Navigating Industry Challenges Together
Over the past two years, global coffee bean prices have soared to record highs, peaking earlier this year. Like many others in the industry, we've felt the impact at Gordon St Coffee, and have faced a 46% increase in the cost of the same beans we've proudly used for over a decade in our award-winning blends.
This sustained rise in costs is reshaping the coffee industry. Roasters and cafés, including Gordon St, are now forced to make tough choices: raise prices or face shrinking margins, which in turn reduces our ability to invest in our business and staff so for many of us in the industry, this decision has become unavoidable.
Market trends suggest that these rising costs will continue to affect consumers over the next year, particularly in Europe and the US. The causes are global and complex; geopolitical instability, the ongoing effects of climate change, and increasing production expenses are all playing a role, and dare we say “tariffs” will no doubt have an impact.
In our case, extreme weather in Brazil, including frosts, extreme heat, droughts, and erratic rainfall, have significantly reduced crop yields. This in turn has placed added pressure on supply from other key regions such as Guatemala, both vital sources for Gordon St Coffee. These challenges are industry-wide, and as you may have noticed, the cost increases extend far beyond coffee with rising prices in energy, food, labour and packaging also putting pressure on small businesses.
Despite these issues, we remain committed to the things that matter most: consistency, quality, and excellent customer service. We've carefully explored sourcing from other regions, but nothing met our ethical and quality standards, so we've decided to stay true to the blend recipes that have earned us Great Taste Awards and established our reputation as the home of the Glasgow & Edinburgh Roasts.
Implementing price increases are never easy, but they’re essential if we are to continue offering the quality and experience you’ve come to expect from us. That said, we’re doing what we can to support our customers so to help soften the impact, we’ve increased our coffee subscription discount to 15%. If you're a regular customer, it’s a great way to save while continuing to enjoy your favourite coffee. Subscriptions are flexible, choose your preferred grind, quantity, and frequency or order, with the option to collect in-store or have it delivered to your door.
While uncertainties remain, the coffee sector has always shown its ability to adapt and will embrace the new normal, where where price reflects the true value of freshly roasted, quality coffee.
Thank you for your continued support and understanding as we navigate these challenges together and look forward to supplying you with coffee for a long time to come.