High-Margin Coffee Sales to Grow Profitability

In today’s highly competitive convenience store market, offering high-margin products like coffee can be a game-changer for your bottom line. With the right coffee program, you can attract untapped coffee lovers, increase sales, and create repeat customers. With the help of GP Energy’s team, you’ll learn how convenience store owners and managers can boost the company’s bottom line with high-margin coffee sales.

The Importance of High-Margin Coffee Sales

Coffee is a high-margin item that can significantly contribute to your store’s profitability. By offering a great cup of coffee, you can spur sales, create repeat customers, and increase revenue. But to achieve this, you must focus on quality rather than cost savings. Consumers choose their coffee based on taste, not by finding the lowest price per cup. The perfect blend of coffee can make all the difference, and it’s essential to offer your customers a unique and engaging story to go with it.

To maximize your coffee sales, you need to offer various options catering to different tastes and preferences. Younger generations, in particular, demand higher-quality coffee options in multiple blends and formats. Artisanal drinks like cold brew and other specialty coffees make convenience stores even more of a coffee destination for those who previously only considered a coffee house as their destination of choice.

Customizable and Artisanal Coffee Offerings

Today’s coffee lovers don’t just want a basic cup of coffee. They want to customize their drinks and enjoy artisanal and specialty coffee offerings. Convenience stores can attract untapped coffee lovers to their operation by offering them inspirational ways to customize, mix, and match their beverages. By beginning with a quality coffee, you can ensure a strong foundation for adding on-trend types of sugars, garnishes, and flavors. And the more variety, the better.

Artisanal Coffee

Artisanal coffee offerings refer to high-quality, premium, handcrafted coffee beverages made from the finest and carefully selected coffee beans. Artisanal coffee is often made using small-batch roasting techniques, which help to bring out the unique and nuanced flavors of the coffee beans. These coffees are often sourced from specific regions or farms and are roasted to perfection to create a complex and delicious flavor profile.

Artisanal coffee offerings are usually more expensive than regular coffee, but they offer a unique and high-quality experience that coffee connoisseurs appreciate. Some popular artisanal offerings include pour-over coffee, cold brew, espresso, latte, cappuccino, and macchiato. These coffee beverages are often served in specialty coffee shops or cafes, but many convenience stores now offer artisanal coffee as part of their high-margin coffee program.

When creating an artisanal coffee program, offering various coffee options, including roasts, flavors, and brewing methods, is essential. Additionally, artisanal coffee shops often pride themselves on their presentation and atmosphere, so convenience stores may want to consider creating a welcoming and visually appealing coffee station. By offering artisanal coffee, convenience stores can attract coffee connoisseurs and differentiate themselves from competitors, ultimately driving high-margin coffee sales.

Custom Coffee Options

When it comes to offering customizable coffee selections, there are several popular options beyond milk-based options. Some of the most common non-milk options include:

1. Soy milk: Soy milk is a popular alternative to dairy milk and is often used in coffee shops as a substitute. It has a slightly nutty flavor and creamy consistency, making it a great addition to coffee.
2. Almond milk: Almond milk is another popular non-dairy milk alternative often used in coffee. It has a slightly sweet flavor and a light, nutty taste that can complement the flavor of coffee well.
3. Oat milk: Oat milk is a newer non-dairy milk alternative that has recently gained popularity. It has a slightly sweet, oaty flavor and creamy texture.
4. Coconut milk: Coconut milk is a creamy, sweet, and slightly nutty non-dairy milk alternative that can add a unique flavor to coffee.

In addition to non-dairy alternatives, some coffee shops also offer other customizable options such as different sweeteners (honey, agave, etc.), flavored syrups (vanilla, caramel, hazelnut, etc.), and spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, etc.) that can be added to coffee. These options can be mixed and matched to create various customized coffee drinks.

Creative Ways to Capitalize on Coffee

As noted earlier, pricing strategies alone won’t create a good coffee program, but without a good pricing strategy, you won’t realize the total profitability a high-margin coffee program can provide.

One place to start is offering competitive pricing compared to nearby coffee shops or cafes. This can be achieved by researching your competitors’ prices and setting your prices slightly lower, which can help attract more price-conscious customers. Offering a special price during “happy hour” is a fun way to attract new customers to your coffee bar, and once they taste the quality, they’ll be back for more all hours of the day.

Another strategy is to bundle coffee with other items, such as pastries or sandwiches, to encourage customers to purchase more. Using a “get a free coffee with purchase of XYY,” you can introduce customers to the quality and convenience of your coffee selections. For example, you can offer a combo deal for a discounted price that includes a coffee and a pastry or sandwich.

A loyalty reward program is another popular and effective strategy to gain repeat business. Some C-stores offer a discount on purchasing a second cup of coffee, while others give customers a loyalty card that rewards them for repeat visits. This encourages customers to return to your store and become regulars, increasing sales over time.

It’s essential to keep in mind that pricing strategies should be balanced with the quality of the coffee and the overall experience of your store. While pricing can attract customers initially, they will only return if they enjoy the coffee and the overall ambiance of the store.

Ready to Implement a Coffee Program to Boost Your Profits?

GP Energy works with convenience stores nationwide to help them achieve their financial goals. We’ll review your product lineup, facilities, marketing plans, technologies, and more to help you gain efficiencies, reduce costs, and boost your revenues. We can even help you develop and implement a program to achieve high-margin coffee sales and attract more customers to your location. Our goal at GP Energy is to make crossing the finish line of goal achievement easily within your reach. Contact us today to get started!