WAWA, Pa. -- The signs are out at Wawa convenience stores letting customers know that coffee prices will increase by six cents per cup starting today. The high cost of fuel has filtered down to hot beverages, reported the Associated Press. Wawa said rising general costs associated with coffee, including higher fuel and transportation costs, have led to the price increase.
"We posted signs in stores this week as a courtesy. So many customers are in a hurry and have exact change ready," Wawa spokesperson Lori Bruce told The Philadelphia Inquirer. So a cup of coffee at Wawa's 568 convenience [image-nocss] stores in five states will cost $1.15 for 12 ounces, $1.25 for 16 ounces, $1.35 for 20 ounces and $1.45 for 24 ounces, said the report. Wawa's website says the chain sells 165 million cups of coffee annually. Six cents a cup adds up to an $11.7 million revenue boost, according to the newspaper.
"While we have done everything we can to contain costs and avoid passing along price increases, rising general costs associated with coffee including rising fuel and transportation costs have led to this price increase," Bruce told The Cherry Hill Courier Post.
Wawa's main rival, 7-Eleven Inc., told the Inquirer that it had no immediate plans to boost coffee prices in the Philadelphia area.
Caribou Coffee patrons started paying about 8 cents more per cup last fall due to higher costs, the company said in a news statement cited by the Courier Post. Starbucks raised the cost of its coffee across the board for all 44 million of its weekly transactions an average of 9 cents last July, Starbucks spokesperson Bridget Baker told the paper. It increased a nickel the year before. Dunkin' Donuts, would not comment about its prices or provide the recommended retail price for various cup sizes. The company did say, however, that franchise owners have freedom to control their prices. McDonald's also would not comment on its prices, but a spokesperson conceded the country is in "challenging economic times," the report said.
Meanwhile, government statistics released last week showed that consumer spending in March barely budged as Americans grappled with higher food and energy prices amid an economic downturn. Consumers spent 0.4% more than in the previous month, but nearly all that increase came from higher prices in the grocery aisles and at the gasoline pump, reported The Chicago Tribune.
At congressional Joint Economic Committee hearing in Washington last week convened to examine skyrocketing food and grocery prices and their impact on the pocketbooks of American families, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's chief economist, Joseph Glauber, said retail food prices increased 4 % in 2007, the fastest rise since 1990. Prices are forecast to grow a further 4% to 4.5% in 2008. But prices for staples have risen far more steeply. Egg prices jumped 40% while flour prices have jumped 50% since January, according to the American Bakers Association.
Click herefor details on the Joint Economic Committee hearing.
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