How A Pandemic Can Change The Way We Drink Coffee
Photo by Dan Burton on Unsplash
Since the introduction of the COVID-19, the way we consume coffee has significantly changed. Before the pandemic, coffee consumption in Europe was experiencing annual growth of 2.1%. Europe also represented the largest coffee consumption area, with North America and Asia following behind. While growth is expected in 2021, it is expected that pre-crisis levels of consumption will be reached sometime in 2022.
A key factor for this slow growth to pre-crisis levels results from a change in how consumers drink coffee, as the remote-working policies (that have been put into place across Europe) have hit the out-of-home consumption habits. The overall ‘coffee away from home sales’ in Europe experienced a decrease of over 56% at the end of 2020. Additionally, consumption of coffee in the office has declined by over 60%, with the overall HORECA (that is, Hotel, Restaurant and Cafe) consumption decreasing by 48.3%.
In 2020, Germany experienced a 41% value reduction due to the decreased away-from-home consumption. The office segment will experience the greatest value decrease, as the adopted work from home policies has greatly impacted sales within the HORECA industry. At the end of 2020, the ‘coffee consumption away from home’ value in Italy dropped by 45%. In Spain, the decline in sales almost hit 50%. In France (a nation that had more permissive policies for business operations during the pandemic), the away from the home market still managed to drop by 48%.
Now, these figures can be seen as a negative result for the industry, but it also reveals an opportunity. While COVID-19 has brought countless hardships across many industries, there is one thing that still remains evident: the love for great coffee.
William Murray (President and CEO of the National Coffee Association commented that the “COVID-19 pandemic has kept many people at home for the better part of a year, and the latest 'Atlas of American Coffee' shows they took their coffees with them. In fact, we've seen Americans embracing their new coffee routines, experimenting with new coffees, and even trying to replicate their favourite beverages at home. Now, with light at the end of the pandemic tunnel, many Americans are also returning to their favourite coffee businesses or plan to do so within the next month."
The convenient options of coffee pods, capsules and instant coffee, have become more popular in Western Europe and North America. Additionally, more consumers are becoming interested in sustainable and certified coffee products, and like to see this credibility when they make their purchases. Within the American market, it has been recognised that 40% of consumers had purchased new types of coffee during the pandemic; coffee that they had never tried before. Additionally, 25% of Americans purchased new coffee formats and a similar percentage had purchased a new coffee machine for their home.
According to Vicente Mejia (Founder and Managing Director of Clearpath Coffee) “coffee enthusiasts will always want those unique and top-notch coffees, and we’re going to keep focusing on providing some of those niche offerings for that kind of client.”
Here at Rozali Coffee, we are excited to be one of the Specialty coffee roasters who can provide everyone around the world with a specialty coffee experience. We source green beans only from the best sources; from Colombia, Costa Rica and Ethiopia. We love seeing our customers embrace the opportunity to master the home-brewing coffee experience, and we want you to do the same!
To find out more, go to rozalicoffee.de.
