NEW YORK -- The consumption rates of gourmet coffee, as well as occasional coffee, continue to grow, according to a recent study conducted by the National Coffee Association of USA here.
This represents an increase of 3 million new drinkers from 2000, with the entire increase coming from new occasional drinkers.
In addition, 81% of daily coffee drinkers consume the beverage at home, while 32% drink it at out-of-the-home places, whether at their office, in eating establishments or while traveling. Overlapping figures point to dual drinking patterns.
Daily consumption of gourmet coffee beverages is also up, increasing from 9% in 2000 to 14% of the population surveyed in 2001. According to the NCA's study, this represents an increase of 9 million new drinkers for the gourmet category, for a total of 28.8 million daily gourmet drinkers.
"With the aggressive introduction of gourmet coffee products throughout the whole bean, instant and roast-and-ground categories, the American consumer gained widespread access to gourmet coffee choices," NCA President Robert Nelson said in a statement. "This included national campaigns by several major roasters and retailers that targeted the large office market for coffee."
Introduced several years ago, the iced coffee beverage segment now consists of 8 million weekly drinkers and another 2 million daily drinkers. Also in 2001, cause-related coffees -- like shade-grown, organically grown, bird-friendly and "fair trade certified" -- made their debut in the marketplace.
Most of the coffee drinkers polled were most familiar with organically grown coffee. In terms of purchase behavior, daily or weekly gourmet coffee drinkers were more likely than traditional coffee drinkers to have purchased each of the cause-related coffees they were aware of.
Also according to the NCA, in recent months daily consumption has been flat overall, though growing in the specialty sector, while occasional consumption has increased dramatically.
