Market Analysis

The following post will cover the Finnish coffee consumption culture both on macro- and mesolevel. The traditional ways have developed due to globalization and buyer behavior has changed along with it. New trends are emerging, rising from customer needs. However, coffee culture also faces world wide challenges which we touch on in last paragraph. 

Hope you enjoy!



Coffee is a central part of the Finnish culture. Neither celebration, nor workday, goes by without coffee – 5 cups of coffee to be precise. In fact, Finland has made coffee breaks statutory at the work place, which gives an idea of how integrated coffee is in the culture. Coffee is in the heart of Finnish social life, which contributes to the fact that Finnish people are actually the biggest coffee consumers in the world. The average consumption of coffee per capita in the world is 1,3 kg. Finnish people drink 12,0 kg a year, which exceeds Norway, the runner-up, by more than 2 kg. This is over twice the amount most Europeans drink. With this insight, one can justify Finland as a very potential and interesting market for Starbucks

An interesting fact to be considered while entering the market is that coffee consumption in Finland is little affected by income levels. Coffee is considered as a commodity. In addition, during World War 2, coffee was a scarcity people used to roast light, which has effected the Finnish way of enjoying coffee even today. 

The previous paragraphs considers coffee consumption  on macro level. The following part will drill into a more in-depth analysis on the meso/micro level in Finland.  A fact that immediately comes to mind when thinking of Finnish consumes preferences is that
Finnish coffee is known to be the lightest roast in the world. 94 per cent of the coffee sold is light roast and the remaining six per cent is dark roast or special coffee. The most popular coffee brands are these light roast coffees, which dramatically differentiate the Finnish coffee drinking culture from Southern countries. 

A description of the traditional way in which Finns enjoy their coffee is making a pot at home and sharing it with your guest or drinking it just by yourself. The norm is that morning coffee is enjoyed at home but during the afternoon cafeterias are nice meeting places and opt for an espresso or latte. Among people over 40, the amount of professional coffee machines in peoples homes has increased dramatically. Even though the Finnish tastes are evolving, the majority of people enjoy their coffee light roasted. Compared to Southern cities in Europe, Paris for instance, Café’s have not been a central part of Finnish coffee culture. Where French people enjoy espressos etc. Finnish people normally turn to filtered coffee. However, during the 21st century the coffee culture has been evolving and adopting new ways. People drink more specialty coffees, some of which have very distinct, special flavours. A side note is that in the past, people without exception used mugs but now one can see a growing amount of glasses used for serving coffee. A cardboard take-away cup is a common sight in Finland nowadays. Young people play an essential role in bringing the international coffee culture to Finland. Take-away coffees, sitting in cafeterias reading, studying, meeting friends or just listening to music and enjoying a rainy day create a romantic image of the new, emerging way of sipping on a coffee. In other words, the situations where Finns drink coffee are now more diverse than before, which enables a new approach to the culture. 

A glance at the future
 
An interesting aspect to keep an eye on, is how the climate change affects coffee price. Hence, it's yet to be seen how Finnish coffee consumption is going to develop. Furthermore, sales of coffee has sky rocketed and demand is growing faster than production. The effects remain to be seen.

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Read previous article: Market Plan

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References:

Boström, Sirkku; Maarit Cederberg & Susanna Rajasalo, Kahvikirja. Helsinki: Paulig, 1997.

Paulig, Bertel. Rakkaudesta kahviin. Kahvikirja. Helsinki: Paulig, 1997. 2-3.

Saarinen, Tuija, Kahvihetki kullan kallis: muistoja Pohjois-Savosta. Kuopio: Kuopion isänmaallinen seura, 2003.
International Coffee Organisation ICO and the Coffee Roasters’ Association of the Finnish Food and Drink Industries’ Federation