14 Sep 2018 by Charles Manners

With so much doom news on the high street and many of the casual dining brands finding trading conditions difficult (not all) there remains optimism concerning the growth in the coffee market.

Costa Coffee being bought by Coca Cola is confirmation of the global trend for coffee.

There is currently a coffee bean supply glut and lower prices should be good news for coffee operators, but these cost savings will be offset by sterling’s weakness post-Brexit and higher labour costs.

Allegra is forecasting that  coffee shops will outnumber pubs by 2030. There are 6,940 branded coffee outlets today; 22,845 total coffee outlets versus 52,000 pubs (our local pub has just closed!). So there is room for growth.

The British Coffee Association (BCA) says that the UK’s coffee consumption has soared to 95 million cups a day in 2018, up from 70 million in 2008 and according to the same survey of 2,000 adults in the UK, 65% of coffee is still consumed at home.

The big 3 (Costa, Starbucks and Caffe Nero) are still at risk from low-cost competitors such as Greggs, McDonald’s, and easyCoffee and artisan operators.

The economics and continuing demand all suggest the growth in coffee shops will continue.