Consumption & Trends

the specialty coffee roasters market is competitive

Why the care-free days are over for specialty coffee roasters

Increased global coffee consumption has led to growth in the roasting industry, aided by a growing interest in specialty and a demand for specialty coffee roasters.

tencent china's coffee sector

Why tech giants control China’s coffee sector

The relationship is mutually beneficial, but some worry it could lead to a price war.
specialty coffee stumptown roasters

Just like craft beer, specialty coffee is losing its edge

A handful of multinationals have spent millions acquiring specialty coffee names. Will the sector benefit?
chinese coffee deliveries

How Chinese coffee deliveries changed America

Many Chinese coffee shops have offered home deliveries since 2017. But during Covid-19, US coffee delivery orders exploded by more than 300%.
dunkin' coffee

How Dunkin’ became a global coffee giant

As Americans became more health-conscious, Dunkin' pivoted to become a coffee-first brand. By 2021, it was selling more than 4bn cups per year.

How cold coffee made high-street cafés cool again

Coca-Cola is using Costa Coffee to dominate the RTD coffee market worldwide. But it has Nestlé to contend with.

US coffee consumption is low – do Americans need their own ‘hora del café’?

Despite being labelled as a "consuming country, the US has relatively low per capital coffee consumption at 4.4kg per year.
free coffee loyalty card

Free coffee can cripple cafés – so why are they still offering it?

Offering free coffee can help attract new customers. As Luckin and Tostao discovered, it can also bring businesses to the brink of collapse.
russia's coffee sector, consumers walking with coffee in hand in Moscow

One year on: How the Russian coffee sector has changed since February 2022

The invasion of Ukraine has had an impact on Russia's coffee sector in more ways than one.
mccafé specialty coffee

Are fast food chains the future of specialty coffee?

Coffee sold through McCafé outlets reportedly generates more than $4 billion in annual sales in the US alone.
kfc coffee china

How KFC can become China’s biggest coffee brand

KFC sold a reported 170m coffees in 2021 and opened its first dedicated coffee kiosk in Shanghai last October.
james hoffmann specialty coffee

Does specialty coffee put people on too much of a pedestal?

Coffee industry celebrities have become prevalent as barista competitions have flourished. But some feel representation is far off the mark.
chinas tea-drinking culture

How Gen Z is changing China’s tea-drinking culture

For more than three millennia, tea has formed an integral part of Chinese society. Are young people about to change it for good?
specialty coffee egypt

Egypt is about to become the next specialty coffee hub

By 2025, nearly 60% of Egypt’s population will be considered “middle class" – and they're showing a growing appetite for high-quality coffee.
petrochina coffee

Why Chinese coffee chains fear oil companies more than Starbucks

The “crossover” coffee shop model has been a driving force in the industry over the past two years.
specialty coffee consumption el salvador

The challenges of sparking a specialty coffee boom in El Salvador

The ICO estimates that just 8-10% of the coffee produced in El Salvador stays in the country.

Market monopolies: Are small coffee companies doomed to fail?

In 2019, ten companies roasted 35% of the world’s coffee – how can smaller brands compete?
mayorga coffee latino coffee brand

In the US, Latino brands are reclaiming the ‘specialty’ coffee narrative

Only 13% of coffee roasters in the US are Latino-owned – companies like Mayorga Coffee are carving out new opportunities.
miami ventanita

Farewell to Miami: Why specialty coffee has failed in the Magic City

Miami has a deeply ingrained coffee culture built on community and Cuban-style drinks – what some consider to be the antithesis of specialty coffee.
juan valdez colombia coffee

How ‘100% Colombian coffee’ became a lesson in unsustainable marketing

Between the 1960s and 1990s, the FNC spent $1.3bn on marketing Colombian coffee – then the money ran dry.