Coffee aisle in supermarkets increasingly empty: what’s going on?
Anyone standing in front of the coffee aisle in the supermarket is likely in for a bitter pill. The shelves with coffee are considerably emptier than usual. This has everything to do with the battle over negotiations between supermarkets and coffee producers, with the best price as… the ultimate prize.
And just like that, as a customer, you may find yourself missing out on your favorite cup of supermarket sludge.
Supermarket coffee
A while ago, we made the case for why you should actually leave supermarket coffee on the shelf. These days, that choice is being made a little easier for you, with the emptier shelves. But for anyone who still prefers to get their coffee from the neighborhood supermarket around the corner, this is quite a disappointment. The half-empty shelves are the result of a negotiation war between supermarkets and coffee producers. What exactly is going on?
Little supply, lots of demand
Coffee production has not been doing particularly well for quite some time. Many harvests are failing, partly due to climate change. As a result, coffee has become considerably scarcer in recent years. But the desire to buy coffee has remained, so demand is still very high. This has made coffee incredibly expensive in recent years. The current price of coffee has never been this high in the past half-century.
Fighting the producer… and each other
Coffee suppliers, such as Douwe Egberts, want to pass those price increases on to the buyers. In this case, those are supermarkets such as Albert Heijn and Jumbo. But the major supermarket chains naturally want the lowest possible price for coffee, because they do not want to pass on price increases to their customers either. There is another layer to this: Jumbo and Albert Heijn both want to remain the cheapest, no matter what. So that competitive battle is also part of the equation.
The giant versus the giant
As long as the negotiations continue and the parties have not reached an agreement, you will encounter emptier shelves in the supermarket. Jumbo and Albert Heijn are not going to buy anything, of course, as long as they are not satisfied with the price. At the same time, the coffee producer has a great deal of power. Yes, it is unfortunate that they temporarily cannot supply their coffee to a Dutch retailer—but they can probably do so elsewhere.
A fierce war, then, whose end is not really in sight yet. Is it any better in the hospitality industry? No, they are also suffering from high coffee prices. But hospitality entrepreneurs want to be cautious, because coffee prices that are too high can easily mean an emptier terrace or restaurant. Who would have thought a cup of coffee could have such an impact on people…
Also read:
- Savory coffee is THE trend of 2025: what can you expect?
- Coffee first, then breakfast? You’ll regret it!
- Study proves: four cups of coffee promote kidney health
Source: Het Parool
