Vendies 2026: a Year of Growth, Innovation and Industry Change

What This Year’s Vendies Really Represent

With the Vendies 2026 Awards taking place this week, anticipation is building across the vending and automated retail sector.

Beyond the awards themselves, the event gives colleagues, partners, suppliers and friends from across the sector a chance to come together, reflect on the year and discuss what comes next.

This year in particular, gathering arrives at an interesting moment.

Over the past 12 months, we’ve seen mergers, acquisitions, ownership transitions, strategic partnerships and leadership movements reshape the market. At the same time, investment in workplace refreshment, micro markets, smart retail technologies and automated retail destinations has continued to create new opportunities for operators, suppliers and clients alike.

Against this backdrop, we’re delighted to announce that Nebrak has been shortlisted in five categories at this year’s awards.

The nominations recognise a year of innovation, collaboration and investment across workplace refreshment, automated retail and design-led customer experiences. Equally, they reflect the wider momentum currently driving the sector forward.

Importantly, we’re looking forward not only to celebrating the achievements recognised on stage, but also to the conversations taking place around the room. After all, the ideas shared, the partnerships formed, and the insights exchanged often reveal just as much about the future direction of the sector as the awards themselves.

Five Vendies 2026 Nominations

Best Ancillary Product or Service – Nebrak Print & Branding Services

Our in-house print and branding team continues to help operators, brands and workplace clients create stronger, more engaging environments through graphics, signage, wall art, machine wraps, lightboxes and visual communication solutions.

As refreshment environments become increasingly experience-led, branding and communication play an important role in guiding customers, supporting engagement and creating consistency across multiple locations.

Best Automated Retail Solution – Nebrak x Café Point Micro Market Solution

Commissioned by Café Point on behalf of a major manufacturing and distribution client, this project demonstrates how technology, design and user experience can work together to create a seamless automated retail destination.

The solution incorporates:

• Scan & Heat technology for rapid, frictionless meal solutions
• Two dedicated smart payment points supporting high-volume self-service use
• Three premium coffee machines, each paired with 365 Pico contactless payment terminals for fast, secure unattended transactions

The project showcases how thoughtfully designed environments can help innovative technologies perform at their very best.

Vending Supplier of the Year

This nomination recognises Nebrak’s continued commitment to supporting operators, brands and workplace clients through British manufacturing, responsive customer service and a complete in-house delivery model.

From initial concepts and visualisations through to manufacturing, branding, delivery and installation, our focus remains on helping clients create environments that deliver long-term value and commercial performance.

Design Excellence Award

As a brand-new category for 2026, we’re particularly proud to be recognised in the inaugural Design Excellence Award.

The introduction of this category feels significant.

For many years, industry recognition focused primarily on technology, products and operational performance.

Today, however, the industry increasingly recognises customer experience, environment design, usability and visual engagement as key drivers of success.

The creation of a dedicated Design Excellence Award reflects that shift.

That observation aligns closely with a philosophy that has shaped Nebrak for almost four decades.

The machine performs the transaction. The environment shapes the experience.

In many ways, three of our nominations this year – Best Automated Retail Solution, Design Excellence and Best Ancillary Product or Service – reflect this same evolution.

Together, they demonstrate how value increasingly comes not only from technology itself, but also from the environments, experiences and communications that surround it.

Best Vending Project Award

Nebrak is also proud to be shortlisted as part of the Smart Retail Solutions Group alongside 365 Retail Markets, Coffetek, Kepak and Carlsberg Britvic.

Together, the partnership continues to demonstrate the value of combining specialist expertise to create innovative, scalable and commercially successful automated retail solutions.

Furthermore, this nomination reflects the growing importance of collaboration across the sector.

Increasingly, the strongest solutions emerge when multiple partners work together. As a result, technology providers, brands, operators and environment specialists can create more engaging customer experiences and stronger commercial outcomes.

What These Nominations Represent

Award nominations are always appreciated.

However, this year’s shortlist reflects something much bigger than individual projects or businesses.

Collectively, the categories highlight many of the most significant developments shaping the future of vending and automated retail.

• Industry consolidation and investment
• Growing demand for micro markets and automated retail
• Rising expectations around workplace hospitality and employee experience
• Continued innovation in smart retail technologies
• Expansion of integrated digital communication ecosystems
• Recognition of environment design, usability and customer experience as drivers of success

Viewed through that lens, this year’s Vendies feel less like a reflection of where the sector has been and more like an indication of where it’s heading.

The introduction of new categories, including Best Water Brand, Best Vending Double Act, Sales Champion Award, Vending Collaboration of the Year and Design Excellence, further reinforces this evolution.

The awards now recognise far more than products, machines and operational performance.

Instead, today’s awards increasingly celebrate collaboration, customer experience, specialist expertise, workplace hospitality, branding, innovation and the people driving the sector forward.

For businesses across the sector, that’s an exciting prospect. Because growth creates opportunity. And opportunity encourages innovation.

