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I n recent years, we have seen a growing interest in advantage of this lack of knowledge in various ways. But that’s need to help people understand what specialty coffee is and modity coffee industry as a whole. Should specialty coffee be
I believe that half of the answer lies in education. We
only one part of the story. To help people recognise the real
a niche market? Should it just focus on a certain consumer
specialty coffee. Young consumers are increasing-
ly open to trying new things and are willing to
understand their needs.
show brand loyalty for a product that they perceive value of consuming specialty coffee, it’s important that we why it’s worth paying more for. That way they will be able to group? How can we bridge the gap between producers and
consumers so that both understand the value of the product
make informed decisions about their coffee consumption. The
as being more premium. This trend has been further reinforced What makes someone buy the cup of coffee that they do? other half of the answer lies in convenience. The industry needs beyond ever-changing trends? Can we tip the scales in special-
by the pandemic, as people have become even more aware of Why do they choose that particular coffee shop? Is it just be- to make it easier for people to access specialty coffee, without ty coffee’s flavor?
the importance of convenience and comfort. cause it’s the closest one to them? Or because they saw a good compromising on quality. These two things—educating con- These are questions that I have asked myself a few
However, despite this growing interest, specialty coffee marketing campaign? There are many factors that go into sumers and making specialty coffee more convenient—are by times since I started writing about coffee. And I am glad
still only accounts for a small percentage of the overall coffee someone’s decision-making process and this differs from gen- no means easy tasks. that I can share my thoughts with you on the last issue
market. And many people still don’t really understand what eration to generation. Indeed, there is a growing trend for Before we set out to achieve these goals, it’s important of this year. So before this year ends, let’s jump back in
it is or why it’s worth paying more for. This is partly due to choosing quality over quantity but trends are often fickle and to go back in time and understand how each generation’s cof- time and let’s understand how each generation’s coffee
the fact that there is a lot of confusion around terms such as can change quickly. So, how can we ensure that people choose fee needs and preferences have changed. We also need to needs have changed and how this can help guide special-
“gourmet” and “specialty”, and some companies often take specialty coffee in the long term? consider the current landscape of both the specialty and com- ty coffee’s future.

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