
The Romanian capital of Bucharest generates a third of the country’s total coffee market value.
Post-pandemic Romanians are embracing coffee culture. Romania, a country at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe, is steadily growing these days, thanks to generally stable local consumption and improving local economics.
Romania remains one of the smallest markets in the EU in terms of volume and value.
Marius Meleșteu, general manager of Strauss Romania, a subsidiary of Strauss Group and one of the leading local players, estimates Romanians consume approximately 59,000–60,000 metric tons, of which instant coffee represents 4,000 tons. Although the per capita consumption of coffee in Romania is growing, the country still occupies the last position in the European Union, with approximately 249 cups of coffee per year. In value terms, the consumption is estimated at approximately $95 per year, much lower than the $285 spent by Germans and $222 by Italians.
Since the beginning of 2020, the Romanian coffee market has been experiencing a serious transformation, which involves a change in consumption patterns. More and more local customers are oriented towards beans and capsules and less towards roasted and ground coffee. In the case of ground coffee, the decline of its consumption has already led to the reduction of the entire segment, which for the last two years has declined by about 10%, although still representing half of the local coffee market in both value and volume.
According to a recent study conducted by the Romanian research agency the Hospitality Culture Institute, at present a significant part of the country’s coffee market accounts for the out-of-home segment, which has greatly increased since the end of the pandemic. At present, it is estimated at 600 million euros in value, mostly concentrated in the major urban centers of the country. According to official market data, a third of this amount is being generated by the Romanian capital Bucharest. Cities such as Ploiesti, Braşov, Timisoara, Oradea, and Cluj are also large consumers.
Most local analysts expect coffee consumption to continue growing in the years to come, as the country has big potential for further growth.
Florin Maxim, founder of the Hospitality Culture Institute, comments:
“Romania is still far from the average consumption of coffee at the European level, but things are evolving in a positive direction. Thanks to big players, consumption in the out-of-home segment has significantly increased, while specialty cafes show good opportunities for growth. Despite such growth, specialty coffee still remains a niche when compared to the entire industry. Good signs also come from the investment area, with large international funds showing increasing interest in this field.”
According to Maxim, the Romanian coffee market will continue to grow in the coming years, and the out-of-home segment is expected to be one of the major drivers for such growth. Analysts also believe that the growth of specialty coffee consumption will contribute to the increase in the number of specialty coffee shops. The segment of coffee capsules, which significantly grew during the pandemic, is also among the most promising for growth.
Analysts expect the interest of global majors in the Romanian coffee market to also grow. An example of this is Lavazza Group, which has significantly strengthened its position in Romania in recent years and is planning a further expansion.

President of Lavazza group, Giuseppe Lavazza, is attracted to Romania’s growing coffee market.
That has been recently confirmed by Giuseppe Lavazza, president of the Italian Lavazza group. Giuseppe Lavazza comments: “Romania is a very important country for our group. It has always tended to grow from the point of view of coffee consumption. It is a market that is doing very well. We want to grow.”
For Lavazza, accelerating expansion in Romania is part of its corporate strategy, which involves more active development in foreign markets. In general, in recent years, foreign expansion has become one of the company's priorities. This is also confirmed by official figures, according to which in 2020, up to 60% of the company’s turnover accounted for the domestic Italian market, while at present, these figures are only 30%, with the remaining accounting for foreign markets.
In terms of market structure, the top five manufacturers generate 75% of the market, both in value and volume terms, while the list of leading players consists of Cafea Fortuna, JDE, Nestlé, Strauss, and Tchibo. At the same time, in contrast to many other EU states, the share of the private label segment is insignificant. According to Marius Melește, the president of the Romanian Coffee Association, “Romania is a market of brands, with a high rate of adoption of innovations and novelties, where coffee producers compete for a place in the minds of consumers. With few exceptions, private label is not an option for consumers”.
Many analysts expect the segment of coffee beans and capsules to be the most promising growth in the Romanian coffee market this year.
Marian Ene, country manager of Romania and Bulgaria for Tchibo, recently confirmed this in an interview with the Romanian Revista Progresiv business paper. “The rise of the two segments—coffee beans and capsules—can be attributed to consumers’ orientation towards comfort and diversity,” she said.
Then Ene goes on to comment on the impact that the post-pandemic return to eating out has had on the home coffee market. “The desire to maintain quality and use technology is obvious; thus, Romanians turned to using automatic and semi-automatic coffee machines, as well as machines with capsules. That led to increased purchases of roasted coffee beans and capsules. Amid the ongoing development of the HoReCa segment, consumers resume going out, and this change in behavior certainly has a negative impact on the evolution of the home coffee market”.

Romanians are frequenting specialty coffee shops like 5-to-Go in increasing numbers after the pandemic.
According to ISRA Strauss Brand Performance Tracker Study, in recent years the penetration of espresso machines in the Romanian market has increased, which has led to a democratization of specialty coffee. According to market data, every year, more than 300,000 home espresso machines are bought in Romania. Moreover online sales of beans have almost doubled in the last two years.
Still, according to Meleșteu, the growth in these categories does not allow to compensate for the decrease in traditional categories, particularly ground coffee.
In general, as Meleșteu and other experts believe, the demand for coffee in Romania will remain stable this year despite a significant increase in prices for it in recent years, which since 2021 have grown by 50%.
Romania’s Coffee Shop Boom

5-to-Go is Romania’s fastest-growing coffee chain.
Europe is experiencing a growth spurt in coffee shops, with 31 of Europe’s 40 largest branded coffee shop markets adding outlets totaling 42,804 coffee shops in 2023.
“Romania is the fastest-growing market in Europe by outlets, expanding 29% over the last 12 months. Domestic brand 5-to-Go is the fastest-growing coffee chain, with 181 net new stores,” according to Project Café Europe 2023, a comprehensive analysis by World Coffee Portal. Annual turnover is estimated at $50 million.

5-to-Go co-founders Lucian Bădilă, left, and Radu Savopol.
Co-founders Lucian Bădilă and Radu Savopol plan to open 150 outlets in 2024, a $54 million investment. The Bucharest-based chain, founded in 2015, currently operates 500 outlets in 40 Romanian cities and two shops in Hungary. According to the World Coffee Portal, the chain plans to expand to 50 outlets in Slovakia by 2028 and then Bulgaria.
Analysts write that major branded shops dominate the market. The 20 largest chains account for 48% of the market share and operate 62% of total outlets. The UK remains the largest market, with 9,885 outlets, followed by Germany, with 6,798 stores, and Russia, which grew 2.2% last year to reach 4,474 outlets.
Sluggish economies, high inflation, and the rising cost of living are dragging on growth continent-wide, but the segment expanded by a respectable 3.3%. Seventy-six percent of European operators surveyed reported increased sales, with half reporting revenue growth of 5% or greater.
Allegra Group Founder and CEO Jeffrey Young described a convergence of headwinds but remains optimistic: “We expect most European branded coffee shop markets to weather the current instability and maintain steady growth in the years ahead,” he writes.