A Sector Entering Its Next Growth Phase

One of the most interesting aspects of this year’s awards is what they reveal about the direction of the industry.

Today, many of the categories now extend far beyond traditional vending.

Instead, they recognise advances in automation, workplace hospitality, digital technology, customer experience and design. That mirrors what we’re seeing across the wider market.

Operators are expanding their capabilities.

Meanwhile, new partnerships are forming. Technology providers continue to innovate. At the same time, clients are becoming more ambitious in their expectations.

Another encouraging theme is the number of new brands, products and innovations represented across this year’s shortlist.

While many established names continue to lead the way, fresh ideas and emerging businesses are also gaining recognition.

That’s often a sign of a healthy market.

It reflects an industry that continues to attract investment, encourage innovation and create opportunities for the next generation of products, services and partnerships.

Consequently, micro markets, smart retail solutions and unattended retail continue to gain momentum as organisations seek more flexible, engaging and commercially effective ways to serve employees, visitors and customers.

Periods of change can naturally create uncertainty. However, they also create opportunities.

From our perspective, the sector’s current evolution feels less like disruption and more like progression.

Indeed, it reflects a market growing in confidence, embracing new ideas and expanding its role across workplaces, healthcare environments, education, travel hubs and retail destinations.

 

Learning from a Global Industry

Innovation doesn’t happen in isolation.

Throughout the year, the Nebrak team has continued to invest time in understanding how automated retail is evolving globally.

Recent visits by Tom and Paul Howard to both NAMA and Venditalia provided valuable insight into emerging technologies, changing customer behaviours and the increasing role of connected digital experiences within unattended retail.

One theme stood out consistently. The future is not simply about smarter machines. Instead, it’s about creating connected environments where technology, communication, merchandising and user experience work together seamlessly.

Many of the themes discussed throughout both exhibitions reinforced the same direction of travel. The industry is becoming increasingly connected, experience-led and technology-enabled. Consequently, the conversation is shifting beyond individual machines and transactions towards integrated retail ecosystems, customer journeys and environments that combine convenience, communication, engagement and automation.

For Nebrak, that creates exciting opportunities to explore how physical design, branding, digital media, smart technologies and workplace hospitality can work together to deliver stronger outcomes for operators and clients alike.

Ultimately, the opportunity lies in how technology is presented, experienced and integrated into the wider environment.

Continuing to Invest in Resources and Inspiration

Meanwhile, the nominations follow a significant year for Nebrak, marked by the launch of our newly redesigned website.

Rather than creating a traditional company website, we developed a growing information hub for operators, facilities teams and brands.

Today, the platform provides project inspiration, practical guidance, downloadable resources and access to our full range of products and services.

Furthermore, we continue to add new blogs, case studies, guides and resources.

At the same time, we are developing new content and tools to support future projects.

Ultimately, our goal remains simple: help new and existing clients explore ideas, strengthen proposals and navigate projects with confidence.

Looking Ahead

We’re already working on the next chapter.

Alongside continued investment in our website and resource centre, we’re curating a brand-new collection for our ever-popular brochure and pitch tool.

Drawing on project experience, customer feedback and global industry insights, the upcoming edition will feature fresh design concepts and workplace refreshment inspiration.

In addition, it will explore integrated digital opportunities and innovative ideas that continue to push the boundaries of automated retail.

Our design team continues to explore new ways of combining technology, branding, hospitality and functionality.

As a result, operators can create environments that are more engaging, more flexible and more commercially effective.

As expectations continue to evolve, so does our commitment to helping clients create environments designed not only for today, but for whatever comes next.

Thank You

We want to thank our clients, partners, suppliers and colleagues for their continued support.

Every project, conversation and collaboration contributes to the ideas, innovation and progress that drive our business forward.

Congratulations to all finalists, and we look forward to celebrating with the industry at the Vendies 2026 Awards.

This year’s shortlist provides a fantastic snapshot of the businesses, technologies, partnerships and people helping drive the sector forward. You can explore the full list of Vendies 2026 finalists here.

While the awards celebrate individual achievements, the bigger story is the momentum across the industry as a whole.

The continued evolution of the categories, the emergence of new technologies and the growing focus on experience, collaboration and innovation all point towards a sector that continues to expand its potential.

Most of all, we’re looking forward to being part of the conversations, energy and optimism that make the Vendies such a special event in the industry calendar.

In a year defined by change, growth and innovation, it feels like the perfect opportunity to come together, share ideas, celebrate success and look ahead to what’s next.

Vendies 2026 Questions Answered

Bring Award-winning Thinking to Your Next Project

Great environments don’t happen by accident.

They combine thoughtful design, practical functionality, strong branding and expert delivery.

If you’re looking to create a workplace refreshment space, micro market or automated retail environment that stands out for all the right reasons, we’d be delighted to help.

From concept and visualisation through to manufacture, branding and installation, our team delivers projects designed to perform.

Contact us to find out more.