Let’s take a quick look at café industry trends throughout the year, to see some of the changes a global pandemic has implemented on the coffee industry.
There has been an increase in the automation of coffee making processes. Innovative equipment such as the Ubermilk have been implemented for automated milk delivery.
Mobile ordering for coffee pickup and delivery continues to be popular, especially during lock downs.
Cash payments has virtually disappeared in cafes and restaurants at this point.
QR codes have become the new standard for checking in and placing orders. In some cases, customers can order and pay at a table, without staff involvement.
There has been a shift in the way that Australians consume food and coffee, particularly at home. Originally, the split between instant and fresh coffee was around 60% instant and 40% fresh coffee. Now it has reversed because over time Australians have become educated about quality coffee. This has opened up opportunities for things like coffee subscriptions to be enjoyed at home.
In order to stay in business, cafes needed to introduce modern and automated processes quickly. Some cafes even managed to increase their revenue by offering online ordering and home delivery. Although, this also meant an added cost for delivery workers and automated systems. Overall, the global pandemic will continue to have an impact on the coffee industry, but thankfully most have been able to adapt to keep going.
The information within this update was sourced from Seven Miles Coffee Roasters.