time has doubled compared to the pre-pandemic period, stabilising at over 20%. In Italy, smart workers now exceed 3.5 million, with a significant presence also within the Public Administration sector. This shift has generated a structural demand for flexible professional spaces.

A growing European market

The United Kingdom, one of the continent’s most mature markets, counts more than 4,400 locations across the UK and Ireland. Across Europe as a whole, the number of operational coworking spaces is estimated to exceed 20,000 units. This scale confirms that coworking is now an established component of contemporary work, no longer a niche limited to freelancers and micro-enterprises.

The most significant figure concerns the overall size of the phenomenon. Today, flexible workspaces account for approximately 2.5% of Europe’s total office stock. Considering that the main European economies together offer more than 300 million square metres of office space, coworking and shared environments already occupy around 8 million square metres. This dimension demonstrates the sector’s solidity and suggests further room for growth.

The Opportunity for Vending in Coworking Spaces

In this context, vending presents a tangible opportunity. Coworking environments do not simply require a vending machine placed in a transit area, but integrated solutions aligned with carefully designed layouts, often positioned in the mid-to-high market segment.
The presence of professionals, corporate teams and users with continuous access throughout the week enables the development of premium offerings, ranging from high-quality hot beverages to fresh and healthy products, supported by cashless models and digital consumption management. The break becomes an integral part of the work experience rather than an ancillary service.

The transformation of work is redistributing volumes from large headquarters to a widespread network of urban hubs and shared spaces. For vending operators, this means capturing new, high-value consumption points within dynamic and growing environments. Venditalia 2026 (Rimini, 6-8 May) will also provide the opportunity to explore first-hand the technologies, formats and services designed to meet these new workplace demands, from product innovation to digital payments and more advanced management models.

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