Almost every household now buys coffee; consumption grows by 10%

Almost every Filipino household now buys coffee, primarily in mixes format (3-in-1 coffee) , solidifying its foothold as the Filipinos’ staple beverage. A study conducted by Kantar Worldpanel shows that coffee more than doubled its growth from 4.0 percent in June, 2014 to 10 percent this June, 2015, outpacing the growth of the total beverage segment at 5.0 percent for the same period.

“Coffee remains to be the go-to beverage of Filipinos for an instant pick-me-up or energy boost,” says Lourdes Deocareza, New Business Development Head, Kantar Worldpanel Philippines. “The ongoing coffee craze in the country is reflected in the Filipinos’ shopping habits, especially with the increase in their purchases of Great Taste and Kopiko products over the past year,” she adds.

The world leader in consumer knowledge and insights based on consumer panels tracked the shopping behaviour of 3,000 Filipino homes in urban and rural areas across the country from June 2014 to June 2015.

According to Kantar Worldpanel, the recent 10 percent growth of coffee is driven mainly by mixes or 3-in-1.

The increase of purchases of coffee mixes has been consistent for the past 2 years, with a growth of 11 percent in 2014 and 15 percent in 2015. Data also shows that 93 percent of Filipino homes buy coffee mixes at least once a week. Driving sales of coffee mixes are the NCR, South Luzon, and Mindanao markets, with 320,000 more homes buying coffee mixes in South Luzon alone. For NCR and Mindanao, consumers are spending 193 and 110 pesos more on the average.

At the forefront of the coffee mixes sales growth are the Great Taste and Kopiko brands. Great Taste enjoyed a market share of 28.2 percent in June 2014, which grew to 34.5 percent of the coffee mixes category in June 2015. It has recruited an additional 8.3 percent of Philippine homes while at the same time increasing spend of its consumers by 105 pesos throughout the year Meanwhile, Kopiko improved shares to 25 percent from 23.9 percent in 2014. Kopiko enjoyed more buyers as well with an increase of 8.7 percent of Philippine homes purchasing its coffee mixes in 2015.

Kantar Worldpanel further reveals that for every 100 pesos spent by Filipino homes on beverages, 30 pesos is spent on coffee, an increase from 28 pesos in 2014.

Moreover, Filipinos are said to be buying coffee products close to twice per week or about 81 times a year, spending 22 pesos on the average per shopping trip. Heavy coffee buyers buy close to three times a week or 126 times in a year and spend 28 pesos ineach shopping trip. Kantar Worldpanel data also notes that these buyers are more biased towards 3-in-1 mixes and are typically NCR and urban-based, and from homes with a relatively older demographic.

According to Deocareza, “Filipinos’ love for coffee is growing stronger by the year. Our data reflects their openness to embrace different formats of coffee products as well. We anticipate this category growth to continue in the coming years.”