The Equipment Play
United Food Group, Inc. (UFG), an Elgin, Illinois-based manufacturer of dry-powder beverage mixes and dispensing equipment, is pushing into domestic and international markets with an expanded commercial dispenser platform, the company said Monday. The initiative targets the foodservice, convenience store, and office coffee segments and is slated to accelerate through the remainder of 2026, with aggressive rollout planned for 2027.
The core argument UFG is making to operators is economic: swapping legacy bag-in-box liquid coffee and cream systems for its shelf-stable soluble products — which carry a two-year shelf life — cuts costs across product procurement, cold storage, inbound freight, and waste. Bryan Real, President of United Food Group, Inc., said the conversion can save customers "thousands of dollars each year." The company has spent three years developing, testing, and commercializing the equipment line, though it has not disclosed the capital invested.
What the Hardware Delivers
The flagship machine in the expanded lineup accommodates up to 24 selections — cappuccinos, lattes, drip-style coffee, hot chocolate, and dairy or non-dairy cream options — alongside an integrated sugar and sweetener dispenser. Real described the operator experience as near-instant reconfiguration: a liquid-cream dispenser can be converted into a cappuccino and hot-cocoa machine by swapping product canisters and updating on-screen flavor labels and promotional videos. Bob Long, Head of Engineering for UFG, said the design prioritizes reliability in high-volume commercial settings, with digital interfaces and graphic-customization capabilities built into the hardware.
UFG has also broadened the upper end of its portfolio through a partnership with Dr. Coffee, a global manufacturer of commercial bean-to-cup equipment. That relationship extends UFG's reach into whole-bean grinding and brewing — a different demand tier from its core dry-powder dispenser business — giving distributors and national coffee brands a fuller equipment suite to work with.
Channel and Distribution Strategy
Doug Shea, Vice President of Business Development for UFG, framed the company's go-to-market approach around tighter collaboration with distributors and branded coffee partners. "Our strategy is to work more closely with customers, distributors, and national and regional coffee brands to bring together outstanding beverage products, innovative equipment, and dependable service," Shea said. The Perfect Servings® platform — UFG's branded retail and foodservice sub-line covering instant cappuccinos, cocoas, flavored creamers, micro-ground coffee, and sweeteners — is central to that cross-channel push.
The equipment expansion arrives as the office coffee and self-serve beverage equipment category faces renewed operator interest. Rising cold-chain costs have made ambient-stable, powder-based systems more attractive to convenience store operators and contract foodservice managers looking to control refrigeration overhead. UFG's pitch — hardware flexibility combined with shelf-stable consumables — positions the company to compete across C-store beverage programs that have historically relied on liquid-concentrate systems from larger national suppliers.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
