The UK drinks approximately 95 million cups of coffee a day, but as the British public become more aware of environmental and ethical issues, the demand is shifting towards speciality.
In fact, it’s not just ethics driving the shift towards speciality coffee but a UK-wide shift towards trends such as premiumisation, experimental eating/ drinking, natural/ organic and convenience that consumers increasingly find satisfied via their daily speciality cup of coffee.
Whether you're responsible for buying coffee for a chain of sites, or just responsible for ordering for the office - here are some key statistics you should be aware of going into 2020:
- There were 1400 speciality coffee shops in the UK in 2019. This number is estimated to increase to around 2500 by the end of 2020 (Allegra Strategies).
- Growth in UK coffee consumption is sitting at around 10% but being outperformed by growth in specialty coffee which is growing at 13% year on year. (Allegra Strategies)
- 45% of coffee drinkers would pay more for a cup of coffee that benefits the people who grow it (Mintel).
- 15% of ‘out of home’ coffee consumption in the UK is now specialty graded, which, coupled with broader trends towards ‘on trade’ artisan experiences in the home is fuelling a move towards independent specialist brands.
The multinational giants still dominate the coffee market but regardless of whether it’s being drunk in the office, café or at home, it seems the UK public is finally demanding more across the board from their coffee roasters. In our own experience, here at Volcano, we’ve seen a huge increase in interest from businesses who previously might not have known about the values embodied in the speciality coffee model. Cafes, restaurants and offices are increasingly finding that speciality coffee is not only mandatory to satisfy a more conscious customer but can actually be a competitive advantage when stories of its positive impact are shared.
We'd love to tell you more about how you can make your coffee offering competitive in 2020, and more details on the micro-trends influencing menu options this year.
Check out our wholesale page to learn more about what we can offer you and to receive samples.
