Automated beverage machines today offer quality, efficiency and consistency at the touch of a button. It’s no surprise, therefore, that Horeca operators are increasingly choosing to outsource their hot beverage provision to these workhorses of the foodservice industry — a trend that Refreshment’s magazine editor, Bryony Andrews, takes a closer look at.

The challenges of providing a hot beverage service in a Horeca setting are manifold. Guests expect a high-quality hot beverage, but managing staffing issues, balancing operational costs and maximising efficiency make this a surprisingly thorny issue.

However, while some jobs can only be done by a person, the provision of high-quality hot and cold beverages can be simplified by investing in an automated system, helping managers make the best use of limited resources.

Thanks to developments in automatic dispensing technology, today’s beverage machines can produce barista-quality beverages at just the touch of a button. With the help of these fully- or semi-automated coffee machines, just one or two staff members can serve hot beverages to many customers in a fraction of the time that it would take to make drinks using a manual coffee machine. Crucially for resource-strapped Horeca businesses, this means that team members can be freed up to perform other essential tasks elsewhere. Furthermore, fully-automated coffee machines often have interfaces that are so simple that customers can serve themselves, allowing Horeca operators to offer hot beverages even in unattended locations.

So what are the essential requirements for a professional beverage solution for the Horeca sector?

According to David Mahon, head of direct business at SEB Professional UK, customer service is at the heart of successful hot beverage provision in the Horeca sector.

He told Refreshment: “Delivering high-quality and consistent drinks enhances the brand reputation of a business, encouraging repeat customers and fostering loyalty. Our Schaerer machines focus on enabling operators to excel at the basics of a speciality coffee menu – such as cappuccino, flat white, lattes and americano – while also providing the tools to diversify their offerings. Flexibility is the key to loyalty.”

Schaerer machines, Mahon explains, help Horeca operators to expand their beverage menu by offering them optional additional features, such as a Twin Milk cooler for offering dairy and plant-based options, or a Flavour Point syrup station for bespoke drinks with up to four flavours.

“By combining precision technology with versatile menu options, Horeca businesses can confidently deliver both traditional favourites and customised drinks that cater to evolving consumer preferences,” Mahon continued.

Automation

Andrea Pozzolini, CEO at coffee equipment manufacturer Rhea, highlighted the vital role of automation in hot beverage provision for Horeca businesses.

“Whether for a small boutique or a large chain, automation ensures that everyone – customers and employees alike – can prepare high-quality coffee or beverages. Our automated solutions combine state-of-the-art technology and extensive customisation options to deliver a premium coffee break experience, reducing the need for highlyqualified staff while maintaining the operator’s desired service standards.”

According to Pozzolini, consumers today are not just looking for beverages but for “well-curated, high-quality experiences”.

Maintaining standards

In a busy Horeca environment, it is easy for quality to take a backseat to speed and convenience. However, with stiff competition from other foodservice outlets – and even from at-home espresso machines – beverage quality needs to remain high if the business is to retain the loyalty of its customers.

“The ongoing challenge of high staff turnover across the Horeca sector means that drink quality often falls down the priority list,” Liz Bull-Domican, marketing executive at Franke Coffee Systems UK, told Refreshment. “Given the time and financial investment needed to train new staff, many Horeca businesses instead focus on a limited beverage menu and fast service as ‘quick wins’ to drive consumer satisfaction.”

However, what these businesses don’t realise, Bull-Domican continued, is that consumer expectations are evolving. “Fast service is always appreciated by consumers, but so is seeing your favourite drink on the menu – not to mention receiving a coffee or hot chocolate that tastes better than anywhere else. This is where automated coffee machines come in, thriving in both served and self-serve Horeca environments. They incorporate the latest technologies in coffee extraction and consumer analytics to serve the perfect cup, all while supporting staff.”

The spice of life

With consumers today expecting customisable coffee orders, including a range of flavours, sizes, strengths, blends and milk options, automated beverage solutions need to offer at least as many options as a barista-led outlet.

Franke’s Bull-Domican advised: “By offering an extensive hot beverage menu across all sites, customers will feel confident knowing what to expect: the ability to order their favourite drink wherever they are, and for it to taste great every single time.”

She noted that while espresso-based coffee drinks are longstanding favourites among UK consumers, decaf options are increasingly popular, “particularly among older demographics and those seeking the full-bodied flavour of coffee without the caffeine buzz that follows…and non-dairy milk, originally created for consumers with allergies and intolerances, has become the preferred choice among many millennials and Gen-Z.”

According to Rhea’s Pozzolini, “the most popular hot drinks typically include classic options such as espresso, cappuccino and long or American coffee. Today, however, with our super-automatic machines and fresh milk systems, we can address the growing demand for beverages made with fresh milk (both hot and cold), including plant-based alternatives for consumers who are lactose-intolerant or follow a vegan lifestyle. Offering a wide selection of beverages, including larger sized and coffee-to-go formats, is becoming increasingly important as it enables the Horeca sector to cater to the diverse preferences of both local and international customers.”

