The truth is that coffee hits a lot of spots! For centuries, people all around the world have loved coffee, and its popularity is far from waning nowadays. In fact, coffee connoisseurs have more varieties of delicious choices than ever before, as coffee houses, shops, kiosks and specialty carts spring up all over the place.
No matter how you like your coffee, whether it be black, frothy cappuccino, latte, espresso, hot or on ice, the selections available to tempt your taste buds is enormous. The average annual coffee consumption of the American adult is 67 gallons, over 600 cups. In fact, specialty coffee sales are increasing by 20% per year and account for almost 8% of the 18 billion dollar U.S. coffee market. Statistics show that among coffee drinkers, the average consumption in the US is around 2.3 cups of coffee per day. Also, studies find that over one-half of the population, equivalent to approximately 150 million Americans, now drink specialty coffees on a daily basis.
There are currently around 38,000 independent coffee shops around the United States, with an average $27 billion a year in sales. Based on market research, there will be approximately 50,000 or more independently owned coffee shops in the US by the year 2011. An aspiring entrepreneur might consider the specialty coffee business as a golden opportunity.
Gourmet coffees, also known as premium or specialty coffees have an attractive gross profit margin, compared to traditional brewed coffee sales. For example an espresso based drink may retail in a coffee shop for an average price of $2.85, while the average price for brewed coffee is $1.38. Your gross profit margin is approximately 77% on each, thus you would make $2.20 on a frothy creation and only $1.06 on a brewed cup. Your espresso machines and other equipment may run a little more; however, the additional profits are well worth the added capital expenditures.
Coffee is grown commercially in over forty-five countries throughout the world. Brazil accounts for almost 1/3 of the world’s coffee production, producing over 3-1/3 billion pounds of coffee each year. Over 5 million people in Brazil are employed by the coffee trade. Most of those are involved with the cultivation and harvesting of more than 3 billion coffee plants.
Some interesting coffee facts: The beans used in gourmet coffee are full of antioxidants that offer protection against the radicals that are present in our bodies, thus reducing risks of heart disease and cancers . Regular coffee drinkers have about one-third less asthma symptoms than those non-coffee drinkers. So says a Harvard researcher who studied over 20,000 people.
Approximately 90% of the American adult population drink some type of coffee product every day. Some people drink 2-3 cups or more a day. People who are getting hooked on specialty coffee drinks are rising every year. It is estimated that over 30 million American adults drink specialty coffee beverages daily; such as mocha, latte, espresso, cafe mocha, cappuccino or other frothy varieties either steaming hot or on ice.
Coffee sales are continually rising year after year. And so are the pricing modules! Coffee is the second largest commodity traded, next to oil. If you are looking for a business to get into, coffee is probably the best business for you to consider. Can you think of any other product that has such universal appeal, is easy to get into, and is relatively simple to operate?