Self-service drinks technology firm Boxbar Tech adds Costa Express co-founder Scott Martin to its advisory board
Boxbar Tech, an automated, self-service drinks technology company focused on hospitality at stadiums, venues, festivals and events, has announced the appointment of Scott Martin to its advisory board.
Martin is the Co-Founder and CEO of Coffee Nation, which evolved into Costa Express following acquisition by Whitbread.
Under his leadership, Costa Express grew from a UK startup to become one of the world’s largest self-service premium coffee brands and a $700 million global enterprise with over 15,000 locations across 15 countries. He later served as Founder and Managing Director of Costa X, a global innovation unit under The Coca-Cola Company.
At Boxbar Tech, Martin will support the company’s leadership team with three core priorities: Driving international expansion; Enhancing strategic partnerships with leading hospitality groups, venue operators, and festival organisers; Advising on operational excellence.
According to queue management experts Wavetec, 80% of attendees say long queues are one of the biggest drawbacks of any event and directly hurt repeat attendance and word of mouth.
— Boxbar Tech (@boxbartech) July 22, 2025
Interested in reducing bar queues by boosting service speeds by up to 360%? We’re here to help. pic.twitter.com/0vzrQk943B
“Boxbar Tech has created a genuinely disruptive solution that addresses real pain points in the hospitality industry,” says Martin. “Having built and scaled automated retail solutions internationally, I recognise the immense potential for Boxbar Tech to transform how venues serve customers while dramatically improving their profitability. I'm excited to help the team navigate their next phase of growth.”
“Scott’s career is a blueprint for the kind of growth and innovation we aspire,” comments Reshad Hossenally, CEO and Co-founder at Boxbar Tech. “His experience delivering robust, always on, self-serve technology that operates 24/7/365 - and in scaling high performance, tech driven retail businesses around the world - is second to none. With Scott’s guidance, we’re strengthening our ability to scale globally and forge strategic partnerships that will take the Boxbar revolution to the next level.”
2025 RTIH INNOVATION AWARDS
Self-service technology will be a key focus area at the 2025 RTIH Innovation Awards.
The awards, which are now open for entries, celebrate global tech innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.
Our 2024 hall of fame entrants were revealed during an event which took place at RIBA’s 66 Portland Place HQ in Central London on 21st November, and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by comedian Lucy Porter.
In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “The event is now into its sixth year and what a journey it has been. The awards started life as an online only affair during the Covid outbreak, before launching as a small scale in real life event and growing year on year to the point where we’re now selling out this fine, historic venue.”
He added: “Congratulations to all of our finalists. Many submissions did not make it through to the final stage, and getting to this point is no mean feat. Checkout-free stores, automated supply chains, immersive experiences, on-demand delivery, next generation loyalty offerings, inclusive retail, green technology. We’ve got all the cool stuff covered this evening.”
“But just importantly we’ve got lots of great examples of companies taking innovative tech and making it usable in everyday operations - resulting in more efficiency and profitability in all areas.”
Congratulations to our 2024 winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Lucy Porter, and all those who attended November's gathering.
For further information on the 2025 RTIH Innovation Awards, please fill in the below form and we will get back to you asap.
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