The COVID-19 pandemic turned everything on its head, from how people understood their health, to work schedules, travel ability, and more.
One routine that has stayed constant, however, was America’s love for coffee. COVID may have changed where and how Americans drink coffee, but never how much. The latest edition of the National Coffee Data Trends (NCDT) report, released last month and based on surveys conducted in January 2023, illustrates coffee’s continued recovery, renewed growth, and unique staying power as COVID-19 has moved out of its most acute phases.
91% of past-week coffee drinkers now buy coffee away from home at least once per week.
Unsurprisingly, due to quarantines and shifts to work from home in many industries, the pandemic resulted in a massive increase in drinking coffee at home and a similarly significant decrease in drinking coffee away from home.
Between January and July 2020, coffee consumption outside of the home fell by almost 20%. While past-day coffee drinking away from home remains below pre-pandemic levels, it has rebounded almost 13% since then, showing a clear path toward recovery.
Now that COVID restrictions have eased, coffee drinkers are returning to their pre-pandemic routines. 91% of past-week coffee drinkers now buy coffee away from home at least once per week.
And, as Americans are getting back to work in offices, coffee is getting back to work too. In the most recent polling, 32% of Americans reported having an in-office coffee station, up 6% since mid-pandemic (January 2021).
Coffee was not completely immune from lasting pandemic impacts, of course. Just like many restaurants continue to use QR-code menus, and office buildings keep refilling hand sanitizer dispensers, some new coffee habits appear to be here to stay.
The Spring 2021 NCDT report (mid-pandemic), found that 30% of Americans had discovered new coffees they could enjoy at home, and 23% had purchased a new coffee machine for their household. For some coffee drinkers, trying new things meant doing less work at home and leaning into convenience: between January 2020 and January 2021, drive-through usage among coffee drinkers skyrocketed by nearly 30%.
App usage also jumped significantly during the beginning of the pandemic. From January to July 2020, app usage among past-week coffee drinkers buying coffee outside the home jumped by more than 60%.
The appeal of options like drive-through, apps, and delivery seems to have staying power. App usage (29% of past-week coffee drinkers) has declined somewhat from its peak in July 2020 (39%) but remains above the 24% observed in January 2020.
Similarly, drive-through use (currently, 59% of past-day coffee drinkers who bought their coffee outside the home) has declined from pandemic peaks (62%) but remains well above the pre-pandemic rate of 48%.
In the face of the unprecedented challenges brought on by COVID-19, coffee has proven its remarkable resilience. The coffee experience has transformed — as have many aspects of our daily lives — but coffee seems to have weathered the pressure of the pandemic and come out maintaining its position as America’s favorite beverage.
Interview content does not necessarily reflect the views or position of the National Coffee Association or NCA Next Gen.
Mike Rosa, Commodities Manager at Mother Parkers Tea & Coffee, and NCA Next Gen Council Member, recently had the opportunity to talk with Emilio Medina, founder and CEO of Becamo S.A. Formed in 1983, Becamo has become widely known as one of the top coffee-exporting companies in Honduras. Mike and Emilio were able to spend some time together during Mike’s travels in Honduras where he observed some of the sustainability work being done first-hand. The following is their conversation, which has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Emilio and Mike Touring a Farm
MIKE:Emilio, it’s been a volatile few years for the industry as a whole, and exporting coffee is especially tricky. What challenge has stood out to you?
On the export side, the biggest challenge has been dealing with the inverted market. This has made projections and planning much more difficult (but important), and it has become increasingly hard to keep added costs from quickly snowballing.
On that note, what are some of the other recent challenges from an overall planning or strategy perspective?
Shipments and logistics have become much more difficult to manage, with the quality implications and cost headaches they can bring. The margin for error has decreased. Resources required for functions like document management have increased by 100%.
One recurring comment seems to be the challenge of getting the next generation of coffee farmers in Honduras engaged. Is this an area of focus for Becamo?
We had identified this as an emerging issue all the way back in 2002. It was clear that the youth’s lack of participation would become critical to address. This is when we started our first sustainability initiative in a small village near San Juan. One month later, we had already seen significant progress, and the effects on the economy and happiness within the town were evident.
The next generation needs to see that when things are done properly, there is optimism for a better future. Showing what can be possible with the right tools and education is key to demonstrating the opportunities in coffee to young people.
To that end, we created a brand called Coffee Youth – a program supporting and marketing coffee produced by the next generation of farmers. After seeing the success of this program, we created Women Coffee, a similar concept of exporting coffee labeled as being produced by women. In all our projects, the succession to the next generation of coffee is kept in mind.
