Gen Z has different coffee preferences than previous generations, and according to news outlet Fast Company, they “like it cold, sweet and loaded with creamer. For a lot of younger drinkers, that very first cup of coffee was just as likely to be iced as it was hot. And get this—about 85% of Gen Z coffee fans are adding creamer, compared to just 70% of coffee drinkers overall,” the outlet wrote.

Beverage companies are answering to the younger cohort’s demand with new products. Nestlé, for example, said it has released products "from cold-dissolving instant coffee to liquid espresso concentrates and all kinds of flavored toppings,” Fast Company said. 

In addition, younger consumers are becoming coffee drinkers at an earlier age. “Today’s trend is cold beverages,” said Tim Cox, marketing manager for Franke Coffee Systems Americas. “Most coffee consumed is still hot, but cold drinks have seen tremendous growth since 2020, largely driven by younger millennial and Gen Z consumers. Cold coffee used to be a spring and summer drink, but now consumers enjoy cold coffee year-round.”

“Gen Z customers started drinking coffee at the youngest age of all generations—as young as 14 years old, according to Statista,” said Drew Whitefield, senior category manager of hot and cold coffee for 7-Eleven. “Cold coffee—both cold brew and iced specialty—is the most popular when it comes to young consumers.”

This trend is also affected by the changes in long-established consumer coffee-drinking habits. The convenience industry’s traditional dayparts have been disrupted. “For years, the morning daypart was top of mind. Now, dayparts merge together, and that’s impactful. But retailers can gain additional sales if they pay attention to the entire day.

Coffee is a great money maker. Consumers spend an average of $301 million on coffee and related goods every day—that’s $110 billion per year, and $7.4 billion of that is spent in c-stores. Although we can’t predict the future, it’s safe to say that America’s love affair with coffee will continue for generations to come.

In order to continue benefiting from this source of revenue, c-store operators should get a clear demographics analysis by address: their age, gender, income levels. And not just for the local area but also for the drivers that speed by your store – but may stop by to grab that cup of java, whether hot or cold.

The science of knowing who drives past your store is called Traffic Flow Demographics, and currently the best source of this information – for any place in the country – is Ticon, a renown expert in location intelligence and retail site selection.

Ticon products are available with nationwide coverage and high granularity, at Ticon’s industry-leading accuracy and precision.

So, if you want to be ahead of the coffee game, give us a call to talk about product selection optimization with Ticon’s highly granular data.