Consumers Highly Prefer Semi-Automatic Coffee Machines
By Dan Bolton
The growing sophistication of semi- and fully-automated coffee machines delight consumers literally everywhere they turn.
Grocery and corner markets, hairdressers, laundromats, offices, vending, and even car washes now compete with fast-serve restaurants, convenience stores and gas stations for coffee dollars previously spent at specialty coffee shops and cafés. Worldwide demand for coffee has increased more than 50 % since the 1990s, according to the International Coffee Organization (ICO).
Coffee machines are an important reason for the sustained growth in value in food and beverage. Globally coffee machine sales are expected to reach 58.7 million units in 2019, according to Fact.MR. Growth, estimated at 4% year-over-year in 2018, will accelerate to 4.6% through 2027, according to the research firm’s latest Coffee Machine Market report.
“Industry titans are introducing intelligent innovations that customers find really pleasing,” according to Fact.MR. Researchers cited next-generation equipment with “one-touch controls for a cup of coffee, personalization options, and convenient mobile application-based controls.”
Drip vs Single-serve
Cafes accounted for 3 in 10 sales in 2018 with easy operation, simple design, and quality brewing the key factors responsible for the significant demand for drip coffee machines. An estimated 25 million machines, 43%, will be purchased by cafés, popularity sustained by a good price point compared to single serve. Restaurants account for the second largest sales of coffee machines.
“While drip and steam coffee machines continue to be lucrative, sales of capsule-based coffee machines are expected to increase by more than 5% in 2019 against the backdrop of increasing preference for specialty coffee varieties among consumers,” writes Fact.MR. Sales are increasingly completed online with 4 units in 10 purchased from distributors and manufacturers]’s websites and online equipment malls. The retail channel accounts for 30% of sales.
Semi-automatic’s popularity
Customer customization is the heart of the coffee shop experience, leading coffee drinkers to insist on lots of variations. Machines that fresh-grind coffee beans and those that dispense vegan whiteners are examples.
“The study finds that semi-automatic coffee machine sales will surpass 27 million units in 2019 driven by individual preference and convenience, speed, quality, and brand image,” according to Fact.MR.
Home-trade trails sales to hotels, restaurants, cafés, institutional, and residential customers but convenience at home is leading to rapidly rising sales from a small base. Consumers in North America and Europe are most likely to own a coffee brewer.
According to Fact.MR, North America will continue to register significant demand for coffee machines, accounting for more than two-fifths of global sales in 2019. Demand in Europe follows with about one fifth volume share of the global market.