A study commissioned for UK Coffee Week has found coffee shops pour £8.9bn into the UK economy a year.
The UK Coffee Report found an estimated 22,845 coffee shops in the UK are now serving over 2.3bn cups a year, with four in 10 Brits increasing their coffee consumption this year.
This growth sees the coffee shop industry bringing £8.9bn to the UK economy, an increase of 12% since 2016.
At this rate, estimates put the number of coffee shops overtaking pubs by 2030 as Brits continue to swap lager for lattes.
There are now around 23,000 coffee shops across the UK, a combination of non-specialists, independents, and major chains such as Starbucks, Costa and Caffè Nero. A total of 1,222 stores opened in the last year.
However, it’s not just physical outlets that are thriving, as sales in independent and branded chains continue to grow. The big three chains contribute 19% of the total coffee shop sales, with market leader Costa recording sales growth of 8%, and Starbucks and Caffè Nero’s sales growing by 9% and 7% respectively.
Brits drink 2.3 billion cups of coffee per year in coffee shops – up 4% from 2.2 billion in 2016.
UK Coffee Week engages coffee shops to raise money for Project Waterfall, a charity that works to deliver clean drinking water and sanitation to coffee-growing communities across the globe.
Jeffrey Young, founder of UK Coffee Week, said: “The UK has embraced coffee culture in a phenomenal way that has seen the industry grow and thrive to the size it is today – and it’s continuing. Through the combination of coffee shop growth and the premiumisation of at-home, the UK’s coffee offer is one of the best in the world.”
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