By Staff Reports
(DGIwire) — With the increasing popularity of sports and energy drinks among younger consumers—especially those ages 18 to 39—the coffee industry is feeling the competition. A recent survey from the National Coffee Association found that about 20 percent in that age group indicated they had consumed at least one sports drink or energy shot within the past day.
Even as the dominance of traditional coffee brands has declined, there is great news for the gourmet end of the coffee industry. Thirty-four percent of the younger people surveyed who enjoy sports and energy drinks also reported that they drink gourmet coffee, which the industry defines as any drink that is made all or in part from espresso or premium coffee beans. This marks a 10 percent gain compared to 2010.
Meanwhile, coffee still beats tea among American adults, and coffee remains more popular than soft drinks and even tap water. Additional interesting findings: more than 90 percent of survey respondents said they prefer their coffee hot, while eight in 10 coffee drinkers say they add another ingredient.
What’s more, sales of single-serve home coffee brewing machines continue to remain popular items, especially among one demographic: owners of home systems tend to be males under 39 with incomes of more than $50,000, and many of them have children.
Nobody understands these and other ever-changing demographics affecting the coffee industry and how to adapt more than Rohan Marley. A lifelong nature and coffee enthusiast and son of Bob Marley, Rohan has morphed his dual passions into developing one of the world’s fastest-growing gourmet coffee companies, Marley Coffee. Today all of the company’s beans are raised sustainably on farms in Jamaica, South and Central America and Africa. As an added bonus, everything Marley Coffee grows, processes and markets is brought to the increasingly discerning gourmet coffee-loving world under ideal sustainable conditions.
Offering something for every epicurean taste, Marley’s diverse product line comes in a wide variety of flavors that can be easily consumed in various formats, including pre-measured, one-cup biodegradable pods. The company also just partnered with Mother Parkers Tea & Coffee, Inc. in a major move that will allow the brand to further expand.
Rohan Marley says, “Sports and energy drinks have clear appeal to younger consumers, But when the taste is right, coffee can’t be beat. That’s why it’s important to have the best possible product made from the most natural elements available. We aim to offer the best, most natural, delicious and desirable coffees available anywhere.”