For many, coffee is an essential part of what it means to go to work, whether it’s the morning cup during the daily commute or the ritual of sharing a pot at the office with co-workers, coffee is often the fuel of our daily professional life. As the covid pandemic escalates, the crisis has disrupted a number of our usual daily routines, including going to work and this in turn is affecting how we get our morning cup of joe.
Consumers who used to drink their morning coffee at home or with colleagues in the office swapped retail shops and office coffee pots with new at-home rituals, and while this shift disrupted the retail coffee sector, home delivery companies seemed to reap the benefits. Even big chains that usually dominated the coffee market were effected and were forced to seek alternative consumer channels. Starbucks bucked up their ideas pretty quick to keep revenue flowing, announcing a complete shift to drive-thru models across the US and Canada.
Smaller companies on the other hand werent expected to find success in the chaos but many did. Seattle-based Joe Coffee is a coffee-delivery service that received millions in funding back in July. Their mission? To bring coffee from smaller shops to local consumers, without putting either parties health at risk. Joe Coffee provides shops with signs and information on how to order through the Joe network, then consumers are able to download and order through a mobile app on all of the usual platforms with Joe Coffee taking 9% of the order total.
(Image courtesy of Joe Coffee)
Coffee through the letter box
Sales at Driftaway Coffee, a sustainability-focused subscription company, more than doubled in March 2020 over the same month last year. The New York based startup serves more than 15,000 mail-order customers according to its founder who also reported that subscriptions have doubled year by year.
However, with many companies struggling during the outbreak of covid, this small startup seemed to grow, as more than 15% of existing customers increased their orders by size and frequency, with thousands of new subscribers.
Here are some of our favorite letter-box friendly coffee startups:
The premier coffee gift and subscription platform that features sample roasts of finest artisan coffee.
Quality coffee and compostable Nespresso pods from the Grind roastery, delivered straight to your door.
TimeOut Award Winning coffee posted through your door and freshly roasted with biodegradable packaging.
With coffee roasters being hit hard by social distancing rules, its clear that the companies offering home delivery and sustainable packaging are the ones thriving. Spanish Incapto Coffee is taking it to the next level, challenging the status quo of the coffee sector providing coffee without the capsules with a strong commitment to sustainability and innovation. The Barcelona-based startup already has more than 300 subscribers and has recently secured 1.2 million in a record time of seven hours, using the funds to start international expansion outside of Spain, targeting neighbouring countries including Italy, Portugal and France first.
(Image courtesy of Incapto Coffee)
In the US, there are reports of shifts from energy drinks to coffee as consumers seek new ways to stay energized during the pandemic. With a slow down in energy drink sales and a surge in coffee consumption, Packaged Facts reported that shoppers are buying more coffee due to their emotional needs and consumption benefits during the crisis.The report stated that energy drink sales had slowed mainly due to a drop in convenience store sales, where most are sold. “Some 56% of energy and sports sales are from c-stores, with energy drinks relying on the channel for about 70% of sales”. Coffee on the other hand is sold in the places that shoppers have gravitated to since the outbreak, including large retail stores, supermarkets and online. Overall coffee sales are predicted to increase by 8.3% from $14.7b in 2019 to $15.98b in 2020.
Through their curated selection of coffee, they can leverage personalization technology and offer consumers the coffee flavors they really want.
Will Shurtz, co-founder of Methodical Coffee of Greenville, South Carolina, told Food Bev: “Before Covid, 90% of our roasting business was bulk orders for cafés and restaurants. Since joining the platform in March, Trade has grown to about 30% of our roasted coffee business.”