How to stand out in the booming coffee shop culture?

PUBLISHED BY: How to stand out in the booming coffee shop culture? POSTED ON: Friday 01, 2019

How to stand out in the booming coffee shop culture?

PUBLISHED BY: How to stand out in the booming coffee shop culture? POSTED ON: Friday 01, 2019

If there’s one thing we all have in common, it’s that we love to get comfy and have a hot drink. Whether it’s a quick coffee during a weekend shopping spree, a get-together with friends, an impromptu work meeting, or a lazy Sunday brunch… a coffee shop is often the venue of choice!

Coffee sales have grown 37% in the past 5 years, and are on course to pass £4 billion over the next 5 years. This makes Coffee the second-most traded commodity in the world (behind crude oil). Coffee is booming! But how can you stand out, and what makes a great coffee shop? Apart from awesome coffee of course! We answer this very question below using our knowledge of the hospitality industry. As a leading supplier of hospitality and commercial furniture, we’re known for furnishing high street brands such as Pret a Manger, Costa Coffee, Café Nero and Coco di Mamacafe table and chairs

  1. Furniture 

Coffee shop furniture plays a huge role in establishing the right theme and creating a welcoming and relaxing space for your customers – as well as the lovely smell of fresh coffee and pastries of course!

However, designing or acquiring the perfect furniture for your store can be tricky; customers walking through a coffee shop door are vast and therefore difficult to profile. As a result, and because of the fierce competition coffee shops face in almost every town and city, we recommend going all out – choose unusual pieces in bright colours. Even if statement furniture isn’t to everyone’s taste, it is memorable (and of course, lots of people will love you for it).

2. A space to study (and great WiFi)

Students and remote workers flock to coffee shops when they need to knuckle down get some revision or work done. As a result, a speedy WiFi connection and spacious tables for laptops and books should be considered: provide your customers with a comfortable seat, and a coffee table to cover in paperwork and they will be sure to return (and hopefully buy a few coffees and cakes along the way). Remember – it’s also important to think about power sockets or you may be disregarded by large customer groups.

Our Co-create table range comes with a variety of power (including aircharge) and lighting packages to choose from, which fashions a casual space for customers to work and socialise.

Co-Create “X” Frame Table | Vetro Showroom, Clerkenwell.

3.  Do something for others!

It’s becoming increasingly popular for coffee shops to attract customers because they do something to help their community, or those in their supply chain. As this article in The Independent puts it: “The multibillion-pound coffee industry has the power to change lives all along the supply chain, from people sleeping rough in the UK to farmers in the tropics.” As an example, Change Please, a London based coffee company trains people who have been sleeping on the streets to become baristas in their stores. It also provides help with housing, opening bank accounts and more.

In addition, one of the UK’s biggest chains, Costa Coffee, launched an initiative last year – Chatty Café – to battle loneliness. This initiative demonstrates how simply using a shared space can do something good.

 

Costa Coffee.

We want to hear from you… how would you describe your perfect coffee shop?

Of course, we’re all about the furniture – but it would be great to hear your thoughts on LinkedIn (leave a comment on the blog’s post).

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

What do you do at UHS?

I work on all scale of jobs to create strategic furniture solutions for clients.

What do you do outside of UHS?

Keen sportsman, particularly football! I also enjoy travelling and exploring new places, as well as catching up with friends and family.

What is your favourite food?

Anything Italian… usually Pizza!

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