The survey below offers interesting insights from a 2025 report on Australian coffee trends. It shows that even with our rising living costs and increased green coffee bean prices, quality remains the most important. Coffee sellers must focus on taste. They must create a great customer experience. They must make wise pricing choices.
Key Takeaways
Coffee sellers need to succeed in 2025 to:
- Prioritise coffee quality
- Adjust pricing responsibly
- Manage milk alternative surcharges carefully, ideally including costs in base prices.
- Remember, coffee is a daily treat; customers aren’t ready to give up.
- Utilise your POS System for loyalty, inventory, and pricing to maximise your coffee sales.
Why Taste Dominates Coffee Trends in 2025
For Australians, taste remains the top priority when choosing where to buy coffee. The survey states that 73% of respondents state taste and quality as the most critical point. They need to focus on:
- Top-quality beans
- Having the right equipment
- Training staff on how to brew the coffee correctly.
After taste, pricing is the most important factor shaping purchasing decisions and plays a significant role in consumers' decision-making.
After understanding the importance of taste, it’s equally valuable to grasp customer expectations around pricing to balance quality with affordability.
Managing Coffee Prices in Australia: Expectations and Opportunities
Most customers report being comfortable in paying up to $5.50 for a small flat white, but anything over $6.65 is viewed as too expensive. Interestingly, regional differences by state are pretty minor.
As many cafes underprice their coffee compared to these expectations, it suggests an opportunity for many to raise prices strategically without losing demand. Your POS System is ideal to test variations and monitor its sales impacts in real time.
Beyond pricing, other factors like milk choices and surcharges are shaping customer loyalty in essential ways.
Navigating Milk Alternatives and Surcharges
Surcharges everywhere have become a problem, and in coffee, too. I have seen some studies that suggest it's best to raise all coffee prices by 15 cents for a cup and eliminate the 50-cent surcharge for alternatives like oat or almond milk. However, this survey indicates that 86% find that if you levy a surcharge of 50 cents or less, it is seen as reasonable. What is troubling is that about one-third believe that there should be no surcharge.
Despite additional costs, coffee remains an affordable luxury.
Coffee as an Affordable Luxury: Understanding the Treat Factor
Coffee is considered a daily treat by about 40% of Australians today. Despite our economic pressures, 84% plan to spend the same or more on coffee in 2025.
Consider using your POS system’s free CRM to create loyalty programs that reward frequent buyers with points, reinforcing the treat mentality. With its real-time tracking of your customer habits, it allows you to offer personalised recommendations.
Market Growth Opportunities
Coffee market punches above its weight. It is over $10 billion a year. This is larger than bread, newspapers, and books. This reflects Australia's coffee obsession. We have over 20,000 cafes.
Coffee is often seen as a daily essential or a luxury rather than just a beverage.
Conclusion
Start implementing these strategies today to stay ahead in Australia’s thriving coffee market.
This article draws from the Seven Miles Coffee Roasters and Lightspeed Research survey, attached here.
Written by:
Bernard Zimmermann is the founding director of POS Solutions, a leading point-of-sale system company with 45 years of industry experience, now retired and seeking new opportunities. He consults with various organisations, from small businesses to large retailers and government institutions. Bernard is passionate about helping companies optimise their operations through innovative POS technology and enabling seamless customer experiences through effective software solutions.
