Pure indulgence

More outlets are raising the bar when it comes to the coffee they offer to encourage consumers to linger longer. John Porter looks at the trends.

Despite the recession, the UK's love affair with enjoying a cup of coffee out of home shows no sign of abating.

The 2011 Eating Out in the UK report, published by Allegra Strategies, estimates that 17% of informal eating outlets in the UK market are coffee shops. The biggest of these is Costa, with more than 800 outlets and still being expanded rapidly by brand owner Whitbread.

Even more significantly, alongside Costa in Allegra's 'top four' of informal branded outlets are franchised sandwich business Subway, managed pub group JD Wetherspoon  and fast food giant McDonald's. All have a strong focus on coffee as a route to business growth.

Subway's menus and meal deals focus on its freshly ground coffee offer, while Wetherspoon has a partnership with Italian brand Lavazza which sees the pub group serve more than 600,000 Rainforest Alliance certified coffees a week.

In July, McDonald's revealed that it sold nearly 100 million cups of coffee in the UK last year, with the head of UK operations Jill McDonald saying that "coffee has been a big part" of booming sales for the brand.

Costa is far from standing still in the face of increased competition. It has launched Costa Light, a new coffee serve that accounts for less than 80 calories for a 340ml primo size serving.

Promoted under the slogan: "All the love, none of the handles", the new addition to the menu is made by frothing skimmed milk with Costa's mocha espresso coffee.

Costa master of coffee, Gennaro Pelliccia, says: "We decided to work on developing Costa Light after listening to customer feedback which highlighted a need for a tasty, light yet indulgent coffee. It will appeal to all who are seeking a lower calorie option with a milder coffee kick, but do not wish to compromise on taste."

The company is also trialling new retail formats, for example, the first Costa Drive Thru it opened at the Castle Marina Retail Park in Nottingham in May.

Such developments show that coffee culture in the UK has penetrated much deeper than the chic urban image of coffee shops often portrayed by the media, says Martin Thorpe, head of dispense beverage business unit at Nestlé Professional.

"Nowadays, it's not unusual to see men drinking coffee in what used to be 'boozer' pubs. Indeed, a coffee A-board outside a pub, someone in a pub sitting at a table with a coffee, reading a book or working on a laptop, have all become commonplace."

This also means the traditional jugand- hotplate coffee offer which was once the staple of the pub and restaurant market needs to be updated, argues Thorpe. "The average customer knows cappuccino and latte and expects coffee of a decent standard."

Perennial coffee quality problems caused by inconsistent demand or poorly trained staff can be overcome with a fully automatic option, which can produce an 'espresso menu' consistently and without a great deal of staff training. Thorpe says: "The Nescafé Milano produces the coffee that consumers have seen on the high street, and it does so without any mess and wastage, and with low levels of staff training required."

Nestlé has also launched the Nescafé Plan, working with the Rainforest Alliance, the Sustainable Agriculture Network and 4C – the Common Code for the Coffee Community – to ensure a fair deal for producers.

This reflects the reality that ethically sourced coffee is now an expectation among many consumers rather than a point of difference.

Total UK sales of Fairtrade coffee were worth £157m in 2009, the most recent year for which the Fairtrade Foundation has figures available.

Leading distributor Peros says that ethical consumer spending is still bucking the recession with significant growth, especially in Fairtrade goods. Recent figures suggest sales of Fairtrade products grew by 40% in 2010 to an estimated retail value of £1.17bn compared with £836m in 2009.

"Clearly UK consumers are continuing to embrace Fairtrade and are not giving up their ethical values despite the tough economic times," says joint managing director James Roberts, adding that around 20% of roast and ground coffee sold in the UK is now Fairtrade.

"We have recently introduced a promotional calendar for each of our brands – Café direct and Eros – to help organise promotions and generate upselling opportunities throughout the year. The calendar contains a number of promotional concepts we will be supporting at appropriate times with special deals allowing customers to make the most of the opportunities.

"The cross selling offers refer to other products from Peros, such as bakery items from the One World range or chocolate from the Nero & Bianco range – all of which combine great taste with Fairtrade credentials."

Kraft's Kenco coffee is renowned for its ethical sourcing of coffee beans from Rainforest Alliance certified farms and promoting its sustainability, quality and value. This year the company has again linked with Macmillan Cancer Support to be the official coffee partner of the World's Biggest Coffee Morning 2011, which is Macmillan's flagship fundraising event.