Top Coffee Trends in 2021
One year into the Covid-19 pandemic, businesses are building the aptitude of limiting their occupancy and implementing social distancing as well as health protocols. Crowded coffee shops with students, digital nomads, and friends getting together are all but a distant memory in the past, however one thing remains true: people love coffee. Coffee businesses have to find new ways to navigate their trade during a pandemic, some show impressive persistence and ingenuity that actually became top coffee trends in 2021. Here are some creative solutions for coffee businesses to thrive during the pandemic.
Top Coffee Trends In 2021
1. International Coffee-based drinks
Since the beginning of the pandemic, lockdowns and restrictions on many parts of the world made coffee lovers turn to the Internet for coffee recipes, which started a viral trend for international coffee flavors to make at home. Restaurants and cafes also join the trend in carrying these flavors in their menu. From Korean dalgona coffee, Vietnamese iced coffee, Chinese boba drinks, this trend continues to rise in 2021 with Asian coffee drinks being the caffeinated beverages of choice.
2. Ready To Drink Coffee
With many people working from home and unable to lounge in their favorite cafe, there is a growing demand for ready-to-drink coffee that they can keep handy at all times at home. Cold brew coffee in one-litre bottles, canned coffee, and other ready-to-drink coffee products remains to be a popular concept in 2021.
3. Healthy coffee
The trend toward healthy coffee will continue to boom in 2021, thanks to the increasingly health-conscious population. Coffee lovers want to incorporate supplements and other nutritional boosters into their coffee to increase the health benefits. Supplements like matcha, turmeric, butter (bulletproof coffee or keto coffee), natural additives like mushroom powder and collagen creamer, and also plant-based milk such as almond milk, oat milk and coconut milk will stay in demand.
4. Coffee subscription
With coffee lovers brewing coffee at home in the face of the pandemic, coffee subscription plans have really increased in popularity. A subscription plan allows customers to get their favorite coffee beans conveniently delivered to their homes each month, which removes the hassle of going to the store or coffee house each time their coffee runs out. More and more coffee shops and coffee roasters will provide subscription services and personalized coffee deliveries, from roasted coffee beans, unroasted coffee beans, single origin coffee, or even cold brew coffee that remain one of the top coffee trends in 2021.
5. Contactless purchases
With the help of technology, new ways were created to facilitate safe, contactless transactions, including in the coffee industry. From online transactions, cashless payment at the storefront, to coffee vending machines and coffee drive-through spots, online classes on various topics about coffee, technology will continue to play a big part in the coffee industry.
6. Sustainable coffee
In recent times, a major attribute that coffee drinkers look for is the sustainability of their coffee. Not only do they want to know where the coffee beans are from, the customers also want to know if the beans are grown organically and processed naturally, if the trade is fair and ethical. Aside from that, there is also an increasing demand for eco-friendly materials associated with the coffee itself, such as sustainable packaging, biodegradable cups, non-plastic takeaways and refillable bottles. Sustainability and being environmentally friendly is still a strong trend in 2021.
7. Third-wave coffee
Despite the pandemic, coffee aficionados are making an effort of finding superior-quality coffee beans, actively searching for that unique small batch of single origin coffee that is sustainably sourced, carries a superior distinctive taste and comes with a story of every step of the supply chain. Third wave is all about appreciating quality and hard work.
8. Coffee tourism
Coffee lovers are now not only interested at coffee roasting machines, they also want to tour facilities that grow and process coffee beans. For coffee-growing regions, there lies the opportunity for a profitable coffee tourism industry where visitors can see how various coffee beans are grown and harvested, even roasted and brewed. Often these facilities also offer coffee cupping and sampling, while still adhering to health and safety regulations during the pandemic.
These new top coffee trends in 2021 create uniquely profitable business, even in difficult situations. A large percentage of the population still drink coffee regularly. For coffee business owners, staying on top of the coffee trends and learning to market them efficiently to different customer profiles will help their business grow in any climate.
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