Ultimate Guide to Your Office Kitchen [Updated 2025]
✍️ Written by Rebecca Ross
🕚 8-Minute Read • Updated Monday, September 15, 2025
Ah, the office kitchen – where employees gather for more than just a quick break. Some may even call it the heart of the workplace, where employees build camaraderie over coffee, create long-lasting bonds over a shared snack, or collide to spark your company's next great idea. Enjoying your office kitchen is easy, but building it…not so much.
Managing your office kitchen can be an enormous undertaking. Finding the perfect layout is a challenge on its own. Then, you add on maintaining that space with premium office snacks, drinks, and equipment. There are so many moving parts. If only there were someone who could centralize it. 😉
At Crafty, we have your office kitchen and pantry down to a science and know exactly what you need when you need it. We’ve rounded up all our learnings into this guide to help you unlock the full potential of this often-underestimated workplace perk.
From layout tips that streamline traffic flow to ideas that appeal to every employee's preference, this guide dives into every facet of creating an office kitchen that becomes a thriving nexus of collaboration and innovation.
Browse Each Section:
- Office Kitchens Are Crucial To Your Office Experience
- Unpack WELL Standards
- Organize Your Office Kitchen To Perfection
- The Winning Strategy For Your Office Pantry Budget
- Elevate Your Office Coffee Station
- Essential Office Kitchen Equipment
- Merchandise Your Office Pantry Like A Pro
- Scale A Food Service Program
- Boost Employee Engagement
Why Office Kitchens Matter
A basket of snacks and a dated coffee pot will not deliver a true workplace experience. High-performing offices encourage short breaks, refreshment, and collaboration. That reduces burnout and supports retention, which is almost always more efficient than hiring replacements.
Don't believe us. There is data to back this up:
- 92% of employees want office coffee and lunch spaces to socialize [Nespresso]
- 1 in 3 employees say food benefits would get them to go into the office [Sharebite]
- Coffee shop ranked #1 office amenity perk among Gen Z, Millennials, and Gen X [Gensler]
- 61% of employees would change jobs due to food benefits [Sharebite]
- At Crafty, we saw an 86% increase in office pantry budgets in 2025 compared to the following year. [Crafty]
Explore more on the office kitchen’s impact:
Ultimate Guide To Creating An Office Kitchen & Pantry
Download the guide packed with layout, product, and equipment tips to succeed.
Download >
Unpack WELL Standards
WELL is a set of 13 health and wellness guidelines from the International WELL Building Institute that map to design, construction, and operations. In your kitchen, that can include access to fresh produce, clear labeling, hydration, and thoughtful placement that encourages movement. The practical takeaway is simple. Use wellness as a system, not a slogan.
Organize Your Office Kitchen to Perfection
Workplaces today do not need to feel like offices. The best kitchens feel closer to a favorite café or lounge. Aim for smart flow, intuitive zones, proper lighting, and spaces that invite both quiet focus and social collisions.
Explore More Organization Guides:
The Winning Strategy for Your Office Pantry Budget
Budgets are the backbone of your F&B program. Visibility is the differentiator. With Crafty, every location’s budget lives in one central dashboard with real-time alerts and an expert team that helps you adjust quickly.
Crafty Platform Feature:
Crafty’s enhanced budgeting tools help you manage spend across locations, trigger alerts as you approach limits, and coordinate fast course corrections.
Read More >
Budgeting Deep Dives:
-
Ultimate Step-by-Step Guide to Build an Office Pantry Budget
-
How Crafty Aligns Your Office Pantry Program Budget to Your Ideal Experience
- How Office Pantry Budget Discipline Fuels Growth That Lasts
3 STEPS TO MAXIMIZE YOUR PANTRY BUDGET
Unlock Crafty's proven framework, including strategies our experts use across leading workplaces to build, align and forecast budgets.
Essential Office Kitchen Equipment
Welcome to the new show Equipment Matchmaking where your friends at Crafty help you find your equipment soulmate. Just kidding, but not! Choosing the right equipment for your office can be daunting, and 300+ offices across the globe trust the Crafty team to help them navigate those waters.
Equipment Guides:
Merchandise Your Office Pantry Like A Pro
The art of pantry merchandising involves thoughtful product selection, strategic organization, and strong attention to detail. Oftentimes it’s the centerpiece of your office experience, and the team at Crafty knows all the hacks to getting this all done beautifully and efficiently.
Explore Pantry Merchandising and Product Curation:
Scale A Food Service Program
One office’s food service program can be a beast to manage between the various vendors, invoices, emails, etc. Now multiply that across every location. Thoughts and prayers won’t be enough this time. What you really need is someone to help you consolidate.
Explore Enterprise and National Pantry Service Tips:
UNLOCK MORE ROI FROM YOUR PANTRY
This playbook outlines 12 proven strategies to create efficiencies, reduce waste, maximize spend, and drive a quality experience that accelerates your organization.
CRAFT
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WORKPLACE
Elevate your office food and beverage program with enhanced services managed in one innovative, centralized platform.