CHICAGO -- Coffee is a ubiquitous fixture on menus, yet its appeal continues to broaden and evolve. The category has recently experienced a bit of a renaissance, both through its renewed popularity among younger consumers, as well as through exciting innovations, such as cold-brewed and pour-over coffee.
The outlook for coffee gives operators good cause for optimism, because volume is up significantly. According to new data from Technomic's Volumix Coffee Report, sales for single-cup coffee SKUs increased by 62% over the past year. In a related turn, the average per-pound price for single-cup coffee SKUs rose 6% from 2014 to 2015. Also, the overall SKU share for single-cup coffee rose from 3% in 2014 to 4% in 2015.
These findings, as well as a wealth of other newfound data featured in the Volumix Coffee Report, can help keep suppliers ahead of the curve by identifying what operators are increasingly purchasing, what the operator space is demanding, and other relevant happenings within the trend-setting independent-restaurant sector—which can provide inspiration for the convenience-store segment.
Other takeaways from the Volumix Coffee Report:
- In 2015, S&D Coffee and Douwe Egberts led all brands in total volume and sales among distributed brands.
- Vanilla, followed by mocha and chocolate, were the top flavor callouts mentioned among distributed SKUs in 2015.
- Colombian and Arabica were the top origin callouts mentioned among distributed SKUs in 2015.
- The Top 10 coffee SKUs make up 29% of all SKUs distributed in 2015.
At convenience stores specifically, coffee products beyond basic hot brews—particularly iced coffees and specialty/flavored coffees—are revealing some notable growth in terms of sheer number of items and the number of operators offering these items. Iced-coffee offerings are up 20% year over year, while specialty/flavored coffee items are up 10% over this same time period a year ago.
Volumix generates SKU-level data from more than 28,000 independent operators and small chains, serving as an effective tool for suppliers to help them better understand the competitive environment across segments and categories.
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