Producer with daughter
Are sustainability programs finding success in getting youth engaged in coffee? What sort of messaging or education have you seen success with through Bloom/NKG Verified?
Our programs emphasize access to biodiversity in farming and continuous improvement of the quality of the coffee. This motivates producers, as they can clearly see the potential improvements to their income. We cannot lose sight of the basic truth that income is the main motivating factor for the producer. If the producer is not seeing good returns on their coffee, that is when the risk of migration becomes higher.
For young people, we need to pass along knowledge of effective agronomy practices for producing coffee. We’ve seen success with the rollout of our Ecopil technology – a key benefit to these seedlings is that they lead to well-yielding coffee trees in 18 months, instead of 3 years. To the producer, especially the young producer, seeing income starting to flow in earlier is an incentive. On top of this, the actual bags weigh less than the traditional system, so there are transportation cost savings observed.
Producer receiving Ecopil Seedlings
Outside of youth engagement, we hear about many challenges the Honduran farmer faces – availability of coffee pickers, leaf rust, etc. Where do you think the biggest areas of focus need to be to ensure the long-term health of the coffee industry in Honduras?
The focus we need to have is on the improvement of the producer’s income. All the supply chain actors have a role to play in ensuring that the price to the producer is fair, motivating, and sufficient to cover their basic needs.
One other aspect of our programs is strengthening the education and health programs in the local community. This can motivate youth to stay in the coffee areas/where they were born, because they have essentials like good health and education. Having these needs met ensures they don’t need to look elsewhere like the United States in order to find those opportunities.
With these initiatives continuing to grow in scale, do you feel there is a notable upside to the current Honduran production levels we have seen? Or is steady production with better farmer profitability a more reasonable target?
Sustainability initiatives need to grow much larger to negate the trends of migration and abandonment of farms. In my opinion, Honduras will not be able to return to 10 million quintals (7.7M 60kg bags), due to factors such as lack of labor, climate change, and costs. If costs increase, there will be a strong demotivation for producers, so we need these initiatives to help producers in advance. To maintain or increase production in Honduras, we must work together. Producers, exporters, roasters, NGOs, etc. to improve the producer’s income.
Looking to the future, what is your vision for Becamo’s continued development and its identity?
Becamo has been and will continue to be highly committed to coffee growers. Every day, we try to bring more allies to our producer’s sustainable services unit, to bring knowledge and better income to the producer. Right now we are about to sign into a large collaboration program with USAID, among others, reinforcing our end goal of assisting the producer.
On a personal level, which skills do you think were most valuable for you when coming up and navigating the ups and downs of the coffee world?
I always kept a focus on seeking efficiencies, efficiency in the marketplace, and then within my company. Nowadays, that focus on efficiencies has moved towards sustainable coffee growing projects, as they are the key to the future of the coffee industry. Without a theme of efficiency embedded in these programs, costs can run out of control and threaten their success or farmer adoption.
If there was a piece of advice you would tell your younger self, as you were growing in the industry, what would it be?
Stay disciplined. Respect the rules and set risk limits. Attention to quality and best practices will always guide you in the right direction.
What do you want the broader coffee community to know about the Honduran producer?
They are heroes. They are persistent, hardworking, and want to stay committed to continuing to produce. With that said, those of us in a position to do so must continue to support and guide.
Our shared environment provides myriad gifts to celebrate today and every day, but we would be remiss not to highlight one of our favorite natural gifts: coffee.
With 65% of Americans drinking coffee each day (according to our latest National Coffee Data Trends (NCDT) Report), coffee is a mainstay in millions of people’s daily lives, including 25 million smallholder farmers around the world. Coffee is certainly far too beloved and important to take for granted as we all work to protect the health of our environment.
Climate change could have significant impacts on coffee, which is uniquely vulnerable to temperature changes and extreme weather, which can damage plants and worsen diseases and pests. Some estimates say that without mitigations, climate change could reduce land suitable for growing coffee by half by 2050.
Clearly, combatting climate change requires action and achievement across our global society. For our part, the coffee community has been a leader in seeking to make coffee the world’s first truly sustainable agricultural commodity, across all three aspects of sustainability as defined by the United Nations – economic, social, and environmental.
Coffee companies across the supply chain have adopted ambitious commitments and comprehensive programs to achieve sustainability, with efforts addressing everything from land use to farmer livelihoods and more. Highlights and summaries of such efforts are available in NCA’s Sustainability Showcase. As of 2019 (the last year for which we have aggregated data), the coffee community had committed more than $531 million to sustainability efforts around the world.
