Coffee culture is taking over the high street in North Wales – giving a caffeine shot to the economy of the region. More than 1.7 billion cups of coffee were served in the UK last year in more than 16,000 outlets, generating a turnover of £6.2bn.
In North Wales the big brands like Costa Coffee, Caffe Nero and Starbucks have moved in – with the three coffee giants opening 19 outlets over the past decade, creating more than 150 jobs.
But independents are holding their own and raising their game as the expectations of coffee drinkers rise.
And while the sector has already seen enormous growth there is no sign that the saturation point has been reached yet – with the UK coffee shop market expected to exceed 20,500 outlets by 2018 according to research in the Project Cafe13 report by Allegra Strategies. The current growth rate is seven times that of the UK economy.
Michael Squire, managing director of the Dwyfor Coffee Company, on the Llyn Peninsula, has seen first hand how the cafe and coffee culture of Europe has spread to North Wales.
He said: “We set up 20 years ago and there has been a major change in culture in that time. What happened is that people went over to Spain and Italy on holiday and they were being served this wonderful coffee and wanted the same when they came back to the UK.
“We were at the forefront of bringing in fine coffee to the area and the market has grown enormously in recent years. When we started out we were supplying 600 kilos of coffee, we now sell 115 tonnes to more than 800 outlets.
“It is now part of the culture, people will travel now to have a good cup of coffee alongside a cake or sandwich.
“We now invite our customers here for free training because that is beneficial to us and the customers. You can sell the best coffee in the world but it then has to be taken care of properly when it is prepared and served.
“The arrival of the big brands like Costa has enhanced the market because it means everyone has to raise their game.
“That is why it is so important that independents know how to serve good coffee so they can compete.”
The UK’s biggest coffee shop brand Costa now has 10 shops across the region – including outlets that opened just this year in Colwyn Bay, Prestatyn and Porthmadog. Caffe Nero has three shops while Starbucks has six. Costa has earmarked further growth in the coming years and continues to target sites in its expansion programme.
A spokeswoman said: “We will continue to work with planning departments throughout the region to continue to look for new opportunities in North Wales bringing local jobs and community support to all of our new opening areas.”
There is also growing competition coming to the market with corporate-backed chains, such as Harris+Hoole, with Tesco.
Despite the pressure many independents are still thriving as they move with the times to meet and even exceed the expectations of increasingly discerning coffee drinkers.
Silas Jones, who owns Cafe R, in the Ruthin Craft Centre, said: “We opened our first coffee shop in Ruthin town centre seven years ago and this cafe six years ago.
“At that time we were the first cafe in Ruthin to offer ‘proper’ coffee with an Italian machine.
“Now there are a number of cafes that offer this including Costa, who must have seen that there is demand for good coffee in the town.
“People’s tastes and expectations have changed so much in that time and we are selling more and more coffee.
“When we started we sold slightly more coffee than tea and the percentage of coffee sold has increased further over the years.
“It is hard for the independents to compete with the big brands, they have marketing behind them and that brand association, which is particularly powerful with young people.
“It means we have to raise our game, we have to go further and offer something different. This is why we are bringing in guest coffees, a bit like pubs have guests beers.
“This will let customers try different blends of coffee.”
