Generational Tastes Differ For Hot Beverages

By  Angela Altass

The hot beverage category still has brewed coffee leading the way but staying on top of generational preferences can be a key to success as specialty coffees, teas and even cold brews and iced coffees attract more attention year over year.

There is a generational difference in how people prefer to consume coffee, said Judi Saliba, senior sales executive, TFI Food Equipment Solutions.

“Boomers primarily consume hot brewed coffee and while millennials and teens are also consumers of that category, there is a trend for hot speciality coffee and iced coffee,” said Saliba. “According to the Coffee Association of Canada (CAC), the category is consumed in different dayparts by cohort: 60 per cent of hot brewed coffee is consumed by boomers before lunch with nine out of 10 servings consumed at home while 55 per cent of millennials consume coffee as a daytime snack out of home.”

To be relevant, operators must offer the best quality coffee, along with an experience that is consistent and fast, said Saliba, noting that Franke ‘A’ line equipment offers a broad range of coffee and espresso-based beverages, including iced coffee.

At a recent CAC conference in Markham, Ontario, Mauricio Vieira, vice president, food and beverage syndicated studies, Ipsos, noted that Gen X and Boomers still account for three-quarters of total coffee consumption. Hot brewed coffee remains popular with boomers while millennials like speciality hot coffees. Chris Brugman, director of client development at Circana, noted that younger Canadians (some millennials but mainly Gen Z consumers) tend to prefer cold coffees.

“We have a challenging balancing act,” said Vieira. “How do we play with innovation for tomorrow while balancing our core market of today? Over the past 10 years coffee has grown in consumption per capita and most of it has been driven by speciality and cold coffee but brewed coffee still makes for 75 per cent of coffee occasions.”

Convenience stores should focus on offering a well-rounded hot beverage menu, including freshly brewed coffee, espresso-based drinks like lattes and cappuccinos, and seasonal or limited-time offers, such as flavoured coffee, lattes, cappuccinos, or hot chocolate, said Amy Brown, marketing manager, commercial foodservice, SEB Professional.

“Customization is key; offering multiple milk options, creamers and syrups will enhance customer satisfaction and drive repeat visits,” said Brown.

Brown advised investing in versatile, easy to use equipment that supports a variety of drink options while reducing the need for intensive staff training. SEB Professional’s newest product for convenience stores is the Schaerer Coffee Soul C, which can handle multiple drinks with consistency and automates the daily cleaning process for up to 300 days without user intervention.

“Consumers now expect specialty coffee shop experiences in non-traditional locations like convenience stores,” said Brown. “There’s been a significant shift toward plant-based milk, flavoured syrups, and ethically sourced coffee. Automation and self-service technology have played a crucial role in enabling operators to meet these demands efficiently.”

Convenience stores should have classic hot beverages: hot chocolate, lattes, drip coffee and flavoured cappuccinos, said Aron Bjornson, vice president, marketing and national foodservice accounts, Canterbury Coffee.

“Coffee consumption is growing steadily, with overall demand increasing by three per cent over the past year,” said Bjornson. “Hot specialty coffee is driving this trend, experiencing 7.6 per cent growth in the same period. This growth presents a significant opportunity for foodservice operators to attract customers by offering unique and indulgent coffee beverages.”

To drive excitement and growth rotate limited time offer (LTO) items, said Bjornson.

“We recommend starting with simple add-ons and extras, such as seasonal syrups, to boost both the appeal and perceived value of your beverages,” said Bjornson. “For example, we were blown away by the popularity of Torani Blue Raspberry Syrup as an LTO this summer and Torani Pumpkin Spice is a sure winner in early September.”

While nearly half of Canadian coffee drinkers add some form of sweetener to their coffee, sugar-free syrups are increasing in popularity, said Bjornson.

“This trend spans all food channels and is easy for convenience stores to take advantage of,” said Bjornson. “Check out #watertok and #guiltfreecoffee on TikTok and you’ll see some creative angles people are taking for their drink recipes. You can easily modify these ideas for your coffee and beverage stations. We recommend building your offerings beyond the cream and sugar basics and layer in flavoured syrups and other toppings.”

Focus on clean and well stocked coffee stations, said Bjornson.

“Coffee has natural oils that give it the body and flavour we love,” he noted. “These oils will build up on servers and in machines and cause an off-putting flavour to your coffee. Canterbury has created learning modules and online training (available at https://www.canterburycoffee.com/training/) to assist c-store owners to set up standard operating procedures.”

Tea is a hot beverage that continues to grow and is appealing to all the attributes that younger consumers are looking for, said Shabram Weber, president, Tea and Herbal Association of Canada (THAC).

“In a recent survey by THAC, we found that consumers were reaching for tea to feel better.,” said Weber. “In a time where mental health challenges and anxiety are at an all-time high, tea is the perfect antidote.”

Convenience stores would do well to stock up on a variety of teas as consumers are looking for choice and different types of flavours, said Weber.

“Our survey found that six in 10 Canadians consume hot tea,” said Weber. “If prepared drinks are something a store offers, then adding a variety of teas to that selection would help boost sales.”

Hot coffee remains popular with consumers with new bean-to-cup units producing a fresh cup of coffee every time, said Chris Midbo, sales, marketing and new business development, Western Refrigeration.

“Some of the bean to cup units can also produce an ice coffee product,” noted Midbo. “We have a countertop unit that allows a site to add the ice component to coffee and it is very popular right now across the country. Customers still have their warm coffee in the morning but cold coffee is a great alternative, even in the non-summer months. Coffee drinkers enjoy that cold option as a later day alternative.”

There has been a continued increase in popularity for espresso-based drinks as well as a new surge of popularity for nitrogenated beverages, such as nitro cold-brew coffee, said Jay Beckett, marketing graphic designer, Bunn-O-Matic Corporation of Canada.

“Coffee and tea remain as strong as ever,” said Beckett. “People seem to be gravitating towards a fresh individually brewed cup of coffee that can be adjusted and customized to fit individual tastes. Bunn’s bean-to-cup and bean-to-batch brewers are ideal for this. Our advice to convenience stores is to stay-up-to-date on the latest technology and the latest buying trends among consumers.”

Premia is a new high-performance bean-to-batch brewer from Bunn that automatically grinds, brews and manages freshness for optimal coffee availability during peak times while reducing waste during slower dayparts, said Beckett.

During a recent Coffee Association of Canada webinar, Frank Dennis, president and CEO of Swiss Water noted that consumer research indicates a greater acceptance of decaffeinated coffee, primarily driven by improvements in quality in this category.

“Decaf coffee has the benefit of enabling someone to meet their friends in the afternoon and still have a coffee without being awake all night long,” said Dennis. “There are some who come to the decaf category because of health needs but more often people are simply trying to modulate the amount of caffeine they have throughout the day.”