COFFEE NOTES SEPTEMBER 2020
Welcome to September’s edition of Monthly Coffee Notes. We’re taking a look into the upcoming research on productivity and the role hot beverage solutions can play in optimising the effectiveness of the workplace. We’ll also be exploring how operators can inspire customer confidence when welcoming them back to their daily routines, and how these customers are doing their bit to support cafés in return. Then we’re diving into the trend of dalgona — the fabulously frothy coffee that exploded on social media during lockdown. Thanks for reading, and as always, let us know if there’s anything you’d like to see covered in our next issue.
3-MIN READ
CULTIVATING CUSTOMER CONFIDENCE IN THE NEW NORMAL As customers start to return to the workplace and students to universities, operators can look to welcome them back to all their favourite drinks, attract them to cafés, and help keep business thriving. We’ve put together some key points to show how you can offer customers the comfort, reassurance and familiarity they need to return to cafés with confidence — whatever the occasion or daypart. APPEAL TO EVERY FORM OF HOT BEVERAGE CONSUMER
AND CREATE MORE OPPORTUNITIES FOR DRIVING FOOTFALL AND FREQUENCY OF VISIT: • W ith a core beverage range of everyday favourites • A nd a calendar of seasonal speciality drinks.
COMMIT TO AND PROMOTE SUSTAINABILITY INITIATIVES TO GIVE CUSTOMERS CONFIDENCE IN YOUR OFFER, INCLUDING: • T he removal of plastic straws • D iscounts for the use of reusable cups • O ffering compostable cup options • D emonstrating knowledge around coffee origin and quality • Communicating any long-term sustainability goals that you’re working towards.
MATCH THE RIGHT COFFEE FORMATS TO THE RIGHT COFFEE MOMENTS:
• B ARISTA-SERVED Fully trained baristas serving customers their favourite beverages, all in a safe, socially distanced café environment that inspires comfort and connection, and caters to your customer’s needs across all dayparts. • S ELF-SERVE Both counter-top and free-standing modular self-serve units can be applied to suit different spaces, i.e. venues where outlets are still currently closed, and in areas that experience good footfall but don’t have an on-site café close by. A self-serve solution can also cater to customers’ higher expectations of safety by offering free-vend or cashless payments.
Now’s the perfect time to get reconnected with customers in a meaningful way. They’ll need to know they can confidently settle back into daily life with all their hot beverage favourites, so why not be upfront and show them you care? Give them the same great coffee and the same great moments they remember as they return to your café, and in turn help you build your successful new normal.
5-MIN READ
UK CONSUMERS RALLY BEHIND CAFÉS It was one of the most heartening insights from Allegra World Coffee Portal’s ‘Cafés, Consumers and Covid-19’ study of over 3,000 consumers:
“Visiting a café or coffee shop was the most popular location for a post-lockdown meet-up with family and friends.”
With temporary government schemes such as Eat Out to Help Out and the reduction in VAT for the hospitality industry, UK consumers are supporting their cafés more than ever before, having gone without their daily favourites for almost four months of national lockdown.
55%
HAD VISITED A CAFÉ SINCE LOCKDOWN WAS EASED.
UK CAFÉS PROVED EVEN MORE POPULAR THAN PUBS, BARS & RESTAURANTS, WHICH ONLY ATTRACTED 28% OF RESPONDENTS.
43%
PURCHASED TAKEAWAY ONLY, 22% OPTED EXCLUSIVELY TO SIT IN, AND 35% DID BOTH.
And although 47% agreed they felt physically safe visiting cafés during the pandemic, 34% said they felt concerned or unsafe. In light of these conflicting opinions, operators must continue to do everything in their power to maintain their individual safety measures to ensure customers have the confidence to return.
SOCIAL DISTANCING, HAND SANITISING AND FACE COVERINGS ARE KEY IN EASING CUSTOMER CONCERNS:
93%
AGREED THAT MAINTAINING SOCIAL DISTANCING IS “BY FAR THE MOST FAVOURED WAY TO MITIGATE THE RISK OF CATCHING CORONAVIRUS, AND 88% ARE OPTING FOR MORE REGULAR HAND WASHING.”
82%
THERE IS ALSO CLEAR SUPPORT FOR MANDATORY FACE COVERINGS FOR MOST INDOOR PUBLIC SPACES, WITH 82% SAYING THEY AGREED WITH THIS POLICY — 54% STRONGLY SO.
28%
THE USE OF HAND SANITISER AND FACE COVERINGS WERE THE MAIN INDICATORS IN AN INCREASE IN HYGIENE-FOCUSED BEHAVIOUR SINCE APRIL 2020, RISING 28% AND 61% RESPECTIVELY.
5-MIN READ
It was also interesting to note that beverage delivery and click-and-collect options have yet to gather momentum (90% of those surveyed had not used such a service), so it looks as though technology is still no substitute for the real café experience. This will undoubtedly come as more good news for operators who aren’t able to implement digital pre-ordering or collection capabilities just yet. However, with Allegra stating that those under the age of 30 are the most likely to have interacted with a café digitally, operators must start considering digital options as we move towards the need for more seamless contactless transactions. We’ll look forward to watching how consumers return to cafés while getting back into the routine of office and university life across the country. But for now it’s clear that coffee shop outlets are key in leading the charge towards the new normal, helping customers feel safe enough to return to all their beverage favourites once again.
