Market analyses and reports on the coffee and coffee machine markets
The Scandinavian countries are among the world’s highest coffee consumers. The fact clearly points towards the region’s fine taste towards coffee. Instant coffee although considered undesirable, low grade form of coffee, hasn’t totally lost its sale in the Scandinavian countries and surrounding region like Belgium and Netherlands. According to the Washington Post the instant coffee sales has been almost consistently
Espresso coffee machines arrive to the Horeca market mainly through the intermediaries that assess the requests of their customers (bar, restaurants, cafés etc.), against the costs and economic returns of the machines. These intermediaries enter agreements with manufacturers and select one or more brands of coffee machines to present to their customers. In terms of purchasing agreements, these can vary
The business model of the distribution of coffee machines represents an important indicator that could influence the future development of the coffee industry. The importance comes from the main debate concerning the freedom of the Horeca market to choose multi-suppliers and offer to the end user different types and qualities of coffee. That the espresso machine market is so closely
COPENHAGEN – Denmark is one of the top six countries having the highest coffee consumption in the world. With per capita consumption entering the kilogram range (gcrmag), it isn’t hard to predict this slice of Nordic region has some really exciting specialty coffee to offer to the world. Some of the best roasters from Denmark are Coffee Collective, Kent Kaffe,
MOSCOW – Starbucks in Russia has updated its loyalty program following the similar changes in the US market. The new program My Starbucks Rewards started on April 18, though Russian version has some differences. A start is still awarded for a purchase, regardless the summ on the check. According to the new award system in the United States, the customers now get two stars
According to a recent survey by CoffeeBI, customers’ main criteria when making an espresso machine purchasing decision was “price”, the “ability to provide technical assistance” and the “front staff professionalism”. These three items received a higher score among the 10 that were put to the vote among manufacturers. Other main criteria listed were the “punctuality in delivering”, as well as
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]
OTTAWA – Tim Hortons coffee chain has greatly influenced coffee drinking culture in Canada. With nearly all streets having at least one Tim Hortons’ coffee shop which has ultimately changed Toronto into a coffee drinking city. With virtually over 80 per cent of all coffee lovers in Toronto choosing Tim Hortons for reasons ranging from low prizes compared to other cozy coffee chains to the
India might be one of the world’s largest coffee producer countries, but the nation as a whole is still a tea drinker. Many coffee growing farmers may never have tasted coffee in their lives as coffee is just another crop they sell to the west. Nearly two third of the population doesn’t drink coffee.