As just one example, NCA’s 2020 Origin Charity Award recipient TechnoServe specializes in business approaches to reducing poverty worldwide. TechnoServe’s coffee programs across Latin America, Africa, and Asia focus on four key drivers of impact that improve farmers’ livelihoods and create greater value across the supply chain:
● Better Farming: TechnoServe has trained more than 400,000 coffee farmers on sustainable agronomy practices, helping them to increase their productivity and income.
● Better Business: TechnoServe has helped farmers construct 266 new coffee-processing businesses and advised more than 760 existing processing businesses. This support has helped improve coffee quality and market access, increasing the incomes of 500,000 farmers globally.
● Better Supply Chains: TechnoServe has worked with partners across the coffee ecosystem to develop practical and sustainable solutions to supply-chain issues, including access to finance and improved transparency.
● Better Environment: Pioneering simple, cost-effective solutions, TechnoServe has helped 843 businesses in the coffee value chain to adopt sustainability standards and create positive environmental and social impacts in their communities.
Research also plays a key role. As part of our overall positive agenda for the future of coffee, NCA works with organizations like World Coffee Research to advocate for investments in research and development that will protect coffee plant health and help meet global demand sustainably, including through U.S. government programs and funding.
To further enhance the achievement of sector-wide goals and the implementation of multistakeholder initiatives, coffee leaders support efforts like the Sustainable Coffee Challenge (SCC). The SCC’s 2050 goals unite public and private sector partners committed to conserving natural resources and helping coffee farmers thrive while producing coffee more sustainably than ever and meeting growing global demand. In SCC’s Commitments Hub, you can explore 169 commitments being implemented from farm to cup.
Numerous other partners are working to drive solutions and measure impact. For example, the International Coffee Organization is currently working with the International Trade Centre to map global coffee sustainability efforts with the aims to:
● Provide greater transparency on sustainability investments in coffee-producing countries
● Enable insights on thematic concentrations, synergies, and gaps
● Encourage further collaboration, partnerships, and coordination
A growing share of coffee meets various definitions for sustainable sourcing. The Global Coffee Platform’s 2021 sustainability snapshot found that about half the coffee sourced by reporting companies met GCP’s standards for “sustainable coffee purchases.” According to the International Institute for Sustainable Development, nearly 40% of all coffee purchased in 2020 (1.4 million tons) was sustainably sourced and compliant with voluntary sustainability standards or a corporate sustainability initiative.
In the United States and around the world, coffee drinkers and businesses depend on a truly global supply chain that must start with thriving coffee farmers and a healthy environment. At NCA, we are working hard to support members’ sustainability efforts and to maintain strong multistakeholder relationships that advance the achievement of common goals. That’s something worth celebrating.
It’s one of the most wonderful times of the year! That’s right, spring has sprung and the latest edition of the National Coffee Data Trends (NCDT) report is here.
Commissioned by the National Coffee Association (NCA) since 1950, the NCDT report is the longest-running study of American consumers’ coffee drinking patterns. Polling is conducted twice per year, with results released in the spring and fall, giving coffee insiders exclusive access to in-depth and up-to-date data on consumers’ coffee behaviors and also their overall perceptions, economic situations, and more.
For more than two decades, coffee has been America’s favorite beverage, and that shows no signs of changing. 65% of Americans drank coffee in the past day – more than any other beverage, including bottled or tap water!
While coffee’s overall popularity has not shown much change in recent years, this spring’s report provides an important window into coffee trends as consumers continue to emerge from the disruptions of the last several years. Spring 2023 NCDT results show that past-day coffee consumption is above pre-pandemic levels for all age groups, but some other effects remain.
The pandemic has not changed how much coffee Americans drink – 1.9 cups per person or 2.9 cups per past-day coffee drinker, about the same as in January 2020. However, the pandemic has had lingering effects on where Americans drink coffee.
In the new report, 83% of past-day coffee drinkers had coffee at home, up by 4% since January 2020. By comparison, 35% had coffee away from home, continuing to rebound from a low of 31% in January 2021, but down from 41% in January 2020.
Other changes in the Spring 2023 NCDT can be attributed to seasonal swings. Unsurprisingly, colder temperatures when polling was conducted in January 2023 resulted in some warmer cups – 84% of past-day coffee drinkers had a hot coffee, up 10% from polling in July 2022 (published in October).
