Ilena Peng of Bloomberg reports that coffee shops around the world, pinching pennies to prevent another round of hikes, are running out of options as bean costs spike. Peng writes:
Coffee shops around the world, pinching pennies to prevent another round of hikes, are running out of options as bean costs spike.
Global coffee drinkers whoโd hoped the price of their daily fix would soon stop rising are due for a bitter wake-up call: itโs about to get even worse.
Both the high-end arabica beans favored by coffee chains like Starbucks Corp. and the more budget-friendly robusta variety have spiked in price, thanks to major supply disruptions from Vietnam to Brazil. Up and down the supply chain, sellers have been raising prices and scrapping discounts to protect their margins, and many warn of more increases ahead. […]
Although consumers donโt easily give up their caffeine fix, more will opt to brew at home if coffee out gets too expensive. Grocery-store sales volumes of espresso and coffee concentrate have jumped sharply in the US, data from NIQ show, suggesting some buyers are trying to recreate their favorite coffee treats at home. As price-conscious consumers look for deals, Brazilโs coffee industry group ABIC has been warning shoppers to be wary of unknown brands of cheap beans, which sometimes contain husks, branches and waste from other plants in an effort to dupe households looking for a deal. The countryโs agricultural ministry recently identified 19 fraudulent coffee brands on shelves. […]
The productโs price is currently โwithin the range of premium coffee,โ but will become a โmore cost-effective solutionโ once Atomo increases volumes, said chief operating officer Ed Hoehn. The company launched a new Remix product last month, combining its own grounds with arabica. Other stores are consciously taking a loss on coffee at the moment, knowing a cheap brew will attract price-conscious customers whoโll also buy higher-margin items like sandwiches. Still others are pushing another hot beverage: tea.
โIf you become more price-sensitive around coffee, maybe your second cup during the day, youโve optioned for something else,โ said Andrew Stone, the chief brand and culture officer at coffee chain Bluestone Lane, which operates several dozen locations from Boston to Los Angeles. โTo have two cold brews in a day might be too expensive.โ
Read more here.
