Coffee Prices - 10 Year High - We Hold our Prices

Coffee companies are raising prices on jars of instant coffee and packets of ground coffee with unprecedented speed after being surprised by the surging cost of unroasted coffee beans.

Kraft Foods, owner of the Maxwell House coffee brand, this week became the latest company to increase prices, lifting them by 4 per cent, as wholesale prices for both robusta and arabica beans hit their highest levels in more than a decade.

The price of robusta coffee futures contracts traded in London have soared this year, with the May contract rising by some 40 per cent, as global demand for coffee runs ahead of supply.

Both Kraft and Procter & Gamble – owner of the Folgers brand – have twice increased the price at which they sell coffee to retailers in the US in the past month, highlighting the pressure food companies are under to pass on the cost increases. Kraft has also lifted prices in Europe.
Folgers has raised prices by 45 cents in total over the past six months.

In October it increased prices on a 10.5oz-13oz pack of ground coffee by 10 cents; in February it raised them 15 cents; and this week it put them up 20 cents.

Food companies blame high wholesale coffee prices on increased hedge fund activity in the commodity markets.

Kraft said: “The wholesale price of coffee beans has increased significantly since the beginning of 2008, due to a combination of the weak US dollar and a dramatic increase in speculative investments in commodities, including green coffee.”

But analysts say that food companies have been caught on the hop because they did not hedge their coffee purchases adequately, and need to pass on price rises quickly to avoid losses.

Sudakshina Unnikrishnan, a commodities analyst at Barclays Capital, said wholesale prices for both robusta and arabica coffee were also being driven higher by record low stocks in coffee-producing countries and strong global demand.

Nestlé, the Swiss owner of the global Nescafé brand, said its prices varied by market and it declined to comment on specific pricing actions this year.

Mobile Coffee Vans

If you are looking to set up your own business operating a mobile coffee van, you may be a little daunted at the prospect of having to find the many different suppliers required to pull your project together. These include:

• Vehicle manufacturers
  
• Fitters


• Sheet metal workers / welders


• Coffee Machine suppliers


• Catering equipment suppliers ie Fridge, oven etc


• Power sourcing ie Generator / Gas


• Hygiene ie sink basin, plubming, water supply for the machine


• Ancillaries including coffee, tea, sugar, cups, biscuits


• Financing

And this is just the beginning of potential issues. You will then need to consider managing the project, ensuring all the elements are in the right place at the right time, that the quality of build is more than simply acceptable and that the project is delivered on time.

Here at Denby Dale Coffee http://www.denbydalecoffee.co.uk/ we offer a full managed service from the initail order, agreeing the specification required to delivering the highest quality fitted mobile coffee van available anywhere in Europe. Customers that have been delighted and are using similar vehicles on a daily basis include:

• Marks and Spencer
• Subway
• EuroQuisine
• Cafe2U
• Many many independant businesses

Some unique features include:

• Power operated using an inverter from the engines battery so no noisy generator is required
• Integrated water tank, built under the floor which ensures a large capacity and delivers even weight distribution whilst driving
• Custom made to your specification
• 2 Group Coffee Machine with a built in grinder which saves space and power http://www.denbydalecoffee.co.uk/denbydaleshop.asp?id=14890
• Fridge with ambient cooler option
• Choice of the vehicles
• Leasing from just £129 + VAT per week (deposit required on order)
• Range, pricing and marketing advice
• 75 free coffees per week for the lease duration which at retail will pay the cost of the lease

Once your mobile coffee van has been delivered, we offer the option of supplying you with all the high quality hot beverage products you may require, along with cups, chocolate, biscuits, sugars, stirrers etc. Our quality coffees cost just 5.5p per cup!

Please call us on 0845 6446814 or email us at enquiries@denbydalecoffee.co.uk for more information

Is Coffee Healthy?

Coffee might soon be considered a health drink following a study showing it is a surprisingly rich source of anti-cancer agents.

A study has found that coffee contributes more antioxidants - which have been linked with fighting heart disease and cancer - to the diet than cranberries, apples or tomatoes.

Fruit and vegetables have long been known to be a good source of antioxidants, but the new findings are surprising because it is the first time that coffee has been shown to be such a rich source of the agents.

Professor Joe Vinson of the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania warned, however, that the study did not prove that coffee was good for you because high levels of antioxidants in food did not necessarily translate into higher levels absorbed by the body.

Nevertheless, the research - which was funded by the American Cocoa Research Institute - indicates that at least where coffee is consumed in high amounts, the beverage could be responsible for relatively high levels of antioxidants in the diet.

"Americans get more of their antioxidants from coffee than any other dietary source। Nothing else comes close," said Professor Vinson, whose study was described at the weekend to the American Chemical Society in Washington.

The study found that both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee appeared to provide similar levels of antioxidants.

The American findings are probably reflected in Britain, where people drink about 70 million cups of coffee each day despite the country's reputation as a tea-drinking nation। More than half of the American population are daily coffee drinkers. Although coffee consumption may be lower in the United Kingdom, nearly half of the British population regularly drinks instant or ground coffee, the market analysts Mintel say.

Antioxidants help to rid the body of harmful free radicals, destructive molecules that damage cells and DNA। They have been linked to a number of health benefits, including protection against heart disease and cancer. Studies have associated coffee drinking with a reduced risk of liver and colon cancer, type two diabetes, and Parkinson's disease.

But Professor Vinson urged moderation, recommending that people should drink only one or two cups of coffee per day। He added that it was important not to ignore the benefits offered by fresh fruit and vegetables. "Unfortunately, consumers are still not eating enough fruits and vegetables, which are better for you from an overall nutritional point of view to their higher content of vitamins, minerals and fibre," he said.

The research showed that, compared with other foods, dates were the richest source of antioxidants। But since so few dates are eaten by Americans, they only contributed a small amount of antioxidants to the average person's diet. Cranberries and red grapes also contain high levels of antioxidants.

A spokesman for the British Coffee Association said: "This study reconfirms the fact that moderate coffee consumption of four to five cups a day not only is perfectly safe but may confer health benefits"

Source: Steve Connor, Science Editor - The Independant