During the Super Bowl last Sunday, Danone SA’s commercial featured Channing Tatum tossing a large bottle of STōK Cold Brew Coffee to British soccer players. Meanwhile, Nestlé SA showcased a game-watcher enjoying a Coffee-Mate product designed specifically for cold drinks. These fun and costly ads are a reflection of a significant shift in the coffee industry: Consumers are not only favoring cold coffee over hot but are also increasingly choosing to make it at home rather than visiting cafes.
At Starbucks Corp., over 70% of the drinks sold are cold, with Gen Z driving this trend. As more multi-serving bottles and cold coffee machines hit the market, making cold coffee at home has never been easier.
Starbucks founder Howard Schultz, along with other company alumni, has noticed this shift and is investing in Cumulus Coffee, a new company launched by a former Starbucks executive. Cumulus recently debuted a $700 machine designed for making cold brew coffee at home.
“Coffee at home is consumed massively around the world,” Schultz said in an interview. “We’re simply reflecting on the transformation in the category and bringing cold coffee into the home. The size of the prize is so big.”
Cold brews are becoming more popular due to their lower acidity, richer taste, and sometimes chocolatey flavor, making them appealing to those new to coffee. They also pack a stronger caffeine punch, which is attracting a larger audience.
For years, however, making cold brews was a lengthy and complicated process, often requiring up to 12 hours of brewing and careful attention to coffee grounds. This limited the market mostly to coffee shops.
Related topics:
- TurtleTree and Mad Foods Partner to Revolutionize Functional Oat Milk Coffee Market
- Coffee Machines Market Set to Surge to $15 Billion by 2029
- Robusta Coffee Production Surges, Driven by Vietnam’s Growth