Consumption of cold coffee overall (a category that includes both iced and frozen blended beverages) decreased by 13% from July 2022 to January 2023, while iced coffee itself decreased by 40%. Interestingly, frozen coffee doesn’t show the same swing, with consumption remaining steady at 11% since the summer.
Like coffee’s overall popularity, some other findings in today’s report show remarkable staying power. Drip coffee makers have been the most popular preparation method for at least the last 13 years since the question was first included in the NCDT. 40% of past-day coffee drinkers have had coffee prepared in a drip brewer.
In second place, 28% of past-day coffee drinkers used a single-cup brewer, holding steady with performance over the last few years.
Our NCDT insights don’t end there! That’s just a small sip of the data and analysis available in the full report. Stay tuned here on the NCD blog for more sneak peeks and click here to purchase the NCDT consumer research series.
The “endless aisles” of eCommerce means that consumers have easy access to millions of products that meet their specific needs. In 2021, there were 36,263 coffee products across 1,769 different brands, over 100X more than a typical grocery store!
All this means that winning in eCommerce requires a different approach than traditional retail stores. E-Commerce managers need to make sure that the products can be discovered by consumers (via search), that consumers understand the product benefits (via the product detail page), and that consumers are persuaded to buy (i.e., conversion). Plus, consumer expectations continue to rise. Consumers shop multiple channels and are constantly comparing product offerings across sites. This means that best-in-class digital content is critical to helping brands win in eCommerce.
1. Great copywriting (and keywords) helps your product be found in search. The goal of copywriting to improve your brand’s organic search rank within the category. Improving organic search results will also improve the return on advertising spending, because your marketing dollars will not have to work as hard. The secret to great copywriting is the artful blend of channel-specific keyword research, coupled with persuasive and clear writing, all while staying true to your brand’s voice.
2. Product photography and lifestyle images drive conversion. eCommerce shoppers spend less than four seconds before they click on a specific product listing. This is why it is critical to have eye-catching and appealing digital images. Product images need to grab shoppers’ attention, communicate the key benefits, and persuade consumers to buy the product. Given the importance of product images, we strongly recommend that eCommerce sellers have at least 5 images per product listing. To maximize eCommerce sales, all images should be created with a mobile-first approach.
3. Enhanced Brand Content (also known as Rich Media or A+ Content) boosts conversions by 12%-36%, according to Walmart.com. In fact, some retailers are starting to mandate the use of Enhanced Brand Content because of the improved customer experience. Enhanced Brand Content typically sits below-the-fold, just before product reviews. Because of this position, many consumers will scroll to this section while they do additional product research before making an online purchase.
HINGE GLOBAL is a leading full-service eCommerce agency, with particularly strong experience in Coffee and Foodservice. Their team of eCommerce experts can help you optimize your online product detail pages, copywriting, and enhanced content. Additionally, through their partnership with Salsify, HINGE GLOBAL can publish all your digital content to all your eCommerce sites, including Amazon.com, Walmart.com, Target.com, Shopify, and more. Reach out to HINGE GLOBAL for more information at contact@hingeglobal.com.
Over the past several months, there has been a flood of media coverage taking what seem to me to be increasingly panicked approaches to covering changing coffee prices and what it may mean for coffee consumers.
As many of us have experienced first-hand, the COVID-19 pandemic has devastated communities around the globe and put extraordinary strain on the supply chains coffee relies on every day but that rarely see the spotlight. Suppliers of everything from toilet paper to furniture to shipping containers and computer chips have struggled to keep up with dramatic shifts in consumer demand, shortages of certain ingredients and inputs, and skyrocketing prices for transportation — not to mention the pandemic’s impacts on workers, their health, and their workplaces.
Of course, since coffee is a beloved staple in grocery shopping carts, media reports about potential shortages or price increases generate a lot of questions – and clicks.
NCA has taken a steady approach throughout, turning first to the data. As NCA reported in our September 2020 report on coffee consumption during the pandemic, COVID-19 has greatly impacted where Americans drink coffee (driving more at-home consumption, unsurprisingly) but had relatively little impact on how much coffee we drink or how often.
Coffee farm in Minas Gerais, Brazil
In fact, overall coffee demand has been remarkably stable for decades. About 60% of Americans drink coffee every day, more than any other beverage, and that has been the case for at least ten years. Coffee is a pleasure a part of life – and a habit, and our latest consumer research, which we’ll be releasing in the coming weeks, shows that consumers are gradually returning to the pre-pandemic coffee drinking customs.
