UAE fastest growing coffee market

More international coffee chains will look to get a foothold in the emirate claims a new report

The UAE represents the fastest growing market by volume for coffee in the world, according to new data from global information publisher Euromonitor International.

Total coffee volume sales in the UAE are predicted to grow by 80% from 2009-2014, with a CAGR of more than 12% over that time period, making it the fastest growing coffee market.

As a result, more international café chains are forecast to enter the market, especially because coffee sales do not appear to have been significantly affected by the economic downturn and have continued to increase.

The report said: “Multinational coffee manufacturers, with established reputations for quality and an aspirational element to their brands, will continue to find an increasingly receptive consumer audience in the UAE”.

The rise of the café trend was initially set by domestic chain Gerard’s in the early 1990s and the buoyant market prompted the emergence of local coffee chains.

However, the abundance of cafés from all corners of the world staved off the development of domestic ones, said the report.

The UAE is now home to some of the largest international cafés in the world, including Starbucks, Costa Coffee, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Café Nero, and Lavazza.

The increasing number of specialist coffee shops fed through into higher on-trade volume coffee sales, which grew by 17% in 2009 versus a lower growth of 9% for off-trade volume sales. On-trade volume sales accounted for 51% of total volume sales of coffee in 2009, a percentage which has gradually grown from 42% since 2004.