Café Bar

What Café Bar does

Café Bar Sverige AB is a privately held Swedish workplace refreshment company founded in 1987 and headquartered in Jönköping, operating under the diversified parent Huset Invest. The company rents and services professional coffee machines to workplaces across Sweden, Finland, and Norway, complemented by a growing portfolio of beverage and food modules (Energy Bar with Iconick functional beverages, Aquablu water dispensers, Bistro Go fresh-food vending via the Auto-Maten acquisition, and N!CK's chocolate). Its customer base comprises 5,000+ Swedish companies, with the operation serving approximately 20 million cups annually across 27–28 service cities.

The core commercial engine is a B2B field-sales model executed through dedicated 'kaffecoacher' (coffee coaches) who perform on-site needs analysis, install machines, and provide recurring supply and maintenance under multi-year contracts. The technical backbone is the Coffee Analytics platform — a connected-machine monitoring system providing real-time performance data and predictive maintenance alerts — integrated into the premium Vänner Plus service tier with a 4-hour response guarantee. Café Bar also operates the Dvini sub-brand (Åby facility, since January 2024) for refurbishment and upgrade of used coffee machines, targeting 600 renovated units per year as a circular-economy initiative. The product range spans multi-brand machines (De Jong DUKE, Evoca/Wittenborg, Jura, Schaerer, WMF, Gaggia, Simonelli) alongside own-brand SKUs (Obrigado specialty coffee from Fazenda Ambiental Fortaleza in Brazil; the 11-flavor Café Bar Premium range).

Revenue is generated primarily through recurring rental-and-service contracts (Vänner and Vänner Plus) bundled with recurring coffee and beverage supply, augmented by hardware sales of refurbished Dvini machines and revenue from the Auto-Maten food vending network. Pricing is quote-based and varies by machine type, service tier, contract length, and customer size; the company does not publish rates. Distribution combines a direct field-sales force with an e-commerce webshop for repeat supply, and geographic coverage includes wholly-owned regional entities Café Bar Finland (Helsinki, established 2023) and Café Bar Norge (Oslo/Agder, established 2025). At the parent-group level, Huset Invest, with Niclas Ekblad as VD, is using Café Bar as the hub of an expanding convenience and workplace refreshment cluster.

Name

Café Bar

Legal name

Café Bar Sverige AB

Website

https://cafebar.se

Company type

Private

Founded year

1987

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Café Bar is a Swedish workplace coffee solutions provider that rents, installs, and services professional coffee machines for over 5,000 companies across Sweden, Finland, and Norway, supported by direct field sales and recurring service contracts.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Workplace Coffee Services

NAICS

Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars (722515), Coffee and Tea Manufacturing (311920)

SIC

Retail-Eating Places (5812), Beverages (2080)

akta.pro primary industry

Beverage Service (Coffee/Tea/Juice) & Refreshment Stations (HSACAGAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Coffee, Espresso & Tea Appliances Retail (CRACADAC)

Keywords

• Workplace coffee service
• Coffee machine rental
• Office beverage supply
• Vending refreshment solutions
• Functional beverage dispensing

Headquarters

HQ city

Jönköping

HQ country

Sweden

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Coffee Machine Rental with Service Contracts: Café Bar provides coffee machines to workplaces on rental/lease agreements bundled with comprehensive service contracts (Vänner and Vänner Plus). The service includes installation, regular maintenance, technical support, and free replacement parts. This creates recurring revenue from monthly fees.
2. Recurring Coffee and Beverage Supply: Regular delivery and restocking of coffee, tea, chocolate, milk, and functional beverages (Iconick/Energy Bar). Coffee coaches visit customers periodically to refill machines and ensure supply continuity. Revenue is recurring as long as service agreements are active.
3. Bistro Go / Auto-Maten Food Solutions: Following the acquisition of Auto-Maten (2024), Café Bar expanded into vending machines for fresh food and snacks at workplaces, complementing the beverage offering. This adds food retail revenue to the convenience offering.
4. Dvini Renewed Machines: Sale of renovated and upgraded used coffee machines under the Dvini brand. Machines receive full technical overhaul, custom design options, and connectivity. This is a hardware sales revenue stream from the refurbished machine business.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Café Bar provides full-service workplace coffee and refreshment solutions for businesses across the Nordics. Its core offering is the rental of professional coffee machines from brands such as Jura, WMF, Gaggia, Schaerer, De Jong DUKE, and Wittenborg, bundled with recurring supply of coffee/tea/chocolate, installation, and maintenance under Vänner and Vänner Plus service contracts. The portfolio extends to complementary add-on stations: Aquablu REFILL+ water dispensers, Iconick/Energy Bar functional beverage vending, Bistro Go food vending (via Auto-Maten), Butikskaffe retail coffee with digital signage, and Dvini refurbished machines.

