The coffee market: sales channels, consumption and competitive scenario

Coffee is the most consumed beverage in the world after water, and there is no adult who does not drink at least one or two cups of it during the day, especially in the morning to get off to a great start with the right flavor and aroma.

Over theyearscoffee consumption has changed and is still changingbecausethis is a market that has reached its full maturity: in fact, the penetration of this product in Italian households is now close to 100% and therefore there is no more room for further growth in sales through the enlargement of the family base that uses it.

In Italy, in terms ofannual per capita consumption, we are around 37 kilos per household per year. This might seem like a very high figure to us, but if we compare it with the annual consumption of other European countries (especially those in the north) we see how Italians are not at the top of the consumption charts. In fact, northern Europeans prefer a long drink to sip, similar in this to the way tea or herbal teas are consumed, while in Italy the tradition of espresso, made with the machine, with the mocha and now increasingly with the capsule machine, resists.

Throughfood retail channels(e.g., markets and supermarkets) two-thirds of total volumes of coffee consumed in Italy are marketed, but this figure corresponds to only 30 percent of sales in value. The retail coffee sector is highly concentrated, that is, in the moka segment (by far the most relevant), the top three producers jointly cover more than 70 percent of total sales in both value and volume . Of note, however, is both the strong presence of coffees bearing the retail chain's brand name and the growth of local brands that in their respective areas are quite highly valued due to established traditional consumption habits.

Speaking of the value of the coffee market, while 30 percent is concentrated in food retail, the remaining 70 percent concerns theout-of-home consumption sector(i.e., at the bar/restaurant/commercial establishments).In terms of business value, therefore, food service is largely more important than food retail, albeit characterized by largely significantly different marketing and commercial policies. It is a complex market that of out-of-home, where in Italy about 600 roasters are fighting bitterly to conquer and "snatch" slices of this immense market.