The average price of coffee has skyrocketed to unprecedented levels in 2024, with consumers now paying up to 40% more for their daily brew compared to last year. That morning cup of coffee, once a simple daily pleasure, has become a significant line item in many household budgets.
Consequently, coffee inflation has emerged as a major concern for both consumers and café owners across the globe. Supply chain disruptions, adverse weather conditions, and increased production costs have created a perfect storm in the coffee industry, affecting everything from grocery store beans to your favorite coffee shop drinks.
This post examines the factors behind these record breaking price increases, their impact on different coffee products, and what consumers can expect in the coming months. Then, we’ll discuss what Pool Six Coffee Roasters is doing to lower the cost of beans for their retail owner operator customers.
Understanding the 2024 Coffee Global Market
In September 2024, world coffee consumers continued to feel on going inflation pressures related to years long covid pressures, supply chain changes and disruptions, and climate change.
Global coffee markets witnessed unprecedented price surges, with Arabica futures reaching USD 3.26 per pound, marking a staggering 70% increase this year [1]. The International Coffee Organization’s Composite Indicator Price averaged 238.9 cents per pound [2], representing a 47 year high earlier this fall as sever drought in Brazil and typhoon season in Vietnam caused substantial supply chain shortages.
However, 2024 was a record breaking year on top of already record coffee prices! Climate change, price volatility and supply chain constraints were already taking their toll on coffee drinkers and coffee retailers. Small independent coffee shops have had little relief to this years long upward trend in the cost of coffee.
Changing Coffee Consumption Habits?
Despite rising costs, coffee remains America’s favorite beverage, with 67% of adults consuming it daily [3]. Notably, specialty coffee consumption has reached a record high, with 45% of American adults choosing specialty coffee options in 2024[3]. However, many consumers are subsequently transitioning from retail visits to home brewing to manage expenses.
How Pool Six Helps Their Wholesale Customers Handle Inflation
With the future coffee costs uncertain, Pool Six is uniquely positioned to maintain a very low cost of suppling premium wholesale coffee beans to both retailers and the home consumer.
At Pool Six, we have a low fixed overhead and two dedicated owner operators who put in all of the hours themselves. Beyond this, we buy in bulk utilizing coffee futures in order to lock in the best possible coffee prices on behalf of our customers.
Pool Six Customer Support
Our goal at Pool Six Coffee Roasters is to make sure your business thrives. As avid coffee drinkers ourselves, we cannot stand the needless markups on a cup of coffee. We use our experience to guide our owner operator customers, we often use our equipment to keep our customers up and running, and finally we do everything we can to roast and deliver the best tasting, freshest, and highest value whole bean coffee anywhere.