Managing your environmental footprint

The impact of climate change on coffee quality and availability means that sustainability and ethical production practices are crucial. Consumers – particularly millennials and Gen Zs – increasingly seek environmentally responsible brands, so Horeca operators should consider being transparent about the source and supply chain of their coffee beans.

The choice of machine, too, can play an important role in reducing the environmental footprint of a business, and has the added bonus of reducing its energy costs and bottom line.

Schaerer machines, for example, offer eco modes and advanced rinsing cycles to reduce water and energy use, and the company encourages sustainable practices such as supporting plant-based choices and ethicallysourced coffee options. “Our Coffee Link platform enables data-driven insights,” Mahon added, “helping Horeca operators optimise machine performance and reduce waste, ensuring both economic and environmental sustainability.”

Nestlé Professional’s Nescafé Fusion system, meanwhile, gives its Horeca customers the option to trace the coffee supplied from the region it was grown through to where it was roasted and packed via the new ‘Trace my Coffee’ pilot program, which has been launched in Spain and the Netherlands and is set to be rolled out in the UK and Portugal this year.

Consumer expectations of the Horeca sector are changing, with a growing emphasis on quick, convenient service as well as high-quality beverages. With overhead costs increasing but guest expectations remaining high, automated beverage solutions can help Horeca operators to maximise their existing resources while still ensuring an exceptional customer experience.

Getting technical

How is the latest beverage machine technology improving quality and efficiency for Horeca businesses?

Schaerer

For Horeca businesses seeking to offer a handmade, barista-style drinks menu, the Schaerer Soul 2-step model combines manual espresso preparation with automated milk steaming and texturing. Features like ‘Automatic Grinding Adjustment’ optimise espresso settings to maintain consistency throughout the day. Precision brewing and temperature control are integrated, ensuring a high-quality extraction every time. With 10- and 12-inch screens, the technology is easy to use and to adapt to the requirements of different locations.

For environments that favour self-service or fully-automated operations, Schaerer’s patented ‘Best Foam’ technology guarantees precise milk texture and temperature for a variety of specialty beverages. The ‘MilkCheck’ feature, meanwhile, alerts operators when milk levels are low. Smart watch integration enables real-time notifications for quick responses to machine alerts.

Rhea

Rhea equips its freestanding and tabletop machines with touchscreens. This makes it easy to choose from a wide range of recipes, and has the secondary bonus of transmitting images and videos to display point-of-sale information, promote campaigns, collect customer feedback or simply to entertain.

To help Horeca operators to maintain quality and consistency, Rhea developed its innovative Variplus technology, a patented system comprising three components: Variflex, Varigrind and Varitherm. Together, these elements ensure the optimum brew pressure, grind, water quantity and temperature required for different beverages.

Additionally, the Varitherm induction heating system provides significant energy savings compared to traditional boiler systems, allowing water temperature to be adjusted for individual recipes and even for different temperatures within the same beverage. Varitherm plays an essential role in fresh milk preparations, as it heats the milk directly without steam, m, preserving the taste and freshness of the final drink.

Franke

Franke’s patented coffee extraction technology, iQFlow, allows Horeca businesses to customise multiple flavour profiles for their coffee beans. This means that the machines are able to extract the full aroma, flavour and body from different varieties of beans, with minimal variance from cup to cup.

Franke’s automated cleaning system, meanwhile, means that cleaning can be scheduled for quieter times of the day, with minimal staff involvement needed, allowing it to fit seamlessly into day-today Horeca operations.

Franke Digital Services (IoT) are designed for Horeca businesses with a coffee machine fleet, either at one site or across multiple venues. The software allows businesses to analyse the performance of each Franke coffee machine in real-time, monitoring insights such as drink popularity and peak times. Operators can learn about customers’ preferences and update the beverage menu accordingly.

Evoca

Evoca-owned machine manufacturer Gaggia works with its Horeca customers to create an ideal drinks menu on their machine, meaning that even inexperienced members of staff can meet customer expectations at the push of a button. In 2025, Gaggia is set to introduce a dual milk system, which allows operators to offer a plant-based milk option alongside dairy milk in the same machine, for operators serving a clientele that is increasingly exploring non-dairy alternatives in their coffee.

At the high end of the range, the La Radiosa machine is capable of delivering up to 250 consistently high-quality cups of coffee a day. Alternatively, smaller-scale models such as La Brillante and La Solare offer a more moderate daily output of around 100 cups, meaning smaller Horeca businesses can minimise their financial outlay.

Nestlé Professional

The Nescafé Fusion range from Nestlé Professional offers a wide variety of machine options for different business needs. Horeca operators can choose from 14 different coffee machine models based on business size, cup capacity, counter space and consumer needs. To help them decide, Nestlé developed its Lifecycle Assessment Tool to assess varying parameters across its machines, including emissions, water usage and resource impact. The tool provides region-specific data for Europe, North America, Latin America and Asia.

To support Horeca operators in reducing their environmental footprint, Nescafé Fusion machines use up to 30% recycled plastic and can achieve energy savings of up to 60% compared to previous Nescafé machines. The machines use hot water to pre-heat the brewing chamber on demand, replacing heating fans.