Summer of Iced Coffee

 Marcel Zus

During the summer months, trends appear and reappear with some lasting longer than others. While iced coffee is by no means a new commodity, it has undoubtedly swept the US this summer and created quite a buzz. Commercial chain stores and independent companies are jumping on the bandwagon and aggressively advertising their latest versions of iced coffee.

The fierce coffee competition between stores becomes evident when you’re driving. Cruise through any town and you’ll be bombarded by visual stimuli that will have you fiending for that icy caffeinated wonder.

The main competitors in this coffee war include Starbucks, Seattle’s Best, McDonald’s, Cold Stone Creamery, Dunkin Donuts and 7-Eleven, just to name a few. Many of these establishments are also offering self-serve stations so that you can quickly and simultaneously cool down on those hot days and get your caffeine fix all at once.

Another aspect of this new craze is the female facet. Prior to the advent of iced coffee on a galactic scale, stores such as 7-Eleven primarily attracted male customers. However, more and more female customers are flocking to convenience stores to get the best deals on a cup of Joe.

So does this powerful new phenomenon spell summer disaster for Starbucks, the big kahuna of coffee? Even though there is a superfluity of chain retailers marketing iced coffee, Starbucks has maintained the largest female fan base since the early 90’s. Guess all those paparazzi shots of the Olsen twins holding Starbucks cups bigger than they are do a business good. Kudos to Starbucks for staying strong during this competitive time in coffee history.

Do not forget that there is a whole host of other iced coffee contenders nabbing a great deal of the iced coffee profits by targeting the do-it-yourselfers. Pacific Natural Foods has introduced Simply Coffee, a ready-to-drink iced coffee beverage available in latte, vanilla and mocha that is quickly finding its home in refrigerators across the nation. Illy has also recently introduced Illy Issimo, a line of canned iced coffee drinks in caffe, cappuccino and latte macchiato.

Not only do these drinks taste great on their own, but they can also be easily mixed to create delicious coffee cocktails such as an Espresso Martini or a Latte Gin Fizz that are perfect for summer. So take advantage of this seemingly undying trend and release the inner coffee connoisseur in you.