Business intelligence for the HORECA, OCS & Vending markets
The coffee culture came to Poland quite late – in the end of the 80s. Before that the only coffee you could find in the country was Robusta which was not easy to buy. After becoming a democratic republic, Poland got access to all varieties of coffee though it took time to catch up with the rest of Europe. Today Poland has joined the third wave of coffee [Sign in to continue]
Only two countries, Italy and Germany, account for two thirds of total production. Half of the main production sites are located in Italy, while other numerous sites are located in Switzerland and Spain [Sign in to continue]
According to the annual report filed in May, to the South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service, Caffebene generated $97million revenue in 2015. That’s a loss by far margin when compared to the revenue figure Caffebene generated a year earlier $122.5 million. Even in 2014 the company faced loss of $7.1million. According to the latest quarterly report ending Mar 31, Caffebene generated $15.6 million in sales, down from $23.7 million that the company generated in the same period a year ago [Sign in to continue]
Artisan Coffee Roasters are prospering in the UK. The last five to six years have demonstrated rapid growth of roasteries with about 300 roasteries operating by 2015. The fact is nourished by the fact that the UK coffee lovers are tired of low cost dull drinks and have a desire of more refreshing flavors. The growth of coffee roasters is approximated at 20% per year although the artisan coffee makes up less than 1% of total coffee market growth, as the biggest portion about 65% is contributed by instant coffee. [Sign in to continue]
Coffee Libre is a self-reliant roaster. It started from selling 100 pounds of coffee beans each month and eventually spread its connections to over six countries and 14 different farms. It is owned by the first Korean Q-grader Philhoon Suh.
At a distance of three hours drive from Seoul and other big cities of Korea, is located Terarosa Coffee Roaster, in Gangneung which despite being far off can be seen packed with people. They are known as the name that paved the way for direct trade of specialty coffee beans.
The growing interest in coffee is pretty obvious in Busan, the second largest city of Korea, too. A small number of specialty coffee shops have gathered form an association that goes by the acronym BUS (also the recognition code for Busan Seaport). The joint force work towards offering discounts over large purchases, promotional schemes, and own shared green bean storage.
Looking at per capita coffee consumption, five to six cups per person per year, in a so highly populated nation like China, seems to promise for future growth as there has been a double digit rise in coffee production and consumption in the past few years.
Extracted from the monthly export and import data of the last 20 years, ICO estimated that for past ten years, every year there has been an average of 16% coffee consumption growth. [Sign in to continue]
How do I compete with the chains?
We get asked this a lot, particularly at a time when an existing independent coffee bar finds itself with a new big branded neighbor. We have had a lot of experience of this over the last 10 years and in fact, we compete in our own business successfully against a much larger national chain.
But what are the key elements to effectively attract customers in the face of the big brands?
Brand Comfort
The biggest advantage the chains have over you is that the customer knows what they are going to get when they walk through their doors. The chances of them recognizing the brand or even having already visited this chain in another town are high. It’s the same reason we drink coke when we are in a foreign country, it’s the safe option.
To combat this feeling of safety you should look at your business from across the road. Does it look inviting, are there visual clues for the customers so they understand what to expect? Is your signage clear and does it say what you do and stand for? For example, do you provide take away? It’s a given that the chains serve take away coffee but it’s not always so obvious in independents. Are your windows clean and your frontage litter free and are your food hygiene standards clearly visible? All these things will either encourage or deter guests from stepping over your threshold.
Consistency
Lack of consistency is a key reason you lose your customers. Your independence is a strength but the freedom that you give your team could be your downfall.
The chains expend a lot of corporate energy in ensuring that the brand standards are adhered to throughout their estate of shops. Strict rules are in place, much training is given and audits are happening every day to ensure that all drinks are made the same way and so taste the same everywhere they operate.
In some independents the lower levels of training, the cult of personality, where each barista has their own style of drink and the turnover of staff. All work together to reduce the chances of a guest getting the same drink made in the same way. This lack of consistency will drive customers away.
The successful independents work really hard to ensure that their drinks are always consistent and that their guests can feel comfortable that the flat white they order on Tuesday will be the same as the one they drank on Monday.
Service
This should be an easy win against the chains as your guests already believe the big chains are faceless so you are halfway there. What little things can you do to that will make you stand out from your competition? [Sign in to continue]
More and more Koreans love having their cup of coffee in the late hours in a café. Coffee shops do not close before 10 pm and start their business the next day in the noon, and in the morning the cup of coffee is mostly purchased while in the afternoon instant coffee is preferred. At the end of day, cafes are the hang-outs that are seen populated after dinner.
According to the USDA report, the specialty coffee big chains markedly increased their growth as compared to the independent shops offering specialty coffee. In a comparison between the number of independent specialty coffee shops and chains no more than 5% variation is observed since 2009 for independents [Sign in to continue]
MILAN – The value of a cup of coffee is the result of a sum of specific costs. According the Italian magazine BarGiornale, basing on the data of FIPE (Italian Federation of Public Restaurants and food outlets), in Italy the price the end consumer pays is seven times higher than the first cost, which is, for the trader, 0,02 euro.
KIEV – The coffee market in Ukraine has been developing, and its capacity is increasing every year. Coffee consumption grew dramatically between 2000 and 2010 with an average annual rate of consumption of +23%, reaching +28% in 2012 (49.6 thousand tons of coffee and its substitutes), but due to political situation in the following years, the market has faced a reduction of its