Coffee consumption nationwide is continuing to grow, figures on the annual import of coffee beans indicate, with statistics showing that Taiwan’s coffee market continues to thrive, observers of the coffee sector have said.
Ministry of Finance import statistics showed raw coffee beans, roasted coffee beans and ground coffee, as well as various products utilizing coffee, amounted to 7,990 tonnes in 1997, and had risen to 25,085 tonnes by 2010 — a three-fold increase within 13 years.
The import value of coffee products rose from US$44.6 million in 1997 to US$199 million in 2010, which marked a new record in Taiwanese coffee import history.
Working on the estimation that an average of 10g of coffee beans are used to make one cup of coffee, the overall figures for coffee consumption across Taiwan in 2004 stood at 1 billion cups of made-on-the-spot coffee, with an average of about 47 cups of ready-made coffee being consumed per head of the population nationwide per year.
The figures have since leaped to 1.7 billion cups of made-on-the-spot coffee in 2010, which means that an average of 78 cups of coffee are being consumed by every person in the nation per year.
According to industry observers monitoring the coffee sector in Taiwan, before 1990, the majority of coffee shops were personally owned and operated. However, after the Japanese firm Doutor established itself in the Taiwanese market — becoming the first coffee chain in Taiwan — others followed suit.
Another Japanese company, Kohikan, as well as local coffee chains Dante and Ikari, have also made a splash in the local market with their “NT$35 cup” proving a popular sales device.
Observers tend to cite 1998 as a watershed in the development of the Taiwanese coffee industry, when the Uni-President company introduced the US coffee chain Starbucks, which paved the way for other medium-to-high-priced coffee chains, including IS Coffee, Barista Coffee and Mr Brown Coffee.
In 2002, the appearance of ecoffee, which offered common-priced coffee, as well as take-outs and deliveries, shook up the coffee industry and at its peak, the firm was boasting sales of 20 million cups of coffee annually.
The emergence of the 85°C chain the following year provided another opportunity for coffee investors by combining affordably priced coffee along with affordably priced cakes and pastries; at its peak it was selling over 40 million cups of coffee a year.
Competition in the low-priced coffee market began to heat up when the convenience store chain 7-Eleven, also owned by Uni-President Co, made its market debut. Within a few years, 7-Eleven’s City Cafe operation became the store’s most profitable line, churning out 100 million cups of coffee per year and generating revenue of NT$500 million (US$17 million). Coffee sales now represent 7-Eleven’s highest yield product per ping (3.3m2).
With Hi-Life, OK and Family Mart convenience stores taking their cue from 7-Eleven and venturing into the coffee market as well, observers of the sector conservatively estimate that at least 200 million cups of coffee are served at the four chains combined.
Observers say there is still room for growth for convenience stores and certain Chinese restaurants to target the coffee-drinking market.
The first global hotel Keys Selection by the Michelin Guide includes four hotels in Taiwan, Michelin announced yesterday. All four received the “Michelin One Key,” indicating guests are to experience a “very special stay” at any of the locations as the establishments are “a true gem with personality. Service always goes the extra mile, and the hotel provides much more than others in its price range.” Of the four hotels, three are located in Taipei and one in Taichung. In Taipei, the One Key accolades were awarded to the Capella Taipei, Kimpton Da An Taipei and Mandarin Oriental Taipei. Capella Taipei was described by
EVA Airways today confirmed the death of a flight attendant on Saturday upon their return to Taiwan and said an internal investigation has been launched, as criticism mounted over a social media post accusing the airline of failing to offer sufficient employee protections. According to the post, the flight attendant complained of feeling sick on board a flight, but was unable to take sick leave or access medical care. The crew member allegedly did not receive assistance from the chief purser, who failed to heed their requests for medical attention or call an ambulance once the flight landed, the post said. As sick
Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) yesterday said that private-sector refiners are willing to stop buying Russian naphtha should the EU ask them to, after a group of non-governmental organizations, including the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), criticized the nation’s continued business with the country. While Taiwan joined the US and its Western allies in putting broad sanctions on Russia after it invaded Ukraine in 2022, it did not explicitly ban imports of naphtha, a major hard-currency earner for Russia. While state-owned firms stopped importing Russian oil in 2023, there is no restriction on private companies to
INDUSTRY: Beijing’s latest export measures go beyond targeting the US and would likely affect any country that uses Chinese rare earths or related tech, an academic said Taiwanese industries could face significant disruption from China’s newly tightened export controls on rare earth elements, as much of Taiwan’s supply indirectly depends on Chinese materials processed in Japan, a local expert said yesterday. Kristy Hsu (徐遵慈), director of the Taiwan ASEAN Studies Center at the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research, said that China’s latest export measures go far beyond targeting the US and would likely affect any country that uses Chinese rare earths or related technologies. With Japan and Southeast Asian countries among those expected to be hit, Taiwan could feel the impact through its reliance on Japanese-made semi-finished products and
RSS