12,000 tonnes for that caffeine fix

19 August 08 The Strait Times by Jessica Lim 12,000 tonnes for that caffeine fix Singaporeans are drinking more coffee than ever!

THE urge for a caffeine fix is strong and growing here. Consumption of coffee powder and beans is predicted to go up to 12,000 tonnes this year - more than twice the amount of steel there is in the Eiffel Tower and 10 per cent more than last year, said a Singapore Coffee Association spokesman. This demand is fuelling a coffee craze across all markets, from upmarket chains to the neighbourhood coffee shop. The bigger coffee chains here - Starbucks Singapore, Spinelli Coffee Company and Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf - told The Straits Times they are expanding. Starbucks Singapore, wholly owned by Starbucks Coffee International, opened a new store at Pacific Plaza on Aug 1 and has plans to open more outlets in the next few months. It currently has 57 stores in Singapore. The company's fortunes here contrast sharply with those in the United States and elsewhere. Just last month, Starbucks, the world's largest coffee chain, said that it would close 600 stores in the United States and lay off more than 12,000 employees in the process, the most in its history. The move was announced as rising economic troubles forced American consumers to cut back on spending. Earlier this month, it closed 61 of its 84 outlets in Australia, though for a different reason: According to published news reports, the chain has been snubbed by many Australians who have grown up on a diet of quality European-style coffee introduced in the last century to Australia by immigrants. In Singapore, however, chains are flourishing. Spinelli, which has 28 outlets here, is on the lookout for suitable sites for new ones. Its newest outlet: the one at Raffles Hospital which opened on July 31. More ambitious still is Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf which will open a new outlet every month for the next three months. Even local chains are cashing in. Ya Kun Kaya Toast will add two more stores to its chain of 31 stores here, thanks to the brisk business it is doing. The chain sells about 28,000 cups of coffee a day now, 15 per cent more than it did around the same time last year. The coffee craze is not restricted to expensive cuppas. At the neighbourhood kopitiam, business is booming too. 'Every morning, there are long lines of people buying coffee at neighbourhood coffee shops...Last time, the lines were much shorter,' said the chairman of the Foochow Coffee Restaurant & Bar Merchants Association, Mr Hong Poh Hin. 'The most popular type of coffee is the 80 cent cup of kopi (coffee with condensed milk).' He added that at least three new coffee shops have opened in the past two months. Supermarkets are also seeing increased sales of coffee products. Giant Hypermarket said sales have risen by 30 per cent this year compared to the same time last year. NTUC FairPrice saw sales go up by 20 per cent and Cold Storage by 10 per cent during the same period. The most popular type of coffee: instant coffee mix. Brewing at home is also catching on. Electronics retailer Best Denki said it has seen a 30 per cent increase in sales of its coffee machines - which cost between $299 and $3,999 - in the January to August period this year compared to the same period last year. According to retail management lecturer Sarah Lim, 46, the saturation point for the coffee business is unlikely to come any time soon. The reason: It is reasonably priced and Singaporeans are latching on to the habit of sitting and chatting with friends over a cup or two. Said the Singapore Polytechnic lecturer: 'It isn't like the bubble tea phase, where stores sprouted up to make a quick buck without much business planning.' She added, 'This is the real thing.' Singaporeans interviewed agreed that meeting friends and chatting over a cup of coffee is becoming a habit. Said Ms Rebecca Loo, 25, who started drinking coffee two years ago when she started working: 'It's what gets my brain going every morning and I also meet friends for coffee during the weekend. 'It's not even a phase, it's a lifestyle.' You too, can Profit from the caffeine / energy Boom! Click Here Now