The EVA, in collaboration with the Austrian Vending Association (OVV), held a successful EVEX 2026, the European Vending Experience in the elegant and historic city of Vienna from 13 to 15 October.

Based at the Parkhotel Schönbrunn, EVEX 2026 welcomed around 200 participants from 28 countries for the EVA Annual General Assembly Meeting (AGM), a varied range of conferences and workshops, a trade exhibition and a mix of opportunities for networking. As usual the event brought together decision-makers from across the vending and coffee service industry for professional exchange, industry insights and networking, with participants including EVA members, OVV Members and companies from across Europe and further afield. Taking advantage of the location, attendees also had the opportunity to take part in a guided tour of three historic cafés to experience the traditional coffee culture in Vienna city centre.

The event officially opened with a welcome cocktail and dinner at the Parkhotel Schönbrunn. On 14 October the main programme kicked off with the EVA General Assembly followed by a presentation of the eagerly anticipated 2026 Market Report. The commercial exhibition ran alongside the sessions over two days, giving participants opportunities to meet companies and explore industry solutions.

The conference programme considered how technology and changing consumer expectations are shaping the sector. Morgan Roe from Engineered Arts, spoke on how humanoid robotics could transform manufacturing, logistics and service industries. Later sessions included a workshop exploring the technical benefits of using the new SmartLink specification, and a motivational presentation by Sebastian Kienle, 2014 Ironman World Champion, on translating discipline, ambition and long-term planning into business success. On both full event days, sponsor spotlight sessions allowed attendees to learn more about specific new solutions and ask questions.

The presentations on 15 October turned to payments and coffee-market developments. Patricia Kasandziev from Wero, explained how the QR-based European payment system could bring applications in unattended retail. Holger Preibisch from the German Coffee Federation, provided an insightful look at his predictions of how the European coffee landscape will look like in 2030. This specifically looked at changing consumer trends, pricing and premiumisation and new revenue opportunities in coffee. The Conference programme concluded with an operators’ workshop focused on exchanging views on day-to-day business challenges.

Wednesday evening featured the Gala Dinner, a celebration of the OVV’s 30th anniversary as well as the presentation of the EVEX Award. The EVEX Award was voted by the attendees themselves during Wednesday, with the 16 entries on display in the commercial exhibition area. Gathering the most votes, the EVEX 2026 Award went to Boost Inc for their Last Screen Kit – Compact Screen.

We would like to sincerely thank all the event sponsors for their kind support; without them the event would not have been such a success.

Since its launch in 2015, EVEX has become an annual and unmissable gathering for the European vending and coffee service industry. The 2026 edition continued that tradition in Vienna, with the EVA and OVV working together to welcome participants to the Austrian capital.

The EVA is currently finalising its plans for EVEX 2027 and will soon communicate the dates and location, so stay tuned!