What Does 2023 Coffee Knowledge Say About Opening a Coffee Shop?

Meituan data shows coffee delivery orders rose 101.9 percent year on year in the first two months of 2023, while coffee search popularity climbed 78.1 percent, both first among catering subcategories. Post-90s women are the core consumer group for freshly made coffee, and 20 to 40 yuan is the price range most buyers accept.

The male-to-female ratio among freshly made coffee users runs about 3:7, with consumers mostly aged 22 to 32, well educated, and often unmarried. Post-90s buyers remain about half of all users, though post-80s and underage shares are rising. County-level coffee is an emerging trend, so site selection, operations, and scene design should follow these patterns.

Meituan's latest data shows that coffee delivery orders more than doubled year-on-year, with post-90s women becoming the main consumer group for freshly made coffee, and the 20-40 yuan price range dominating. Based on platform data, this article provides an in-depth analysis of the four core consumer group characteristics in the current coffee market—from user profiles, price acceptance, time distribution to motivations for visiting stores—and combines the emerging trend of county-level coffee to offer practical suggestions for coffee shop entrepreneurs in 2023 on site selection, operations, and scene design. At the same time, the article retains recommendations for specialty coffee bean procurement channels for practitioners' reference.

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According to the latest statistical analysis of the Meituan platform, the main consumer group for coffee at present is post-90s women, and 20-40 yuan is the price range most consumers are willing to pay.

Relevant Meituan delivery data shows that in the first two months of this year, coffee delivery orders increased by 101.9% compared with the same period last year, while search popularity for coffee products also rose by 78.1% year-on-year. Both indicators ranked first among all catering subcategories.

I. Post-90s women make up the core consumer group for freshly made coffee

Meituan data shows that China's freshly made coffee market is currently dominated by female consumers, mostly aged 22 to 32, generally well educated, and mostly unmarried and without children. The extension of this group is still continuing to expand.

In the user composition of freshly made coffee, the male-to-female ratio is roughly maintained at 3:7. Post-90s consumers are the backbone, accounting for about half of all users, but their share has declined slightly in the past two years. At the same time, the proportion of post-80s and underage consumers has risen slightly.

II. Coffee consumption becomes routine, with 20-40 yuan becoming the mainstream price range

From the perspective of per capita spending, among Meituan online stores, shops in the 20-40 yuan price range occupy a dominant position, and the share of such stores has continued to rise over the past three years, growing from less than 50% in 2020 to nearly 70% in 2022.

Affected by both the impact of the pandemic and the routinization of coffee drinking habits, the number of stores nationwide in the 40-60 yuan price segment has shrunk significantly, with a decline of nearly 60%.

III. Orders are most concentrated during lunch hours, while the breakfast scenario grows significantly

The peak for coffee delivery orders appears between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., with orders during this period accounting for more than 40%. Compared with 2020, the share of coffee orders during the breakfast period in 2021 increased noticeably. More and more consumers choose a cup of coffee to awaken their mental state for the day. For coffee shops, the breakfast period contains huge potential to be tapped.

IV. Convenience, discounts, and scene experience are the three major factors affecting in-store consumption

Relevant survey reports show that among the reasons users choose in-store pickup, "pickup on the way" has the highest proportion, reaching 79.57%, indicating that consumers have the strongest demand for the convenience of a coffee shop's geographic location. "Saving delivery fees" accounted for 40.97%, while "being used to or liking to go to the store to experience the atmosphere or aroma inside" accounted for 40.03%.

In light of current market conditions, opening a coffee shop should tend toward a small-scale, high-efficiency operating model. The store area does not need to be too large, so as to effectively control rental costs. At the same time, adding delivery services can help increase order volume, boost traffic, and achieve promotional effects. Seats still need to be set up in the store to provide customers who visit with a better coffee consumption experience. Offline, an activity can also be launched where customers can redeem designated drinks after accumulating a certain number of delivery orders, encouraging customers to visit the store and experience more professional coffee service.

In addition, the county-level coffee market is rising rapidly. In the first two months of this year, the growth rate of coffee orders in third- and fourth-tier cities reached 104.19%, higher than the 72.14% in first- and second-tier cities. The top five counties (including county-level cities) by coffee consumption popularity are: Yanji, Yiwu, Kunshan, Zhangjiagang, and Jiangyin. Unlike the pattern in large cities where coffee consumption periods follow work peaks, coffee consumption in Yanji also shows a small peak between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. in the evening, with coffee orders during nighttime accounting for as much as 19.2%.

Professional coffee knowledge exchange For more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account: cafe_style)

For more specialty coffee beans, please add private WeChat Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee), WeChat ID: qjcoffeex

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.