Coffee sales: which path to take?

After the nadir of 2013 coffee sales increased by 5 percent in value in 2014 – in a period when prices were relatively stable. This was very good news in the light of the fact that between 2010 and 2014 volume sales dropped 3 percent each year. Some kind of restructuring also took place: in the roasted coffee segment consumers were buying more and more single-portion capsule/pod products. However, the ground/roasted segment still made up for more than half of coffee volume sales. Although capsule products’ volume share from total sales is still below 2 percent, in value they already represent 7 percent. The bad news is that in the first five months of 2015 the expansion in coffee volume sales came to a halt because products became more expensive. Less price-sensitive consumers are expected to turn to capsule products in a growing proportion.