Emeritus Prof Christopher May

Something is brewing (pun intended) in the UK's coffee market; as opposed to the usual British consolidation & increasing oligopoly, for now at least the major coffee shop chains are in some difficulty as a rise in smaller chains & independents has captured the (more discerning?) tastes of younger coffee drinkers.

Whether the majors can fight back (Cafe Nero is having a better time than Costa & Starbucks) is unclear, but for now market fragmentation is the dynamic.

#coffee #hospitality
h/t FT

Jan 17 at 7:41amWeb
Show threadRavensrod 🫖 🍰Jan 17
@ChrisMayLA6
Show threadMint SpiesJan 17
@ChrisMayLA6 I'm just teaching contestable market theory to my A-level Economists, so this is perfectly timed - thanks for sharing.
Show threadSimon ZerafaJan 17

@ChrisMayLA6

In Pembrokeshire Starbucks is basically absent from the market.

Costa has multiple coffee shops and numerous outlets in Greggs and elsewhere.

We do have a small number of independent coffee shops but they also serve food (proper meals typically) so are multifunction outlets.

Show threadJWJan 17
@ChrisMayLA6
With luck you'll end up with a similar level of competition as Australia, where the independents have, on average, higher quality coffee, tea etc at a similar price as the major chains.
Show threadJacobJan 17
@ChrisMayLA6 Anecdotal, but one of my favourite coffee shops in Bristol is completely independent and runs out of a repurposed shipping container. Hipster habits aside, they do better and cheaper coffee than the chains so its a no brainer.
Show threadGiles of the JungleJan 17

@SnoozyRests @ChrisMayLA6 I wonder if people are finally realising the coffee from the large chains just isn't that good.

Personally I'll actively avoid Starbucks. Costa is tolerable. Nero is pretty good in fairness. But independents are, in my experience, almost always better.

Show threadJacobJan 17
@gilester45 @ChrisMayLA6 I hope so. It does take some active signal boosting though. Small independents are up against the relentless advertisement and promotional campaigns of the chains.
Show threadElaineJan 17
@ChrisMayLA6 the indies are better at roasting and grinding, the coffee just tastes better. Starbucks burns their beans
Show threadFranchescaJan 17
@ChrisMayLA6 Starbucks coffee has always been trash, and costa isn’t much better. Nero is ok though, but yeh, any independent is better than these.
Show threadFishdJan 17

@ChrisMayLA6 Neither Costa nor Starbucks are actually in the "coffee" market.

They're in the "warm brown liquid" market.

The last "coffee" is purchased in a Costa (motorway services, captive market) I threw immediately in the bin as it was undrinkable.

Show threadSyloculeJan 18
@ChrisMayLA6 We used to live in Devon and when one of these chains wanted to open up in Totnes (a fiercely ineffective independent town) the locals went full on boycott mode until the chain decided it was a bad idea