Office Coffee Culture: How Workplaces Serve Specialty Beverages

Ever wonder why your office kitchen lacks the variety and quality you get from your favorite café? Or why coworkers constantly leave for Starbucks instead of using the in-house coffee machine? Many professionals face this daily dilemma—balancing convenience, taste, and efficiency during a hectic workday.

Offices around the world now serve over 100 different beverage combinations through advanced single-serve systems, offering coffee, tea, and hot chocolate tailored to different tastes—all without leaving the building.

Why Office Drink Preferences Vary by Age and Taste

Xavier Unkovic, Global President of Mars Drinks, observed that employees’ beverage choices vary dramatically by age, gender, and personal preference. While younger staff under 25 often shy away from black coffee, those over 25 begin exploring bolder flavors. Some workers prefer tea, others want hot chocolate, and many seek high-quality coffee—but not everyone wants the same thing. That’s a challenge even Starbucks inside offices struggles to solve.

The Origins of Mars Drinks: From Vending Machines to Office Systems

Mars Drinks began with a simple idea from John Mars, a member of the Mars family and original company founder. In the UK during the 1980s, Mars sold chocolates and candies through vending machines—and customers often wanted a drink to go with their sweets. That observation led to the creation of a single-cup filtration system that could deliver a variety of hot beverages. This innovation eventually evolved into today’s Mars Drinks system, launched more than 35 years ago.

How Mars Drinks Entered the Chinese Market

Although Mars Drinks is well-established in the US, UK, and Japan—with over 100,000 office locations and global annual sales exceeding $1 billion—it only entered the Chinese market in March 2014. The company identified strong potential, estimating China’s premium office hot drink market grows over 20% annually, projecting a value exceeding 5 billion RMB by 2018. Unkovic expressed confidence in capturing this growing segment.

The Battle for the Office Break Room

Mars Drinks focuses exclusively on the B2B channel, meaning it sells directly to companies, not consumers. Its challenge is twofold: satisfy employee drink preferences while persuading employers to invest in the equipment. Unkovic explained that companies benefit by creating a more attractive workplace. Free, quality beverages can boost morale and productivity. In fact, consulting data shows employees spending 14 minutes per day buying drinks outside—if 3,000 employees each waste 20 minutes daily, that’s over 1,000 hours lost each day. Mars Drinks positions itself as a solution to bring that time and engagement back inside the office.

Office Design, Collaboration, and Beverage Breaks

Since the 1990s, office layouts have shifted from isolated cubicles to open, collaborative spaces. Unkovic pointed out that when employees gather, beverages often facilitate better teamwork. Mars Drinks collaborates with furniture maker Herman Miller to study how workplace trends affect drink habits. Smaller desks and cost-cutting measures often accompany larger collaboration zones—including break rooms where a good cup of coffee or tea might spark the next big idea.

Competing with Starbucks, Costa, and Pacific Coffee

Mars Drinks’ biggest competitors aren’t other office equipment providers, but retail coffee giants. Surveys reveal 22% of employees leave work daily for beverages. Unkovic cited the common refrain, “I’m either at Starbucks or on my way there,” highlighting how deeply office workers rely on branded coffee chains—even working from there despite noise and crowds. Retailers like Pacific Coffee, Starbucks, and Costa have launched capsule coffee machines for businesses, but Mars Drinks claims a unique edge: variety.

Why Mars Drinks Offers Over 100 Flavor Combinations

Unlike many competitors, Mars Drinks delivers coffee, tea, and hot chocolate in one system. The company offers 18 core products in China alone, which can be mixed to create over 100 flavor options. Its coffee line includes four roast profiles, each suited for different preferences. When paired with milk or tea bases, the variety expands further. The system includes proprietary brands like Altitude Coffee, Bevy Tea, and Dove Hot Chocolate—all tailored for office environments.

How the Single-Serve System Works

The secret lies in Mars Drinks’ patented single-serve filtration technology. Each drink pod is vacuum-sealed and light-protected with an internal filter. When inserted into the machine, the design prevents flavor crossover—so chocolate residue won’t ruin your next coffee. The system uses a “razor-and-blades” model: the machines are often provided free to large clients, while the real profit comes from ongoing sales of beverage pods. Each machine brews a cup in 40 seconds, recycles 24 used pods at once, and serves 50–70 people daily. Machines are typically installed across multiple office floors, positioned at an optimal height of 432mm based on extensive user testing.

Global Adaptation: Matching Local Tastes

Mars Drinks customizes offerings for regional markets. Globally, Dove Hot Chocolate is the top seller. In Japan, matcha-flavored drinks proved popular, while London favored black tea blends. In the US, East Coast consumers prefer milder coffee, and West Coast drinkers lean toward dark roasts. In China, early feedback shows hot chocolate leading, but the company continues analyzing retail trends and local preferences to refine its mix.

Mars Drinks at the Boao Forum

In 2014, Mars Drinks became the official hot beverage sponsor of the Boao Forum for Asia, replacing Starbucks. Organizers noted that three Starbucks counters couldn’t handle the thousands of attendees efficiently. Mars Drinks’ multi-option system reduced wait times during short breaks. According to Hu Kaiping, Mars Drinks China General Manager, the forum chose them because their system met diverse taste needs better than a single-brand coffee setup.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Mars Drinks and how is it different from Starbucks?

Mars Drinks is a B2B provider of office beverage systems offering coffee, tea, and hot chocolate through single-serve machines. Unlike Starbucks, which is a retail coffee chain, Mars Drinks focuses on supplying customized beverage solutions directly to companies for employee use in offices.

How many beverage options does Mars Drinks offer in offices?

Mars Drinks provides 18 core products in China that can be combined to create over 100 different flavor combinations, including multiple coffee roasts, teas, and hot chocolates.

What is the "razor-and-blades" model in Mars Drinks' business?

Mars Drinks often gives away the beverage machines for free to large clients, then earns revenue from ongoing sales of proprietary drink pods, similar to how razor companies sell razors cheaply but charge for replacement blades.

How does Mars Drinks ensure drinks don't mix flavors?

The company’s patented system uses vacuum-sealed, light-protected pods with built-in filters. Each drink is brewed directly into the cup through its own sealed pack, preventing cross-contamination between flavors like chocolate and coffee.

Why did Mars Drinks enter the Chinese market in 2014?

Mars Drinks identified China’s premium office hot drink market as growing over 20% yearly, with an expected value over 5 billion RMB by 2018, making it a strategic priority alongside established markets like the US and UK.

How tall are Mars Drinks machines and why?

Mars Drinks machines are 432mm tall, determined through testing to fit most office kitchens and cabinetry while ensuring usability for a wide range of employees.

Recommended FrontStreet Beans for Office Coffee

For office setups like those using Mars Drinks systems, FrontStreet Coffee’s Classic Blend offers a smooth, well-rounded profile with rich crema—ideal for milk-based drinks. For a bolder, cost-effective option, the Black Cocoa Blend provides a deep, chocolatey profile with strong crema, perfect for espresso lovers. Both beans are optimized for home or office brewers and deliver consistent results. Freshly roasted within 5 days · Orders placed before 17:00 ship the same day · Next-day delivery across most of Guangdong Province.