More than three-quarters of Americans drink coffee, according to research from the National Coffee Association (NCA). That figure confirms coffee’s continued strength among consumers, and sustains coffee’s place as America’s leading daily beverage choice. The NCA’s 2015 National Coffee Drinking Trends (NCDT) study also found that 59 per cent of Americans say they drink coffee each day, while 71 per cent reported partaking at least once per week.
For 2015, total coffee consumption remained steady within the study’s margin of error. Past-year consumption came in at 78 per cent versus last year’s 79 per cent, past-week at 71 per cent versus 73 per cent and past-day at 59 per cent versus 61per cent.
“As the industry evolves, with new coffee options and brewing technologies, these findings signal continued promise and point to some specific opportunities,” said the NCA, noting that “this year, the NCDT data is more relevant than ever, with the introduction of a new interactive platform enabling industry members to customize data to individualize strategies to target those opportunities.
“Continuing to take the industry by storm is single-cup brewing technology,” said the NCA. “The NCDT confirms that the trend continues, with ownership hitting an all-time high of 27 per cent of consumers. Awareness has also soared to 75 per cent, and ‘definite’ or ‘probable’ intent to buy within the next six months is up to 12 per cent.”
Age profiles for consumers appear to be shifting as well. While overall consumption continues to skew older, the margin is smaller in 2015. At the same time, the skew is not seen across all coffee types – espresso-based beverages are significantly more popular among those 18-39. There appears to be sustained, if not growing, strength among all under 40, particularly those 18-24. Conversely, an overall decline in non-gourmet coffee consumption is more pronounced among those 18-24.
When coffee is consumed also suggest evolving consumer tastes. Breakfast’s dominance appears to be slipping in favour of later parts of the day. In 2015, 81per cent of daily consumers drank coffee at breakfast, a six-point drop over three years. During the same period, afternoon coffee consumption jumped by five points.
Attitudes toward office coffee systems appear to suggest opportunities to improve the workplace coffee experience. Fifty-four percent are less than ‘very satisfied’ with their workplace coffee; “13 per cent who said they are not satisfied will likely be a receptive audience for new preparation options,” said the NCA.
