Coffee-Shop Boost Drives Demand for High Quality Beans in Brazil

By Isis Almeida – Jul 15, 2013

An increase in the number of coffee shops in Brazil is boosting demand for higher quality beans in the world’s leading producer and threatening the U.S.’s position as the world’s top consumer, according to Mintel Group Ltd.

Coffee consumption in the South American nation is growing faster than in the U.S. and Brazil will be the world’s leading consumer in the next few years, the London-based researcher said today in an e-mailed statement. A quarter of Brazil’s coffee drinkers say they prefer premium coffee, with a third of these saying they consume premium drinks at a coffee shop, a Mintel survey showed.

“While Brazil has traditionally supplied the world with high-quality coffee beans, it is now beginning to envision new customers: Brazilians themselves,” said Lucas Marangoni, a senior drinks analyst at Mintel. “Coffee shops represent one of the main drivers of changing attitudes towards premium coffee.”

Coffee consumption in Brazil was 1.23 million metric tons last year, while demand in the U.S. was 1.45 million tons, Mintel estimates. Five in six Brazilians drink coffee and three in five consume it daily, the Mintel survey showed.

“As Brazilians get more demanding about their coffee, the country’s better quality arabica beans will increasingly be used to service its burgeoning domestic market,” said Jonny Forsyth, a global drinks analyst at Mintel. “The global supply of the best quality arabica beans is hugely dependent on Brazil, and by reducing supply at a time of huge, and still rising global demand, this could force a sharp rise in global coffee bean prices down the line.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Isis Almeida in London at ialmeida3@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Claudia Carpenter at ccarpenter2@bloomberg.net