Many people and articles, as well as the Coffee
Guide, attempt to differentiate between what they call the Mainstream and the
Specialty coffee industry. But it is not entirely clear where the one stops and
the other begins so to speak. For example, if the Swiss multi-national roaster
Nestlé is considered to be mainstream, what then is its single-serve R&G
pod-making subsidiary Nespresso? Alternatively, if size or turnover are the
criteria, where then to place Starbucks?
What is clear however is that large or mainstream
roasters are moving into the specialty market, for example by offering organic
coffees or by establishing their own specialty operation, sometimes under a
different name. Such moves reflect the growing importance of the specialty
segment but somewhat blurs the distinction between the two. It is therefore
better perhaps to ask what causes different retail products to be classified as
mainstream or specialty…
'Mainstream' simply
reflects the fact that an estimated 85 to 90% of all coffee roasted is of fair
average quality, mass-produced and marketed. Such coffees are available
in quantity and are usually presented as blends, often through supermarkets etc.
Roasters who are predominantly active in this market segment are therefore known
as 'mainstream roasters'. Their buying capacity is huge and there is strong
concentration in this market with Nestlé currently the world's leading
roaster.
'Specialty' usually
refers to individually presented coffees, often but not always of somewhat
limited availability. With the exception of the Starbucks Company in
the US the turnover of most specialty roasters is relatively limited but, in
recent years the number of small roasters worldwide has shown strong growth.
However, the term specialty increasingly also refers to coffees that are
different, for example in the way they are presented. This is part of the
specialty attraction although it is fair to say that for the average latte one
does not require top grade coffee. A simple blend will do.
To complicate matters further there is also no
denying that the output of some of the larger European and Scandinavian roasters
has always included top quality coffees, often far superior to the average
specialty coffee one encounters. Yet such roasters are usually classified as
mainstream because of their size and the conventional marketing methods most
employ. Their products are not perceived as being 'different'… On the other
hand, other retail products elsewhere may be classified as specialty even though
they may be based on average quality or mainstream type coffee… *
Therefore, one
should probably classify individual roasters by the products they market, rather
than by the type of coffee they may be buying.
The Nespresso
Company combines technical innovation (special home brewing equipment)
with high quality coffees. It stands alone from the Nestlé Group and, it and its
products should definitely be classified as being part of the specialty
segment.
The Starbucks
Company in a way does the same: it relies on innovative retail and
presentation methods that have set it apart from other roasters/retailers. This
includes the constant promotion of high quality origin coffee but, it is
increasingly also selling blends. However the company firmly belongs to the
specialty segment because it is marketing specialty type coffees.
The Swedish roaster
Gevalia is a different example. The company ranks amongst the major
specialty sellers (mostly by mail order) in the US, yet is owned by the
multi-national mainstream roaster Kraft Foods.
* Indeed, the specialty market itself is divisible
in three sub-segments: Exemplary coffees, usually presented as single origin or
single source; High quality coffees that may include blends; Average quality
coffee that is presented 'differently', for example lattes.