99p coffee

How much would you typically be looking to spend on a coffee?

Well, that question is rather opened-ended and the potential answers are numerous.

You could, for example, be content with a beverage that costs a couple of pounds (or dollars), or you could be somebody who sources microlots from rare plantations and pay double or triple that amount.

Or you could be one of those people spending ridiculous amounts of money to get your five seconds of fame after buying an over-sized Frappuccino.

Or you could pay 99p.

But in the United Kingdom there is a new competitor that is looking to claim a huge chunk of the coffee market for their own.

The big brands face a new foe as the 99p Store chain has announced that they are set to sell coffees and pastries to their customers.

The fixed point retailer opened its 250^th store in Great Britain this week and, for the first time in its history, will be offering a range of hot drinks, sandwiches and assorted confectionery alongside their usual assorted selection of goods.

The price? Just 99p of course.

“Our customers have broadened their expectations and demand quality, freshness and choice,” said Tony Brown, the 99p Store’s chief operating officer.

“The single price point market has become main stream and therefore we are developing concepts that meet the mainstream customer, such as coffee.”

“The days of the public paying three times over the odds…. [is] a thing of the past. Out mantra and mission is to deliver unrivalled jaw dropping value [on] Britain’s high streets.”

The first of these new look stores has opened up in Northampton and it is expected that this model will be rolled out across all their British locations in the near future.

“I think we’ve turned a corner,” mused the co-founder of the chain Hussein Lalani. “It brings competition and value to the high street. Shoppers today are still looking for value.”

It is reported that the store has signed an agreement which will see their bakery selection be supplied by Delice de France, and that the coffee will come from Nescafe’s Alegria automated machine.

There might be no conversation between you and the unit and it is unlikely to ask your name before brewing up your latte to go, but it does give you a coffee-based drink for under a pound. 

In a world where coffee prices are rising, could cheap fixed point retailers thrive by taking on the traditional players such as Starbucks, Costa, McDonalds and the independents?

Or will their comic sans typeface put customers off?

By Paul & Aline Burland [CC-BY-SA-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons