For most Americans drinking instant coffee is submerging your self into a gross pile of shit holes or in other words coffee is not acceptable in the society of coffee aficionados — a far inferior substitute to an organic fair-trade blend or their local Starbucks. But it seems the rest of the world disagrees.
According to a new research firm, Euromonitor says “the world is split roughly 50-50 on its preference for fresh vs. instant coffee. And, instant coffee is on the rise: sales have nearly tripled since 2000. Last year, the world consumed nearly $31 billion-worth of instant coffee; in 2018, we’re expected to drink more than $35 billion.”
And during Euromonitor interview with The Washington Post, they stated, “the rest of the world just doesn’t share the same disgust for instant coffee that is common in the U.S., where instant coffee makes up just $960 million of a more than $30 billion market. Even in areas that prefer fresh coffee, such as Europe, instant coffee is an accepted go-to at home.”
Most areas who drink instant coffee sees it as a quick and convenient go-to beverage that gives them the kick they needed to start their day, but it doesn’t give the same pleasure as specialty coffee does.
For others, especially commoners drinking instant coffee is part of their daily routine that they need to drink coffee even thou it’s not a specialty coffee because that’s already part of their culture or part of what they used to drink.
“Euromonitor predicts that the U.K. and Mexico, traditional markets for instant coffee, will be two of the top market for growth from 2013 to 2018, growing retail value by over $400 million and $350 million, respectively.”
Another reason why some areas prefer instant coffee than specialty coffee is the lack of knowledge whereas most of these areas are still catching on to the world domination of specialty coffee.
The world’s current biggest consumer of instant coffee is the Asia Pacific region, with major growth countries including China, the Philippines, and India, which accounted for almost half of the world’s instant coffee retail volume in 2013. While the region’s volume share is inflated by the Asia Pacific’s love of instant coffee mixes, instant coffee has the benefit of becoming the “gateway coffee” for new coffee drinkers due to its easy format and variety in flavors.
The bottom line is instant coffee may prove to be a very profitable to increase Asia’s caffeine consumption.
Sources: Entrepreneur
