Costa Coffee profits dip as independent coffee shops bite back
It seems the Great British public is starting to become blase about the popular coffee chain, as the company has seen pre-tax profits slump by almost 10% in the past 12 months.
As a nation of shopkeepers, we are seeing the constant barrage of the commonly seen red-branded coffee company as a sign of mediocre coffee and poor customer experience.
Conversely, the picture is a lot brighter for our independent coffee shops, as there has been a spike in the number of solely run shops on UK high streets.
Our industry is now worth a staggering £9 billion per year, but the ‘big chains’ still reap a large portion of that reward.
29% of food and beverage outlets are now national chains, which is a sad indictment of how we as consumers are treating our independent businesses and business owners.
As suppliers to the independent coffee shop, we are buoyed by these recently published accounts from Costa, it shows that our nation is slowly coming to the realisation that quality coffee is really worth paying for.
We now have over 22,000 specialist coffee shops in the United Kingdom.
That’s a far cry from the early days of the coffee boom over 10 years ago, that means we are all now more exposed to Java than at any other time.
The best news for the industry is that we area still nowhere near ‘peak coffee shop’, as the market is expected to grow from this £9 billion mark to £15 billion by 2020.
In the past, we’ve reported that pubs are slowly being overtaken by coffee outlets on the British highstreet, and analysts are now predicting that we could see this actually come to fruition by 2035.
Whilst we are still living in a nation that is dominated by the larger coffee chains such as Caffe Nero, Costa and Starbucks, the growth of the independent is not to be understated.
Local stores are increasing in popularity due to the highly publicised tax irregularities of these large ‘Mega-Coffee-corps’, of every £5 spent in a locally owned and operated coffee shop, an average of £4 is put directly back into the surrounding community.
Staffing costs, local suppliers and property are all big reasons that a local coffee shop can recycle so much of the income taken directly from the consumer – which is in stark contrast to the chains and the dodgy tax practices.
That isn’t to say the large chains are without their merit, Starbucks et al helped kick-start a market that simply didn’t exist for most parts of the United Kingdom, and for that, as coffee connoisseur, we are eternally grateful.
If you’re a plucky upstart coffee shop, cafe or mobile caterer, we can help you carve out a niche within your area with advice, ideas and more.
To get started on your coffee journey, get in touch via 01977 687 580 or simply visit our main site to begin making world class coffee as soon as tomorrow!