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Get your free copy07 November 2022, 07:19 AM
- Louise Allen, senior local forager at Whole Foods Market, shares her tips for a strong-selling hot drinks range
What hot drink products does Whole Foods stock?
At Whole Foods Market, we stock a wide range of hot drink products including coffee; ranging from convenience in instant and capsules to specialty and single origin and tea; ranging from English Breakfast to a wide range of herbal infusions, premium matcha, hot chocolate and coffee alternatives such as Chicory.
What are the best sellers?
We have found that Columbian coffee is our most popular product, in both ground and capsule format.
What are the cornerstones to a great quality hot drink selection?
It is essential to stock a wide variety and choice of products to meet our customers’ needs, be it convenience or caffeine-free options, whilst ensuring all products come from ethical and sustainable sources.
What trends have you noticed in the hot drink sector?
Premiumisation at home is an ongoing trend. More customers are buying into premium coffees and hot chocolate in order to create the barista experience at home.
Sustainability is still important, and hot beverage companies are continuing to innovate in this area with an increasing number of brands moving to compostable packaging made from plant-based alternatives.
What’s in the future for quality hot drinks in the UK?
Climate change and the increasing cost of coffee is going to be a challenge to the UK market, therefore exploration into alternative coffee species (alternatives to Arabica) and innovation in fermentation to bring flavour to cheaper beans will be imperative for UK-based coffee brands to remain profitable.
