In a nation that has long been captivated by coffee, a new ready-to-drink format is becoming increasingly popular. Josh Wheeler from Frucor Suntory writes about the market and why Australia’s can’t get enough.
The Australasian data and analytics company Datamine projects the Australian beverage industry to experience 30 per cent growth by 2026, with ready-to-drink (RTD) coffee emerging as a crucial contributor to the sector’s success.
Suntory BOSS Coffee is witnessing the growth of the RTD coffee category first-hand. IRi Market Edge AU’s Grocery Convenience scan (up to Christmas last year) places the brand as the largest player in the category with nearly two-thirds of the market share. In fact, the brand has delivered more than 50 per cent growth year-on-year.
A rise in the number of customers and the average weight of purchase (AWOP) – through the launch of its multipacks – have been 71 per cent incremental to the brand.
Coffee is a highly personalised beverage, and the way Australians drink it is unique to their own tastes. For many, the morning coffee ritual holds a special significance and sets the tone for the day. As the day progresses, however, coffee consumption patterns vary widely based on time, occasion, and individual needs. This is where RTD coffee has seen the most traction, catering to the diverse nature of coffee culture in Australia.
The growing appeal of RTD coffee
RTD coffee has become a popular choice among Australian coffee drinkers for two main reasons: convenience and the variety of flavours offered. With increasingly busy lifestyles, on-the-go consumption has become more prevalent, and RTD coffee is perfectly suited to cater to this growing demand. However, RTD coffee goes beyond just convenience, and its ability to cater to the wide-ranging palate of coffee drinkers has played a significant role in its growth.
One of the great advantages of RTD coffee is its ability to offer a variety of options to consumers. For instance, nearly one in 12 coffee drinkers in Australia only consume mocha-style coffee, so being able to develop several coffee variants is critical in meeting those consumer needs.
Suntory BOSS Coffee offers a range of options to meet the Aussie palette, including the Iced Long Black, Iced Latte, and the more unique Caramel Iced Latte and now, Iced Mocha.
This variety is also allowing brands to target consumers at the entry-level of the category – younger consumers and those new to coffee – and spark new coffee routines throughout the day, two things which are difficult to achieve with traditional coffee beverages.
Additionally, RTD coffee is emerging as a solution to the “caffeine limbo hour” – a time outside of traditional café hours when consumers may still wish to drink coffee.
This presents a significant opportunity for retailers to capitalise on the “afternoon slump” and provide consumers with a convenient and satisfying coffee fix. Thanks to Suntory BOSS Coffee’s unique Japanese flash brewing process, this quick coffee fix doesn’t have to compromise on quality or taste.
As the product category grows, consumers of RTD coffee are increasingly trading up from single units to multipacks, highlighting the growing number of ways in which RTD coffee is settling into the routines of Australians.
Introducing RTD Coffee to the masses
Despite RTD coffee’s strong performance, the category is still new with its high-quality taste and convenience still to be discovered by many.
While consumers that have tried Suntory BOSS Coffee, continue to expand the occasions in which they consume it, consumption within the category remains a challenge. Our goal is for more people discover the product and appreciate drinking it throughout the day.
To share the benefits of RTD coffee and Japanese coffee to the masses, Suntory BOSS Coffee recently hosted a pop-up experience in Sydney called TOKYO HOUSE. A Japanese-inspired co-working cafe by day, the space turned into a cocktail bar by night, celebrating all things coffee and showcasing the brand’s new Iced Mocha product.
Over two weeks, the pop-up experience provided a first foray into RTD coffee for many of the more than 1600 visitors. While growing the category is a broader industry effort, events like these ensure consumers experience this new format and ignite new coffee occasions throughout their day.
Frucor Suntory is #62 on the Food & Drink Business 2022 Top 100 Food & Drink Companies report.
This story first appeared in the April/May edition of Food & Drink Business magazine.
