While some parts of the world are still playing catch up, Australia is miles ahead in the quality coffee stakes!
We can thank our European counterparts for their influence on our nation’s coffee culture.
Australians’ penchant for quality has filtered (pardon the pun) down to the coffee we drink. According to Roy Morgan research, Aussies are showing no signs of kicking caffeine to the curb, with the average coffee drinker consuming a whopping 478.4 cups a year! Backed by our industry’s love of quality coffee, this industry segment was better supported during the GFC. This is because coffee is perceived as an affordable luxury, which means that even when times are tough and consumers have less discretionary income to spend, they’re still highly likely to keep buying it.
Two-hatted Sydney chef, Giovanni Pilu was once quoted as saying: "There is nothing worse than bad coffee. If you finish a sensational meal with bad coffee, what do you remember? The bad coffee. Life is too short for bad coffee,"" And as a society of self-proclaimed coffee snobs, we can relate.
This industry segment is still in its growth phase, however with a low level of capital required for set up, and minimal barriers for entry, competition is intense between market players – and there are a lot of them! With this in mind, it’s more critical than ever to keep your customers front of mind and understand what they want.
Intense competition also tends to drive prices down as operators compete for customers, forcing business owners to focus on other areas to increase their profit margins. Typically, most operators focus on reducing wastage and staff wages (trending towards casual work arrangements), and increasing operating efficiency by replacing faulty, old or outdated equipment.
Using a funding option that specialises in flexibility at its core, such as Silver Chef, allows operators to protect cash flow and keep capital in their name.
Article source: Silver Chef, and the Hospitality Industry Success Index Report 2015.