Expanding Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee in the EU

Expanding Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee in the EU Windward Commodities 30th June 2022 4.3. Markets Old and New Each European market is different and the analysis above, coupled with an understanding of culture and trends across key EU markets is important when targeting growth for small volumes of a niche brand like JBM. Commentary is from the EU SCA:

Country

Market Profile and Key Consumer Insights

Germany (existing)

Germany has the largest coffee focused shop market in the EU introducing high-quality coffees and educating German consumers. This is being accompanied by the expansion of small-scale roasters, with established speciality importers buying small volumes of high quality, single origin or FairTrade coffees. These include Berlin’s Supremo, The Barn, The Elephant and Flying Roasters. Germany also has some specialised importers including Rehm & Co and Touton Specialities Coffee (high-quality coffees), El Puente (Fair Trade) and Slokoffee (Organic). Falcon Speciality Coffee based in the UK, also has an office in Germany. Falcon Speciality have launched Falcon Micro, with speciality micro lots delivered in 5KG boxes targeting nano roasters who would otherwise buy one coffee bag at a time. InterAmerican, the speciality arm of the green coffee trader Neumann Kaffee Group is also based in Germany. From SCA: ‘Coffee is one of the country’s most-consumed beverages, and it is enjoyed mainly at home as filter coffee. However, the popularity of filter coffee has decreased slightly in recent years as the preference for single-serve pods and capsules increased. With more young people getting into the habit of consuming coffee, there’s an array of coffee shops and coffee places that have opened in the last few years to serve this need.’ France also has a fast-growing speciality coffee sector, mainly in larger cities. The sector is currently at 2-3% coffee market but expected to grow to 10% by 2025. Speciality shops include Matamata coffee and Alter Ego, with Belco, a speciality trader based in Bordeaux focused on medium specialty blenders and micro-lots, with a presence in El Salvador and Ethiopia. ‘The general public’s understanding of coffee could be compared to the one they have of wine… Although, there is a clear upward trend in home consumption of coffee in the form of pods and capsules… the most popular brewing methods seem to be filter and espresso, and the quality has improved significantly in the last five years.’ Scandinavian Countries are focused on high-quality coffees, with Denmark, Norway and Sweden registering the highest growth in high-quality coffee shops since 2010. In Sweden, about ten new small roasteries open each year, and Denmark registered the highest growth rate of new coffee shops at 14.5% in 2018. The largest chain operating in Scandinavia is Espresson House, with approximately 350 shops. Examples of speciality roaster/ coffee shops include), Kafferäven and Drop Coffee Roasters (Sweden), Coffee Collective and Sonny (Denmark), and Solburg & Hansen (the largest speciality coffee roaster in Europe), Nordic Approach, Lippe and Fuglen (Norway). Nordic focuses on sourcing the absolute best micro-lots and blends with full price traceability for a demanding, complex market. ‘Nordic countries register the highest per capita coffee consumption, but general public’s understanding of coffee is very low. Specialty coffee is consumed by young people, 20-45 years old. There’s a noticeable increase when it comes to specialty, and drip coffee is back in style.’ Eastern European markets are small but with lots of potential, with numbers of coffee shops growing exponentially. The number of speciality coffee shops in Romania, for example, rose from only three to more than ninety between 2013 and 2019, with Hungary having over 150 speciality shops. Examples of specialised coffee shops include Rebel Bean, Plato Café and Misto Café (Czech Republic), Two Minutes and The Urbanist (Romania), Black Sheep and The Goat Herder (Hungary), and Java Coffee Roasters and Hayb Coffee (Poland). Coffee festivals in Eastern Europe also reflect an opportunity, including Bucharest Coffee Festival and Prague Coffee Festival. Many Eastern European countries now also have their own SCA chapters. ‘South-Eastern Europe is witnessing dynamic coffee scenes, with Greece, Romania, and Turkey seeing a lot happening with a really strong connection of coffee to tradition and culture. Here, you have a strong cezve/ ibrik tradition in tandem with the third wave coffee scene.’

France (existing)

Scandinavia (existing)

Eastern Europe (existing)

18 | Time to Wake Up and ‘Cup’ the Coffee