One Cup at a Time
About 83 percent of consumers drink coffee, states Packaged Facts in its July “Single-Cup Brew Beverage Products” report. However, the way consumers are brewing coffee is changing dramatically. The use of drip-pot coffeemakers fell from 77 percent in 2010 to 61 percent in 2012, Packaged Facts states. The use of single-serve coffee brewers, meanwhile, has increased significantly.
“Category Insight: Coffee,” a May report from global market researcher Mintel, notes that the single-cup coffee segment grew from $103 million in 2007 to $1.8 billion in 2012. This growth, and the continued room for expansion, bodes well for retailers interested in the single-serve coffee cup market.
Trends with traction
A key trend in the single-cup coffee market is consumers’ desire for a variety of flavors. Mintel reports that 71 percent of coffee users in the United States claim that choice of flavors is an important attribute when purchasing coffee. Retailers, therefore, have an opportunity to get creative and build excitement in the coffee aisle with limited-edition or seasonal flavors, says Clay Dockery, division vice president, corporate brands for Portsmouth, Va.-based Massimo Zanetti.
Mintel reports that the majority of the flavor innovations have focused on sweeter notes such as fruit, vanilla, caramel and dessert flavors with a shift from dark to light roasts. Some examples are pumpkin spice, peppermint, cinnamon hazelnut, caramel apple and raspberry chocolate.
Additionally, single-serve coffee consumers are very concerned about the waste generated by brewing systems, Dockery says. In 2010, it was estimated that 3 billion single-serve beverage pods were disposed of each day, Packaged Facts reports. This concern for the environment is spurring companies such as Massimo Zanetti to create compostable beverage pods, he says.
Trends on the horizon
One thing consumers have noticed with the use of rigid cups in single-serve coffee brewers is the lack of sensory stimulation. Retailers may want to take this shortcoming into serious consideration as they move forward with their own private label single-serve formats.
“Consumers really miss the smell of coffee when brewing from a rigid cup format,” says Susan Lambert, business development manager, corporate brands, Massimo Zanetti. “We’re continually seeing consumer data asking for that coffee smell to be present when the bag is first opened. Because of this, we’ve found that single-serve soft pods, which allow the consumer to smell the coffee upon opening the bag for the first time, are preferred by a ratio of three to one over rigid cups.”
Coffee as a healthful beverage has also begun to gain traction among consumers. Recently, researchers reported finding positive associations between coffee consumption and health benefits such as reduced likelihood of developing type 2 diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, dementia and even certain types of cancer, Packaged Facts reports. Retailers could take advantage of these positive reports and start touting the health benefits of coffee, Dockery states. And of course, when drunk black, coffee is a zero-calorie drink, another great attribute to call out on the packaging, he adds.