Industry experts have heard this week that coffee
chains such as Starbucks are planning to feature wines on their evening menus.
Considering the typical atmosphere of the traditional coffee shop, is this
something that could ever work?
At the Ideal Wine Company we know that financially,
this would be a very viable move for the wine industry. Take Starbucks as our
example. They’re everywhere. They’re in every town centre and on every high
street. If they began offering wine then growers bank balances would probably
double overnight.
In fact this is the case as Starbucks have already
started offering, in some cases, wine or beer on their evening meals. They plan
to introduce more of this into more of their chains. Other coffee shops in the
US state of Arizona such as Urban Beans, 32 Shea, Sip Coffee & Beer House,
Lux and Cartel Coffee Lab have already caught onto this trend, according to
local news sources.
It’s a growing thing over in the states and logic
dictates that it would only be a matter of time until coffee chains here in the
UK follow. But would UK consumers really be interested? Almost any idea can
work in a culture as vast as the US, and it’s one that’s been common in the EU
for a while, but that doesn’t mean it’ll translate over here.
Despite what most people think, Britain is in fact the
birthplace of the modern coffee house. They were first established in the
capital in the early days of Empire and the nations coffee houses actually
acted as the country’s first stock exchanges. It’s a strong and robust
tradition and the modern coffee house experience is one that could be
conductive to wine and beer sales.
However we also have pub culture. Pub culture is a very
uniquely British thing and it’s the reason why alcohol sales in coffee houses
have never really been a thing before. Whilst over in the states alcohol is
only sold in rowdy bars, in Britain, consumers already have a choice between
high energy bars and more sedate pubs.
Basically; the nature of the local pub and of the local
coffee house have some crossover in the British psyche and this is a reason why
any such move might not work in a British market. However the nature of luxury
wines, that aren’t often sold in pubs, means that they could be sold in coffee
houses more effectively.
At the Ideal Wine Company we recognise that this
industry is one that is fuelled on creativity and innovation. Whether this idea
works or not, it is certainly an intriguing one that we’ll be keeping tabs on it
as it blossoms.
