Wellness-Driven Sips: How to Stock Better-for-You Beverages in Your Workplace

When it comes to wellness, it’s easy to take beverages for granted. Plenty of attention is paid to healthy eating, and numerous options are available for those who wish to more closely monitor the impact of their food on their health. 

But what about drinks? Presenting employees with better-for-you beverages is just as important as offering them healthy snack and meal choices. And, with the help of InReach, it’s now easier than ever to make sure everyone in your building can make the drink choices that are right for them, time after time. 

To learn more about how InReach supports wellness in sipping as well as snacking, connect with our helpful team today. We can’t wait to serve you!

Rethinking Breakroom Beverages

Breakroom vending machines aren’t always stocked with the healthiest workplace drinks. Traditionally, these machines would feature little more than a variety of sodas and perhaps a couple of energy drink options. These beverages are tasty and can certainly have a place in an office vending machine or micro market, but they don’t necessarily serve everyone’s health goals.

This is where expanding your stock of beverage options can come into play. Along with some soda choices, you may be able to include cold-pressed juices, electrolyte drinks, sparkling waters, and more in the mix. This collection could also include functional beverages like kombucha or protein shakes. With so many more options on hand, each employee will be able to explore the selection and make an informed choice. 

Taking a Look at the Data

You don’t have to guess what your employees are going to want to drink. In fact, all you have to do is look closely at the data that has been provided by a number of surveys and studies. For example, Keurig Dr. Pepper performed an in-depth study in 2025 to report on what people want to drink while they are at work. The results were highly informative:

• Coffee remains as popular as ever, with 62% of people reporting that their day doesn’t really start until they have had a cup of coffee.
• The research shows that people will use beverages to fill many needs, including being healthy, feeling relaxed, and feeling connected to others.
• When wellness is the specific goal, juice and water tend to rise to the top of the preference list.
• Younger people are more likely to try new beverages, with 72% reporting they try at least one new drink every month. Among those, 28% say that they are trying that new drink for the physical health benefits that it may provide.
• Beverage customization is also a big point of emphasis, with 75% of both Gen Z and Millennial respondents stating that they like to customize their drinks.

Not all of the trends in beverage consumption have to do with wellness, but plenty of what is happening in this space is pointed toward that general theme. Whether it’s for physical health, mental health, or a combination of the two, it’s clear that people want drinks to help them live their best lives. 

Supporting Wellness in All Its Forms

It’s important to remember that wellness looks different to each individual. Some people will be working on cutting down on sugar consumption as part of their wellness goals. For others, it might mean making a move away from caffeine or trying to consume more vitamins through their drinks. Each individual has their own perspective on this topic, which is exactly as it should be. 

You don’t have to worry about helping your employees define wellness. You don’t even have to understand how each individual views this topic. All that is necessary is to stock up on the various types of beverages that fit into this category. Your employees will figure out the rest for themselves. 

Of course, it never hurts to learn more about your people, so you can ask them directly what they value in a drink. What are they looking for in drinks (and foods) that will help them get closer to their wellness goals? You might be surprised to find just how much you can learn by sending out a quick survey throughout your organization. That data, along with usage information from the vending machines that you provide, will help you continue to optimize your beverage stocking patterns. 

Supporting Proper Hydration

There is a close relationship between hydration and health. It would be hard to find any definition of overall wellness that doesn’t include staying hydrated as a key component. So, by providing a diverse office beverage service that is appealing to your workers, you’ll also be helping them stay hydrated. 

Many people think of water first when discussing hydration, and that is obviously an excellent choice. But some people don’t like to drink water and struggle to stay hydrated while drinking it by itself. Instead of keeping up with hydration needs, they’ll just fall behind and start to suffer some of the consequences. However, if you have a variety of drinks that can both hydrate and taste great, this won’t be as much of an issue. The Bevi machine is a great example of this concept; flavored water does just as good a job at hydration as regular water, yet it will have an appeal to a much wider base of people in your building. 

Hydration means good things for productivity in addition to health. When people are hydrated, they remain more effective and operate closer to their full potential. Falling into a dehydrated state comes with side effects like decreased cognitive performance, so it’s clear that investing in a quality beverage program will directly reflect positively on your bottom line. 

It’s All About Options

You never want to leave your employees feeling forced into just one or two options when picking out a beverage. They should have the freedom to select from a wide range of choices, so they can determine what’s best for their needs at that moment. Sometimes, it will be a healthy option provided by a water service, and sometimes it will be a little more indulgent. Either way, you want your selection to serve them well. By working with InReach, building that type of variety in your beverage program will be efficient and easy to manage. 

Proudly part of Sodexo, InReach offers global reach, customized attention, and a large, growing buying network that keeps food costs low and quality high. Contact us today to learn more.