Renowned as a nation of tea lovers, Britons are moving towards the café culture. While approximately two billions cups of coffee are consumed worldwide every day, in the United Kingdom, about 55 million cups of coffee are now being consumed per day, as the British Coffee Association reveals. This shift in trend is boosting the coffee shop market which has become a full-fledged industry, attracting much investment. The industry is vibrant with 80% of clients visit a coffee shop at least once weekly and 16% go on a daily basis.
Innovation and flexibility are needed in the competitive coffee market
The coffee market in the United Kingdom has not reached cruising speed yet. There is ample place for further expansion. Valued at £2.4 billion in 2011, it has attained an impressive value of £3.4 billion in 2016, according to a recent research published by Mintel. From 2015 to 2016, coffee sales surged by 10.4%, a record increase in the five last years. Experts in the industry highlight that the coffee market has not reached its maximum though; they predict a progressive growth that can reach a rate of 29% in the near future.
Businessmen in the United Kingdom are responding quickly to this trend in the beverage market. This is reflected in the rapid number of coffee shops sprouting across the country, adapted to the lifestyle of the most targeted clientele aged between 16 and 24 years. Flexibility and a sharp level of responsiveness to the needs of the clients who prefer takeaway options, many non-specialist outlets proposing barista-style coffee have managed to grab a thick slice of the coffee market as well.
If the coffee market is thriving, businesses do need to innovate and meticulously respond to customer needs to stay afloat. Branded coffee shops have increased their sales by 21% since 2008, as unveiled by a study carried out by the NPD Group. The number of annual visits as at June 2017 climbed to 659 million from 120 million in 2008. Quick-service restaurants and pubs have not stayed passive; instead, to grab their share of the coffee market, they have wisely diversified their menus and have started proposing more coffee. Amidst this explosion of competitiveness, branded coffee shops have been obligated to diversify their menus as well and start offering lunch bites to hook clients.
Disposable branded coffee cups are the identity of a brand
It has become crucial for coffee shops and outlets serving coffee to demarcate themselves in this competitive environment. Marketers are ingeniously adopting the use of disposable branded coffee cups as a powerful strategy to stay ahead of the curve. Branded coffee cups are literally viewed as the face of a coffee shop; the very identity of the business is concentrated in the cup and the feeling it triggers. Coffee shops have understood well that quality cannot be sacrificed at any cost: the client in a hurry opting for a takeaway option should be able to enjoy his or her coffee in the same manner as any other client enjoying it sitting comfortably at the shop.
Subsequently, the need to invest in high-quality, ergonomic and visually appealing paper cups is absolutely vital. Embodying a form of passive marketing strategy, branded paper cups are an unconscious reminder of a brand through a visual impact on clients. Many in-depth scientific, as well as psychological studies, have been carried out to measure the importance and the influence of branded coffee cups on customers. The results are impressive: a person consuming a cup of coffee holds it for an average of 37 minutes and raises and lowers his or her cup to the eye level more than 20 times. It has also been proven that serving coffee in a branded cup is highly impactful as it generates the Dovetail Affect. When consuming coffee, clients unconsciously associate the warmth and feel-good factor with the brand featuring on the cup.
Disposable branded coffee cups have positioned themselves as even more powerful as a large majority of people loathe traditional advertising as well. Millennials simply cannot digest the idea of being sold to. Branded coffee cups, on their side, place the brand itself directly into the hands of clients in an extremely subtle and even pleasant manner. In this age of social media, it is no surprise that coffee lovers hurry to share their favourite beverage on social media platforms such as Instagram. As such, the presence of a logo, a message or even a design that offer instant recognition of a coffee brand carries a much heavier significance.
Branded coffee cups convert clients into marketers
As loyal customers share a part of their day or their lifestyle featuring a branded cup of coffee, they become the indirect marketers of the coffee brand and urging their immediate circle of friends, relatives and colleagues to try the same. Many coffee brands are conscious that such branding is a pivotal element in their business as customers actually walk with the brand outside the shop and promote it elsewhere, be it while commuting to work, while walking in the streets, or behind their desks at the office. Studies have shown equally that consumers are more inclined to buy a product if it is recommended by a close person rather than if it advertised in a traditional manner. Marketers are wittingly giving much importance to this fact as well, and investing more in coffee influencer marketing.
Apart from having an incredible array of benefits in terms of marketing, branded coffee cups are equally cost-effective. Available at affordable prices and in various sizes and designs for different purposes, they cost much less than traditional advertising on the media or billboards. State-of-the-art printing technology and high-quality paper have made it possible to present genuinely attractive colourful disposable paper cups while sending out the image of a professional brand striving for excellence. Branded paper cups are not reserved for coffee shops. Companies may equally use them in their offices or at events to promote brand awareness.