More Americans are back on their daily coffee habit as workforce swells
Coffee is getting a boost in the U.S., the world’s biggest consumer, helped by the country’s historically tight labor market.
After a lull during the pandemic, 66 percent of the U.S. are now drinking coffee daily, the most in about five years, according to a National Coffee Association survey. Driving the gains are coffee lovers age 40 and up who are rejoining the labor force and need the caffeine. By comparison, just 58 percent of Americans were daily coffee drinkers in 2021 and 63 percent in 2020.
That older cohort is guzzling more traditional brews at home, as opposed to specialty drinks at cafes favored by their millennial counterparts.
“Consumers have found a way to make their favorite beverages at home,” said Cheryl Hung of DIG Insights Inc., who presented results during the National Coffee Association’s annual conference.
Home coffee drinking will probably continue, because it’s seen as a way to save money, and Americans are getting less confident about their financial situations, Hung said. The U.S. is currently seeing the worst inflation in four decades.
Food-service sales are still 70 percent of prepandemic levels, Mark DiDomenico, of researcher Datassential, said during the conference. Sales may recover to 2019 levels by this year, but won’t exceed them probably until 2023. Only 27 percent of coffee drinkers now get their fix at cafes and restaurants, compared to 35 percent before the pandemic, said Hung.
Futures for high-grade arabica beans surged more than 70 percent in the past year after severe drought and frost and excess rains curbed production in Brazil, the top producer, and second ranked Colombia. Elevated transportation costs also compounded the gains.