This year, coffee roaster Grinders marks its 60th anniversary in Australia since opening at Lygon Street Melbourne during 1962, witnessing Australia’s coffee culture evolution, changing palettes, and ethics.
Grinders is now Australia’s fifth-largest coffee roaster, and the country ranked one of the strongest coffee markets in the world. Around 75 per cent of all Australians consume at least one cup of coffee daily.
Over six decades, founder Giancarlo Giusti has watched more and more Australians switch from tea to coffee. Giusti says Aussies are now among the world’s most sophisticated coffee drinkers.
“The common misconception is that Italians are the world’s most cluey coffee consumers but actually – and especially during the past decade or so – Australians might be putting the Italians to shame. I think Australians now know more about coffee than Italians do,” says Giusti.
According to market and cinsumer data company Statista, the coffee segment in Australia generated $7.7 billion in 2021, and Australians collectively consume more than 37 million kilograms of coffee per year.
Grinders ranks the latte as Australians’ most popular coffee, closely followed by the flat white. More women buy coffee at Grinders than men, and 25–34-year-olds are the most dedicated coffee drinkers of the nation.
Grinders has also noticed an increase in Australians’ appetite for non-dairy alternatives. Data from Statista indicates that even though Aussies consume 97 litres of milk per person a year, there’s an increasing shift towards plant-based alternatives. Among these, soy milk is the most popular (47.6 per cent), followed by almond milk (44.2 per cent).
Grinders marketing manager Burcu De La Cruz said sustainability is now top of mind for the company.
“We are investing in technology and in sustainability, and we like to think we are leading the way in Australia for sustainable coffee with our partnership with Rainforest Alliance, our supply chain operations, with a mission for all our packaging to be 100 per cent recyclable by 2025 and as one of the first business in Australia to introduce compostable coffee capsules last year as a commercial roaster,” said De Le Cruz.
Three million coffee capsules are sent to landfill every day in Australia. Grinders says its new range of industrially compostable capsules offer customers a more environmentally friendly alternative to what is currently available.
“We are working closely with leading roasting experts to ensure our roasting processes are optimised for quality and consistency. Renewable and low carbon energy sourced at Grinders in 2020 was over 95 per cent,” said De Le Cruz.
