Too Much Caffeine? Coffee Shops Face a Shakeout

[TomSea]

Too Much Caffeine? Coffee Shops Face a Shakeout
Julie Jargon
Updated Dec. 18, 2017 5:40 p.m. ET

America’s coffee market is getting too crowded.

Consumers’ hankering for caffeine and quality coffee has fueled a big build out of cafes in the last five years, especially in dense urban areas such as New York, San Francisco and Portland, Ore. There are now nearly 33,000 coffee shops in the U.S., including those run by big chains such as Starbucks , up 16% from five years ago, according to market research firm Mintel.

The boom in coffee shops is starting to hurt business owners. Consumers are visiting traditional coffee shops less often when there are a plethora of cheaper options. Everyone from McDonald’s Corp. MCD -0.25% to gas stations is hawking specialty coffee. Even grocery stores are expanding the space devoted to bottled and canned coffee drinks, which Mintel says poses a threat to coffee shops. Traffic growth to large coffee chains such as Starbucks is slowing, while traffic to small coffee chains and independent shops is declining, according to NPD Group Inc.

At a Chevron gas station just north of Los Angeles, a 12-ounce cup of coffee can be had for $1.49, while a specialty coffee drink at a Starbucks less than a mile away can cost nearly $5. A 13.7-ounce bottle of Dunkin’ Donuts iced coffee costs $2.89 at a nearby grocery store.

Continued at: https://www.wsj.com/articles/american-retail-has-a-coffee-problem-1510056002

[jmyrlefuller]

A 13.7-ounce bottle of Dunkin’ Donuts iced coffee costs $2.89 at a nearby grocery store.

On only a semi-related note, if you want a buzz, try that stuff. There's 180 mg of caffeine in one of those, even more than the same amount of Red Bull.