“Cafés and coffee shops should be heartened by the wave of public support they have received since national lockdown restrictions were eased in July 2020. Nevertheless, this study indicates there are difficult times ahead for many businesses, and the extension of government support is likely needed to ensure the medium-term viability of the UK hospitality industry.” — Allegra Group CEO and Founder, Jeffrey Young.
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5-MIN READ
PRODUCTIVITY, THE WORKPLACE, AND HOT BEVERAGES With the pandemic challenging the parameters of our traditional workplace, we were excited to hear that the category development teams at Nestlé Professional have been working with academics and expert research partners to understand how hot beverage solutions can optimise workplace productivity.
“Over 82% of people surveyed said that tea, coffee and other refreshment facilities were the most important service features in creating an effective workplace.”
Hot beverages create moments of collaboration, inspiration and even respite in the workplace. They’re the social glue of our offices, providing us with structure and bringing us together to create and innovate. But with so many of us spending more time away from the workplace than ever before, the role of hot beverages in the workplace must count for more than just moments. From this research, Nestlé Professional hoped to better understand how to create more effective workplaces with hot beverage solutions and define their role in the process. To do this in a way that would be quantifiable for both catering providers and clients, the team defined four key behavioural outcomes; individual flow and focus, in-team cohesion, collaboration, and unplanned interactions. They also uncovered some striking results from surveys and questionnaires, which are now acting as markers of where hot beverage solutions could be used to alleviate any common issues and widespread perceptions around productivity:
71%
73%
OF WORKERS REPORT FREQUENT INTERRUPTIONS IN THE WORKPLACE.
OF PEOPLE MULTITASK DURING MEETINGS.
71%
70%
OF SENIOR MANAGERS VIEW MEETINGS AS UNPRODUCTIVE AND INEFFICIENT, AND 64% VIEW THEM AS COMING AT THE EXPENSE OF DEEP THINKING (FOCUS STATES).
STUDIES SHOW SWITCHING TO AN OPEN-PLAN OFFICE LAYOUT REDUCED FACE-TO-FACE (F2F) INTERACTIONS BY 70% DUE TO AN OVERRELIANCE ON ONLINE COMMUNICATIONS AND LACK OF PERCEIVED FOCUS TIME.
The next stage of the research outputs is to use these learnings to help caterers demonstrate their expertise when it comes to the impacts of productivity in the workplace and beyond, and in turn allow their clients to invest in hot beverage offers that have quantifiable economic returns on performance, innovation and engagement. We’ll be sharing more about this substantial piece of research soon, but if you have any questions on productivity or otherwise in the meantime, don’t hesitate to get in touch. We’d love to hear from you.
3-MIN READ
THE INDULGENT TREND OF DALGONA COFFEE It’s the coffee that took social media by storm over lockdown, but what is this decadent new drink named dalgona, and does it have a place in foodservice? WHAT IS DALGONA COFFEE? Dalgona coffee (sometimes known as whipped, or ‘cloud’ coffee) is made by whipping instant coffee with sugar and water, which results in a fluffy light brown foam that’s then spooned over hot or cold milk. Named after a type of Korean sweet, the trend was started in South Korea by actor Jung Il-woo, who made the drink for the first time on national television this year. Tutorials then started circulating on social media, spurred on by the video platform TikTok where millions of users posted different ways to make the drink. And a quick search on Instagram tells us that there have been over half a million posts on this drink alone, possibly encouraged by the consumer need to get crafty with coffee while staying at home over lockdown. It’s fun, it’s frivolous, but is it for foodservice?
HOW CAN WE INCORPORATE DALGONA INTO CAFÉS? The time-consuming nature of dalgona and similar speciality coffees can dissuade operators from including it on their menus, especially when consumers expect drinks to be served quickly, i.e. in the morning dayparts. But for operators looking to offer dalgona, the instant coffee can be replaced with cold brew concentrate, or freshly brewed espresso and sugar could be whipped together to cut down on time and retain the flavour.
WILL CUSTOMERS STILL WANT A ‘TRENDY’ COFFEE? Dalgona coffee became wildly popular as the nation stayed at home and used social media as an escape and for entertainment. But there’s still huge potential for operators to jump on this popularity and bring the drink into everyday café life, even as part of customers’ daily routines. There are cafés that may take on dalgona as a new drink, not just to satisfy a one-off trend, but to expand their menus and their appeal as a café that offers new and delicious drinks across the board. Operators can introduce these ‘trendy’ drinks as a way of demonstrating innovation in their offer and, if the demand continues and doesn’t tail off, they can introduce them as part of their longer-term core offer too.
HOW TO MAKE DALGONA COFFEE 1. W hisk instant coffee, 2 tablespoons of sugar and 3 of boiling water in a bowl for 5 minutes. 2. O nce the mixture is thick with stiff peaks, prepare your choice of hot or cold milk and spoon the mixture evenly on top of the milk. 3. Stir thoroughly and serve. 4. Enjoy!
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Nestlé Coffee Partners offers a range of brands and solutions to fit your customers’ requirements. If you’d like to talk through any of what you’ve read and explore how we can help you leverage the insight we’ve shared this month, or if you’d simply like to catch up over a coffee, we’d love to hear from you.
We’re available on +44 (0)203 124 1029 (Option 2) or at StarbucksSupportEMENA@nestle.com