The trend for flavouring coffee is growing.
Even artisan coffee houses, that refused to even entertain the idea that they would adulterate their coffee with a syrups flavour, are now offering it. Why?
Why would you put syrups in coffee? The answer; money of course. The economics are overwhelming. Talking to customers and looking at what other industry commentators say supports our view that:
A typical coffee house might have around 300+ people through their door during an average day. Of course only half of them pay because they are in groups of two or three. So, the people who do hand over money might be paying around £7.00-£7.50. Allegra estimates in its latest survey report that the average customer is worth about £3.18. They suggest this figure is declining slightly due to the recession.
Syrups add value- how? Each customer paying out for a flavoured coffee effectively increases the turnover and profit of a coffee shop. The big chains know this. They have been busy with the promotion of flavoured coffee, new beverages and all manner food options. If a flavoured coffee/beverage is 30-40 pence extra and one in two or one in three sales reflected this additional spend ie £7.00 became £7.30; multiply that across a year and it could add up to around an extra £15k of turnover. Remember that much of that extra spend is almost 50-60% straight profit and you can see why people are embracing flavours and syrups. If spend on food is going down, as suggested by Allegra, then getting more spend per cup of coffee sold is the easiest way to recover that spend.
So what works? Seasonal and tactical promotions. Flavours can define a season and they can define an occasion. Christmas Cake flavour was a recent success but unfortunately Christmas comes but once a year- even if it does last almost three months! So what are ‘occasions’? Birthdays, office parties, meetings and social media driven get-togethers. These offer the chance to get consumers to try a different drink and perhaps reset their expectations on pricing.
What will the big themes for 2012 be? Jubilee celebrations and the Olympics are obvious, but the overall tone in Britain is changing. Made in Britain appears to be back in fashion; perhaps because of the Royals and the Olympics but also because it makes economic sense too. The Euro zone crisis means the products and services we import are not as competitive. Consumers are interested in local and the provenance and this is where the independents are at an advantage over the bigger chains. Offering different products and highlighting their provenance helps differentiate from the large chains.
What will we be offering this year? The demand for more themed and novelty flavours means we have a succession of new products and promotions. Flavours such as Hot Cross Bun, Easter Bunny and a Strawberries & Cream are just some of the new flavours. Social media, phone apps and quirky promotions are also planned. The aim is to support our customers so that consumers increase their spend in coffee shops.
more information and ideas at http://www.malmesburysyrups.co.uk
