STiR coffee and tea magazine

STiR coffee and tea 49 K O N S U L - S M I D T - S T R A S S E 8 j S P E I C H ER 1 - D - 2 8 2 17 B R E M E N FON + 4 9 - 4 2 1 - 3 4 8 5 2 6 4 F A X + 4 9 - 4 2 1 - 3 4 7 7 7 2 0 W W W . K K T E E . D E M A I L @ K K T E E . D E K L O T H & K Ö H N K E N T E E H A N D E L G M B H FAIR AND Q U A L I - T E A ! Key growth markets The liberalization of Saudi Arabia's econ- omy under the government's '2030 Vi- sion' is expected to significantly boost the country's food and beverage sector, ac- cording to Allegra. More than three-quar- ters of Saudi industry leaders surveyed believe like-for-like sales growth in the Saudi coffee shop sector will outperform national GDP in the next 12 months. Industry leaders report a surge in third-wave café concepts in Kuwait, with well-travelled and highly educated con- sumers rapidly adopting artisan coffee products including single origin and cold brew. Allegra forecasts above regional average growth for branded coffee shops in 2018, with industry leaders surveyed unanimously agreeing that more Kuwaiti consumers are visiting coffee shops than 12 months ago. Market challenges An economic blockade against Qatar continues to frustrate industry leader confidence in Qatar's coffee shop market. Meanwhile, both the UAE and Saudi Arabia introduced a value added tax (VAT) for the first time in 2018, with the rest of the Gulf Coopera- tion Council due to follow in 2019 – a move which could dent consumer confidence. Israel has a healthy but highly fragmented coffee shop market comprising more than 1,000 domestic chain outlets. International brands have, however, fared less well, with major chains like Starbucks and Dunkin' so far unsuccessful in attempts to gain a foothold in the country. Nevertheless, Israeli consumers are highly receptive to new café concepts, with Allegra forecasting sustained branded coffee shop outlet growth over the next five years. "We are delighted to present this new research to the global market place. The Middle East represents one of the world's modern coffee culture hot spots, with high growth prospects for major chains across many markets and burgeon- ing opportunities on the horizon for the specialty coffee sector," says Young. *Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and UAE. Starbucks operates 600 stores in 12 Middle Eastern and North African countries Photo by Starbucks/Courtesy Allegra World Coffee Portal

• Cover