When most people hear the word “coffee,” they conjure up an image of a fragrant, piping hot cup of coffee nestled between their hands in the early morning hours. However, that image could be changing.
Although the roast and ground coffee segment makes up the largest share of the coffee category, it’s the slowest-growing segment. According to Los Angeles-based IBISWorld’s June “Coffee Production in the US” report, the segment comprises 43.1 percent of the category. Yet, Chicago-based Information Resources Inc. (IRI) reports flat sales in the ground coffee segment and a 2.4 percent decrease in ground decaffeinated coffee dollar sales for the 52 weeks ending July 15, in U.S. multi-outlets, including grocery, drug, mass merchandisers, convenience, military, and select dollar and club stores.