Coffee shops are trendsetters for the coffee consumption by Germans. According to Mr. Holger Preibisch, managing director of the German Coffee Association in Hamburg, the rising number of coffee shops shows that the consumption of coffee is becoming a lifestyle factor in Germany. Currently, there are about 1400 coffee shops in Germany.
Their example effects the entire coffee market. Coffee shops display a multitude of different ways for the preparation of coffee which consumers are more and more seeking to use at home too. This is also one of the reasons for which the market for Espresso is rapidly growing, explains Mr. Preibisch one of the most obvious developments in the market.
According to the association, the average per capita consumption of coffee amounted to 146 litres in 2007. Even though this is the same volume as in 2006, it is still higher than the consumption of mineral and medical water (130.4 litres consumption in 2007) or beer (116 litres in 2006). Thus, coffee is the most consumed beverage in Germany.
The consumption of Espresso and Caffè Crema increased by 20% in comparison with the previous year. In 2007 imports from Italy amounted to 16,000 tons while 20,000 tons of Espresso and Caffè Crema consumed were produced in Germany. Thus, for the first time Germans consumed more Espresso and Caffè Crema roasted in Germany than was the amount imported from Italy.
In particular the market for capsules and pads has grown. “Last year Germans attached even more importance to convenience. The consumption of pads and capsules increased by a fantastic 50% to 21,000 tons”, says Mr. Preibisch. One reason is said to be the increasing number of single households and an ever faster moving society which calls for coffee at the push of a button.
The classical kind of coffee is still the filter coffee which reaches a market share of about 80%. Roasted coffee registered a slight growth by about 0.5%. Turnover in purely soluble coffee increased by 1% as compared to the previous year. In total, a volume of 512.000 tons of raw coffee was processed into 394,000 tons of roasted coffee and 16,000 tons for soluble coffee.
Even though the prices for raw coffee increased significantly just as did overhead costs, such as for energy and personnel, the average price for 500 grams of roasted coffee remained virtually unchanged in 2007 and amounted to on average 3.76 Euros. In total, turnover of the German coffee industry amounted to 4.25 billion Euros which is the same level as in 2007. 