Coffee, Tea Consumption Up

Coffee and tea are top beverage choices for the majority of U.S. adult consumers. In fact, 60% of consumers reported drinking regular hot coffee or tea within the last month, second only to the 62% who had a non-diet carbonated soft drink during the same time period, according to new market data from Technomic.

According to the “Market Intelligence Report: Coffee and Tea," retailers also have seen increases in coffee and tea sales, especially single-cup coffee varieties. Foodservice operators are responding to coffee and tea's popularity by keeping the classic drinks in their basic forms on menus and putting new and interesting spins on them, from toppings and add-ins to frozen-blended treats to adult-beverage choices.

Survey results also found 14% of consumers are purchasing more regular hot coffee today than they did two years ago, and 10% say the same about iced tea by the cup or glass. When it comes to tea, 73% of consumers prefer antioxidant-rich green tea because of its healthful benefits, making it the most appealing flavor for hot or iced tea.

Grocery, drug and mass-merchandise stores witnessed a 15.9% increase in coffee sales from 2007-2010. Although each type of retailer saw a gain, mass merchandisers achieved the biggest increase (53.1%) to coffee sales of $318 million in 2010 from $208 million in 2007.

With the exception of frozen/blended coffee drinks, all other types of coffee and tea drinks have steadily increased in price since 2008. Offered for an average price of $2.25 in 2008, regular coffee now sells for an average of $2.36; tea/iced tea products increased from an average of $2.40 in 2008 to $2.57 in 2010.