Product overview

Café Bar operates a platform-based coffee-as-a-service model for workplaces, centered on renting professional coffee machines from manufacturer brands (De Jong DUKE, Evoca/Wittenborg, Jura, Schaerer, WMF, Gaggia, Simonelli) backed by Vänner / Vänner Plus service tiers. The platform extends through a portfolio of integrated add-on modules and sub-brands: Energy Bar with Iconick (functional sugar-free beverages via vending station), Aquablu REFILL+ (flavored and vitamin-enriched water dispensers), Bistro Go (automated food vending, via Auto-Maten partnership), Obrigado (specialty coffee from regenerative farms in Brazil), Coffee Analytics (connected machine monitoring), Dvini (renovated/refurbished machines for circular-economy sustainability), N!CK's Choklad (sugar-free hot chocolate for coffee machines), Butikskaffe (retail-store coffee with digital signage), and Café Bar Premium (11 own-brand coffee blends and hot chocolate powders). Nordic expansion covers Sweden, Norway, Finland (Nordic Coffee Alliance). All offerings are backed by personal coffee-coach service, Svanenmärkt certification, and Fairtrade sourcing.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Dvini: Brand for refurbished and upgraded coffee machines, part of Café Bar's sustainability initiative launched January 2024.
• Aquablu
• Obrigado
• Iconick

Products and services

• Kaffemaskiner (Coffee Machine Rental) Rental and service of professional coffee machines (Jura, WMF, Gaggia, Schaerer, De Jong DUKE, Wittenborg, Simonelli) for workplaces of all sizes, including installation and ongoing refill/maintenance.
• Vänner / Vänner Plus Service Contracts Subscription-based service agreements attached to coffee machine rentals. Vänner delivers regular coffee coach visits, technical support, and free spare parts; Vänner Plus adds Coffee Analytics monitoring and 4-hour on-site response guarantee. Available in 28 Swedish cities.
• Energy Bar with Iconick A vending station delivering Iconick functional beverages — energy drinks, protein shakes, chai, and hot chocolate — all without added sugar, served via an automated dispenser. Iconick pouches yield up to 100 servings each, eliminating cans and refrigeration.
• Aquablu REFILL+ A water dispensing station that filters and flavors tap water with vitamins, minerals, and electrolytes, offering flavored hydration without plastic bottles. Features sustainability reporting, modular design, and a patented hygienic nozzle.
• Bistro Go Automated food vending machines and refrigerated food lockers for workplaces, providing fresh meals and snacks 24/7. Offered in partnership with Auto-Maten and complements Café Bar's coffee and beverage solutions. Available in southern Sweden.
• Butikskaffe A retail-store coffee solution combining coffee machines with digital signage screens for customer communication, advertising, and promotional content. Includes features such as a digital storefront window, information displays, and targeted advertising for nearby businesses.
• Coffee Analytics A connected machine monitoring platform providing real-time data and insights on coffee machine performance, consumption patterns, and predictive maintenance needs. Integrated with the Vänner Plus service tier and available on Wittenborg W100 and Dvini machines.
• Dvini Refurbished Coffee Machines A Café Bar sub-brand that renovates and technically upgrades old coffee machines for resale, extending machine lifecycle as a sustainability initiative. Includes custom exterior design options and connectivity for Coffee Analytics. Based at Café Bar's Åby facility. Target: 600 machines per year.
• Obrigado Specialty Coffee Café Bar's own specialty coffee brand sourced from Fazenda Ambiental Fortaleza (FAF) in Brazil, using regenerative organic farming. Available in two roasts: Obrigado Brew (medium) for filter coffee and Obrigado Espresso (dark). Features full traceability via QR code. Part of Café Bar Premium range.
• Café Bar Premium (Coffee Blends and Hot Chocolate) Café Bar Premium is the company's own brand encompassing 11 flavors of whole bean and pre-ground coffee plus hot chocolate powders. Includes blends such as il Vero, Giorno, Euforo, Regalo, Amico, Ampio, Gustare, Amore, Grande, Organico, Avenir, and Veloce; hot chocolate variants Fiera (16% cocoa, Fairtrade and organic), Caldo (18.6% cocoa, Fairtrade), and Ciocco (14.3% cocoa).
• N!CK's Choklad (Sugar-Free Hot Chocolate) Hot chocolate powder without added sugar, developed in partnership with Nick's (sugar-free confectionery brand). Designed for use in Café Bar coffee machines. Available in 1,000g bags, 10 bags per carton.

Quantifiable outcome

• Serving approximately 20 million cups of hot and cold beverages annually across Sweden.
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered supporting and core.

