Wednesday, March 15, 2006


the passionate spell of specialty coffee continues

"the [specialty beverage] market experienced 157% growth between 2000 (US$3,258m) and 2005 to reach some US$8,372m and despite being a maturing market coffee shops are set to continue full steam ahead. over the next five years sales are expected to grow by a further 125% to reach an impressive US$18,839m by 2010.

this is phenomenal growth for such an established market and is well over twice the growth rate seen in the much younger british coffee shops market.

the total number of coffee shops in the usa increased by 70% between 2000 and 2005, bringing the total to a staggering 21,400 or one coffee house for every 14,000 Americans. mintel believes that the number of shops could well continue to rise until there is a coffee shop for every 10,000 americans."

a very interesting article here. as long-time readers know, i've long argued that america is a coffee-lovin' nation, with a deep-seated coffee culture.

consumption did fall for decades as dissatisfied american coffee lovers turned to soft drinks, sports drinks, and tea, but last year coffee consumption showed the first sign of picking up positive growth. in short, if this trend continues as the market research above predicts, americans will be on the path to return to their historic and traditional affection for coffee.

but it won't happen on auto-pilot. the entire specialty coffee industry, i think, now realizes that we can continue this rapid growth only by maintaining and improving quality -- high quality in the bean, high quality in roasting, and high quality in retail beverage service.

because it's important to note that none of this explosive growth is happening in the commercial supermarket-can sector. that portion of the market is shriveling.

of course, strong specialty growth and continued quality is what's best for coffee farmers, roasters, retailers, and the average coffee lover. this can truly be a win-win situation for us all.

i think it's an amusing coincidence that this study comes out today when the mermaid and dunkin are having duelling promotions: the mermaid's giving away coffee, while dunkin's giving away cab rides.

oh please. skip the gimmicks, guys: just start by roast-dating your bagged whole-bean coffee, ok?

posted by fortune | 6:26 AM | top | link to this | email this: | | | 0 comments