Coffee shops are a common sight on high streets across the UK, but it wasn’t always this way. It’s an industry that has seen tremendous growth with coffee becoming a firm favourite in a country that has always been renowned for its love of tea.
In 2015 Britons spent £7.9bn in coffee shops, a rise of 10% since the year before. But it’s not just about the coffee.
Coffee shops offer a relaxed and informal place to meet, eat, drink and work. A multi-purpose space that attracts teenagers wanting to meet their friends, business people looking for free Wi-Fi and a comfortable place to work, Parents and their children, the older generation enjoying a cuppa and a slice of cake. In fact, visit any coffee shop and you will see a diverse mix of people all enjoying their surroundings for different reasons.
The coffee shop offering
Many also offer a range of hot and cold drinks, cakes, paninis and sandwiches, muffins and biscuits to name but a few. It’s not only the large chains that have honed in on this market. It’s an ideal marketplace for a good independent to do well in and even exceed the success of their larger competitors.
We have become a nation of coffee connoisseurs, everyone having their favourite whether that’s a choca mocha skinny latte with syrup and cream or a straightforward black coffee. There’s something for all taste buds with many even offering a range of tea’s for the less coffee inclined palate. Even kids get a look in with caffeine free cappuccinos and hot chocolates and what child isn’t tempted by a chocolate chip cookie.
Whilst there appears to be no slowdown in the marketplace and while there is still opportunity to do it well, there has been a bit of a backlash against some of the larger chains that have been in the press with regards to taxation. This does however give smaller businesses the chance to take some of those dissatisfied customers away from the larger brands.
With more and more people working from home the need for a comfortable place to work during the day will continue to rise and unless an alternative comes into the marketplace we may see the coffee culture continue to grow for the foreseeable future.