People are starting to care more and more about the coffee they drink. There was a time when it would be considered a real indulgence to buy your coffee outside of the house, and it would have been unthinkable to spend several pounds on a cup. These days however, a takeaway coffee on the way to work or sitting down to a cappuccino or latte while meeting friends has become a daily routine for a huge number of us.
We are also becoming much more discerning about the type of coffee we drink. Taste and freshness matter, the type of milk used matters, where the coffee was made and how the workers were treated matters. We are increasingly choosing where we get our lunch or breakfast takeaway from based on whether we like that establishment’s coffee.
And it’s for this reason that you need to realise that good coffee can make or break your takeaway. You could be losing more customers than you realise as a result of serving substandard coffee. For a coffee lover, no matter how delicious a sandwich or toastie is, if it comes with a crummy cup of coffee that is likely to be a deal breaker.
Good coffee doesn’t have to impact your profit margins
The good news is that providing good coffee doesn’t necessarily have to be an expensive exercise. Although good coffee does cost more than bad, with the profit margins on coffee being so high it may not make as much difference to your bottom line as you think. And a lot of people would rather spend £2.50 to £3.00 on a great cup of coffee than spend £1.00 on a lousy one.
A lot of takeaways have made their great coffee their biggest selling point. Next time you’re wandering around town, take a look at how many signs and sandwich boards mention how good the coffee inside is – even when it’s not just a coffee shop. They know that good coffee matters.
Part of it is that people really do appreciate an excellent cup of coffee, and part of it may also be that choosing cheap substandard coffee makes people wonder whether you’re choosing cheap and nasty ingredients for the rest of your offerings. Even great coffee isn’t that expensive to buy at cost, so your customers might wonder whether you care about the profit margin more than you care about quality.
So rather than cutting costs with coffee to boost your margin, try serving the finest coffee and using it as a draw to bring more customers into your takeaway. The increase in your costs won’t be huge, but the increase in loyal customers could be. Those who don’t care about coffee won’t be put off, but those who do will have another good reason to choose your takeaway over your competitors’ establishments.
Choose coffee that’s fresh, comes from a reputable or fair trade source and never ever serve instant coffee unless it’s specifically requested. Even a filter coffee using good beans isn’t always enough these days. Most people will also expect to be able to get anywhere what used to be considered a speciality coffee – cappuccinos, lattes, espressos, macchiatos, etc.
If you’re interested in upgrading your takeaway coffee, take a look at our Coffee Supplies – we’ve got everything from the machines to make the perfect coffee to the cups and accessories you need to serve it in.