Specialty coffee has made notable progress reducing customers’ sugar intake. An emphasis on coffees with distinctive flavours has led to more coffee drinkers wishing to appreciate their brew. Plus, because specialty-grade coffees have less bitterness, the industry has virtually eliminated the use of syrups and many people have stopped adding granular sugar.
Sugar is a key cause of obesity and excess consumption can lead to various health conditions. Some sugars are naturally present in fruit, vegetables and milk, so when measuring sugar intake, it is common to count only added sugar, referred to as ‘free sugars.’ Britain’s National Health Service (the NHS) recommends that adults consume no more than 30 grams of free sugar per day.
Specialty coffee’s sugar reduction stands in contrast to the high street coffee chains which have continued expanding their ranges of calorific beverages. There are now over 80 variations of the Starbucks Frappuccino listed on its nutritional information sheet, most containing between 15 and 80 grams of sugar per serving. That’s the equivalent of up to 12 heaped teaspoons of demerara sugar. Similarly, Costa’s hot chocolate beverages typically contain 30 – 40 grams of sugar per cup, excluding toppers, powders and chocolate chunks.
Businesses with fewer than 250 employees in the United Kingdom are not required to display the calorie content of non-prepacked food, but the coffee shops United Baristas talked to while researching this article report sugar use in beverages continuing to decline. That’s good news for business, our customers and the planet.
Sugar has a low cost and high carbon footprint
The carbon footprint of sugar varies by origin and process, but it’s typically around 500 grams of CO2e per kilogram. This has a relatively small impact in the context of a cup of coffee, but it’s not insignificant – mainly because it’s largely unnecessary. For reference, a teaspoon or two has about the same impact as using a single-use takeout cup instead of a porcelain cup.
Giving away sugar also reduces profits. A sugar sachet costs around a penny, while demerara sugar typically costs £2.50 – 4.00 per kilogram. Eliminating sugar might only save several hundred pounds per year, but would you rather have the cash? Since it is free money, United Baristas suggests you withhold the free sugar in 2025.
Easing your customers off their sugar high
Here’s three ideas to further reduce your customers’ sugar consumption this year.
Remove ready access to sugar
A jar of sugar still adorns many coffee shops’ tabletops. However, because what’s out of sight is often out of mind, consider removing it. As an empty table can look uninviting or austere, optionally use some of the money saved to add dried flowers, table talkers or ornaments.
Removing sugar from tables doesn’t demand its removal altogether. You can create a sugar station in a suitable corner. In fact, some of the earliest specialty coffee shops have done this since they opened several decades ago.
Don’t prompt
Many coffee shops, especially those with a takeout focus, still ask customers if they’d like sugar when ordering. A simple way to reduce sugar use is to assume customers don’t want sugar by default. As well as reducing sugar consumption, this can speed up service. Rather than prompting for sugar, use this moment of customer interaction to ask if they’d like any food items.
De-risk the choice
Consider guaranteeing your customer’s experience should they ask for sugar by offering to make the beverage without sugar. They can taste it first and add sugar if they so wish. You can also guide customers towards natural-processed coffees, which often have fruitier, sweeter profiles. And remember milks already contain sugars that add sweetness.
Sugar in context
There’s no need to sugarcoat the situation: further reducing the industry’s sugar consumption isn’t going to save the world from catastrophic climate change. However, reducing sugar use is an easy, profitable and effective step to take.
Plus, helping customers to reduce their sugar intake has real benefits. As an industry we want our customers to live long and healthy lives. And there are financial sweeteners as well. The savings can be paid out as dividends or maybe you’d prefer to fund a bigger staff Christmas party. As customers resolve to improve their diets and create new habits, be on their side. The new year is an opportune moment to refine the role of added sugar in your business.
