(Bloomberg) -- Coffee is getting a boost in the U.S., the world’s biggest consumer, helped by the country’s historically tight labor market.
After a lull during the pandemic, 66% of the U.S. are now drinking coffee daily, the most in about five years, according to a National Coffee Association survey. Driving the gains are coffee lovers age 40 and up who are rejoining the labor force and need the caffeine. By comparison, just 58% of Americans were daily coffee drinkers in 2021 and 63% in 2020.
That older cohort is guzzling more traditional brews at home, as opposed to specialty drinks at cafes favored by their millennial counterparts.
“Consumers have found a way to make their favorite beverages at home,” said Cheryl Hung of DIG Insights Inc., who presented results during the National Coffee Association’s annual conference.
Home coffee drinking will probably continue, because it’s seen as a way to save money, and Americans are getting less confident about their financial situations, Hung said. The U.S. is currently seeing the worst inflation in four decades.
Food-service sales are still 70% of prepandemic levels, Mark DiDomenico, of researcher Datassential, said during the conference. Sales may recover to 2019 levels by this year, but won’t exceed them probably until 2023.
Futures for high-grade arabica beans surged more than 70% in the past year after severe drought and frost and excess rains curbed production in Brazil, the top producer, and second ranked Colombia. Elevated transportation costs also compunded the gains.
The group’s study was conducted in January among more than 1,500 adults 18 years or older.
©2022 Bloomberg L.P.
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