MILAN – According to Coffee in Germany report from Euromonitor Internazional, Kraft Foods ranked first in the German coffee market in 2012 with a value share of around 20%. As a result of intense competition and the penetration of new products, the company has seen its share decline slightly since 2008, but continues to prevail over the other players in the category.
Kraft Foods is also a strong player in the foodservice channel in Germany, supplying coffee to McCafé and McDonald’s, which are highly popular among the young generation.
The company’s main competitors in standard fresh ground coffee are a group of domestic players, namely Tchibo, Melitta, Dallmayr and the discounter Aldi. In coffee pods, Kraft Foods’ main competitor in Germany is Nestlé, which has a strong presence through its hard coffee pod systems Nespresso and Dolce Gusto.
Coffee total volume sales in Germany declined by less than 1% in 2012. This was a better performance than the 2% decline recorded in 2011.
The decline in 2011 was a consequence of a peak in raw coffee prices. Value sales are more affected by rapidly changing unit prices than volume sales.
As a consequence of the decline in raw coffee prices in 2012, value sales declined by 2% in the off-trade, which compared unfavourably to the 6% CAGR of the review period.
Condensed work flows along with relatively low unemployment are expected to maintain in Germany strong demand for coffee products that are quick and easy to prepare.
This preference for convenience is also being fuelled by today’s desire of Germans to engage in many activities in their spare time, although spare time is rare for the working population. This lifestyle is not expected to change over the forecast period despite the economic problems in the EuroZone.
Thus, products which allow for quick consumption and are easy to prepare are expected to be the best performers over the forecast period.
Convenient products like coffee pods and 2-in-1 instant coffee typically carry high unit prices, which is why coffee is anticipated a constant value CAGR of 3% over 2012-2107.
In volume terms, however, a moderate CAGR decline of 1% is predicted.
Key facts:
- In 2012 current value sales decline by 2% to €4.6 billion while volume sales decline by less than 1%
- Premium brands switch to fair-trade as the fair-trade concept gains momentum
- Leading manufacturers lower unit prices of fresh ground coffee as price spike in raw coffee is over
- Nespresso faces growing competition from manufacturers offering compatible capsules
- Coffee expected to post only a marginal annual decline in volume sales over the forecast perio
Source: Euromonitor International