• Nick'ssupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2025Nick's is a Swedish company known for guilt-free food products without added sugar. Café Bar collaborated with Nick's to develop N!CK'S Chocolate, a hot chocolate product for use in coffee machines. The product is creamy, rich, and sugar-free, delivered via Café Bar's coffee machine network.
• Auto-MatencoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2024Acquired by Huset Invest in October 2024 and integrated into Café Bar's convenience offering. Auto-Maten provides automated food vending solutions for workplaces, complementing Café Bar's coffee and beverage services. The acquisition enables a complete food and beverage solution for customers, covering coffee, water, snacks, and meals at the workplace. Founded in 2020 in Jönköping.
• Nordic Coffee Alliance (Kaffeknappen / Stellini)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 2023Nordic Coffee Alliance was established in spring 2022 as a collaboration between Café Bar Sverige AB (Sweden), Kaffeknappen (Norway), and Stellini (Denmark). Café Bar's expansion to Finland (2023) and Norway (2025) made the Alliance fully pan-Nordic, enabling single-vendor workplace coffee solutions across all four Nordic countries.
• Fazenda Ambiental Fortaleza (FAF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFAF is a Brazilian family coffee farm (Fazenda Ambiental Fortaleza) in Mococa, Brazil, run by the Croce family. Café Bar sources Obrigado, a specialty coffee, from FAF. The partnership emphasizes regenerative farming, fair trade, and transparency — beans can be traced to named farms via QR code. Café Bar visited FAF in May 2024 and has supported the BioFactory project since 2023, which develops eco-friendly pest control used by surrounding farms.
• IconickcoreTechnology or IntegrationIconick is Café Bar's functional beverage brand launched in 2025/2026, developed with Niclas Luthman (founder of Nick's and Huset Invest). Products include energy drinks, protein shakes, hot chocolate, and chai — all without added sugar — served via Energy Bar vending machines. Iconick pouches provide up to 100 servings each, eliminating can/pant management.
• Gringo Nordic RoasterssupportingTechnology or IntegrationGringo Nordic Coffee Roasters is a Swedish specialty coffee roaster. Café Bar collaborated with Gringo to explain the Swiss Water and ethyl acetate decaffeination processes on the Kaffebarometern blog, demonstrating Café Bar's commitment to coffee education and quality.
• TekompanietsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerTekompaniet (Tea Company) is a tea supplier whose sales manager Pär Andersson contributed to Café Bar's Kaffebarometern blog with tips on making the perfect cup of tea. This reflects Café Bar's educational content strategy and tea category partnership.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights8 records

Direct peers

• Selecta Group: Selecta is Europe's largest vending and workplace refreshments operator, combining coffee machines, snack/food vending, and water dispensers for offices. Closest direct peer to Café Bar across both coffee and food-vending (Auto-Maten's category) at pan-European scale.
• Nestlé Nespresso Professional: Nespresso Professional serves premium workplace coffee globally through capsule and bean-to-cup systems with similar recurring supply and service contracts. Comparable in targeting, premium positioning, and recurring revenue model to Café Bar's higher-end Jura/Schaerer/WMF installations.
• Franke Coffee Systems: Franke is a Swiss manufacturer and operator of professional coffee systems serving offices and foodservice across Europe, with both machine sales and managed service offerings. Comparable to Café Bar's combined machine-vending-plus-service motion.
• Stellini Coffee Group: Stellini is a Danish workplace coffee service provider and the third founding partner of the Nordic Coffee Alliance with Café Bar. Direct Nordic peer in market, business model, and pan-Nordic account strategy.
• Lavazza Professional (Flavia / Klix): Lavazza Professional operates the Flavia/Kliva fresh-brew workplace beverage systems and broader office coffee services across Europe. Directly comparable to Café Bar's machine-rental-plus-consumables model for mid-market and enterprise workplaces.
• Kaffeknappen: Kaffeknappen is a Norwegian workplace coffee service provider and explicit partner within the Nordic Coffee Alliance alongside Café Bar. Most closely comparable Nordic peer in geography and product offering.

Broad incumbents

• Sodexo Workplace & Convenience: Sodexo is a global workplace services giant (food, vending, micro-markets, coffee) operating across the Nordics. Comparable in that it offers bundled workplace refreshment services to enterprises, though at much broader scope and scale than Café Bar.
• JDE Peet's Professional (JDE Peet's): JDE Peet's operates a global professional coffee and tea division (Douwe Egberts, L'OR, Marcilla Professional) serving offices and hospitality. Highly comparable to Café Bar as a workplace bean-to-cup supplier, but operating at far greater scale across Europe.
• BWT Water+more: BWT Water+more is a European leader in workplace water optimisation (water dispensers, mineralisation, point-of-use filtration) - directly comparable to Café Bar's Aquablu REFILL+ water dispenser add-on, and an adjacent competitor in workplace refreshment.

Emerging players

• Bewley's (workplace coffee): Bewley's Wholesale and workplace coffee division supplies office coffee and vending across Ireland and the UK with a similar field-service model. Smaller scale than Café Bar but directly comparable in B2B workplace beverage service.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@cafebarsverigeab/videos
• Facebookfacebook.com/cafebarsverigeab
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cafebarsverigeab
• Instagraminstagram.com/cafebarsverigeab

Compliance6 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Café Bar