Coffee planting, harvesting, and purchasing also tend toward stability. Coffee trees are slow growers, taking several years to reach maturity. Planting and purchasing plans are typically made several years in advance, and coffee can be transported and stored for relatively long periods of time, helping to smooth out peaks and valleys in supply and demand.
Another factor that has cushioned the impact of current stressors on consumers’ coffee experience is that we’ve actually had a surplus of coffee on the global market for many years. That is, until recently farmers grew more coffee than the world drank. That surplus supply kept prices below levels seen in the past. In 2019 the surplus helped lead to global coffee prices decreasing by 15 percent.
Now, between COVID-19 impacts and the effects of both drought and frost in Brazil – one of the world’s most significant coffee producers – USDA predicts that for the first time since 2015 the world will drink more coffee in the year ahead than farmers will grow in that year. The frost in Brazil, linked to a supply deficit forecast by some, is what has set off new rounds of speculation about prices.
But speculation is just that. Many people are working hard to fully measure and understand the full impact of the extreme weather in Brazil and how to help impacted farmers recover. Estimates so far have ranged widely, with the most recent reports suggesting crop damage is less extensive than had been feared.
From extreme weather to new requirements for health and safety in coffee shops, I’m proud and grateful to say the coffee industry has been remarkably resilient – and remains committed to the future of coffee. Whether through commitments made under Conservation International’s Sustainable Coffee Challenge, individual programs, or the ongoing work of the International Coffee Organization, the industry’s commitment to sustainability — and the farmers who grow coffee — has persevered throughout the pandemic.
Coffee prices are determined by many factors, and the NCA plays no role in their trajectory. Whatever the future holds, we will continue to closely monitor consumption and market data, work to support farmers’ crops and livelihoods, and be a champion for coffee by providing accurate, informed information and insight to help guide us into the future.
NCA: We Serve Coffee.
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With the UN General Assembly kicking off
this week in New York and the International Coffee Organization convening in
London next week, we’re heading into a busy time for the global coffee
community. With all the travel hours ahead of us, it’s a good time to pause and
reflect on the hard questions and big opportunities that will shape coffee’s
future.
Numerous studies
show coffee consumption reduces risk of everything from dementia to heart
disease to depression to certain types of cancer. The science is clear – coffee is good for the
people who drink it. This past summer even California joined the side of
scientific consensus to recognize coffee’s health benefits.
It’s not just that some coffee is
good. More coffee is better. In fact,
research from the National Institute of Health shows that drinking six or seven cups of coffee a day may
reduce the risk of death from any cause by up to 16 percent. The average
American coffee drinker only drinks three cups per day currently, meaning many
of us are missing out on coffee’s full potential.
Even better – an extra cup of joe (or five)
isn’t just good for the people who drink coffee, it’s good for the people who
grow it.
The world currently grows a billion pounds
more coffee than we drink. A study
commissioned by the World Coffee Producers Forum confirmed that coffee prices
are stable based on current supply, particularly driven by increased efficiency
in leading coffee-growing countries.
A pound of wholesale arabica coffee beans has been selling for under $1 since March, the lowest price point in more than a decade. One pound of ground coffee will make about 48 cups.
But experts say consumers will still be paying the same price for a cup of coffee or latte in stores and cafes. While wholesale coffee prices have been dropping, coffee prices for consumers have actually been going up.
The latest update from the Brazilian Coffee Exports Council (CECAFE) indicated 2018 was another bumper year for the largest producer and exporter of coffee in the world. “Statistics show that Brazil maintained its world leadership position and signs are that 2019 will bring even better results,” said Nelson Carvalhaes, Chairman of the Brazilian Exporters Coffee Council.
CECAFE’s recent update is full of interesting trends and statistics for coffee producers, connoisseurs, and consumers alike. And given Brazil’s scale in the global coffee market, updates from CECAFE always act as a useful barometer on the health of our industry overall.
Amazon’s food and beverage category has posted $4.75 billion in sales so far in 2018, making it the online retailer’s fastest growing segment, according to Automatic Vending watch.
And coffee continues to lead category. According to Edge Market Share, coffee sales on Amazon have totaled more than $140 million so far this year – and are expected to increase.
If the first wave of coffee was defined as having packaged coffee available in the home in packaged formats, the fourth wave may be the idea of having premium coffee available everywhere, all the time.
“It all begins with the coffee shop,” says Michael Schaefer, Euromonitor, in Food Navigator USA.
By 
National Coffee Association Blog 