Inflation does not spare coffee. On the shelves, coffee prices should increase by 8% to 10% this year, according to Giuseppe Lavazza, vice-president of the Lavazza group, leader in France with the Carte Noire and Lavazza brands. Eco guest of franceinfo, Wednesday May 25, he describes a “very significant inflationary environment.”
According to the leader, economic and geopolitical tensions are added to the bad weather conditions of last year: “The jelly hit Brazil and production was disrupted. Prices exploded”. A 100% increase in the price of the raw material, explains Giuseppe Lavazza. The group says it will absorb most of the increase, in particular by reducing its operating margin.
The Italian company, which recorded a turnover of 2.3 billion euros last year, sees the market evolve: coffee beans now represent 10% of coffee sales in supermarkets. This is more expensive than ground coffee, believes the vice president of Lavazza, “because considered very high quality, but maybe a little cheaper, and competitive compared to the capsule”which has been very successful in recent years.
Machines that can grind coffee have seen the same trend, even when they cost several hundred euros: “During the Covid period, people stayed at home, they didn’t have the opportunity to go to the bar, and there was an explosion in this market, which grew by 70% last year, despite the price.”