Are Big Brands Bad News for Independents?

In an article in Daily Coffee News (yes there is a website devoted to Daily Coffee News) - it says that in the USA Nearly Four of Every Five US Coffee Shops are Now Major brands like Starbucks. and this is also true in the UK with Costa, Nero and Starbucks on every street corner plus the likes of Pret and in London Black Sheep Coffee - so is this a bad thing?

Well yes and no

The public is getting used to getting better coffee - with the recent introduction of Starbucks blonde roast we have seen a copy of a more indie roast appear on the high street.

Now lets be fair it’s a not a bad coffee and one that we here at the Coffee Advocates will drink, when push comes to shove and there are no independents within a mile or so and we desperately need our coffee fix.

And having a coffee like this means more people are getting more used to better quality coffee and will begin to search out better coffee shops

But because with rents on properties getting higher and higher on the main high streets is more and more difficult for smaller independants to afford prime locations and they tend to appear in more out of the ways places.

In bigger cities with higher footfalls like London you come across independants more and more as you take the occasional backstreet using your phone for directions - we recently found The Gentleman Barista just outside Borough Market - they are a small chain of shops in London with 8 shops round london.

(BTW We met the guy in the photo, he works in that shop and is brilliant)

But in other high street where footfall is declining and rents rising it’s harder and harder for independents to survive.

SO GO OUT & SEARCH FOR AN INDEPENDENT COFFEE SHOP

AS OFTEN AS YOU CAN

AND DRINK BETTER COFFEE

LIKE OUR BARISTA BLEND