$1 Coles Express coffee sees 20 per cent sales spike

It’s an item most of us consume every day – now the supermarket giant is selling it for a quarter of its normal price, earning a loyal customer base.

When it comes to coffee it’s safe to say us Aussies can be rather snobbish when it comes to our daily fix, shunning chains in favour of fancy cafe-made drops.

But Coles has just completed a national rollout of barista style self-serve machines in 720 Coles Express stores – and the $1 offering is already proving popular with shoppers.

While most “servo coffees” wouldn’t to live up to standards, these grab-and-go cups have been expertly blended by a well-known Melbourne coffee roaster causing a big spike in sales.

Coles Express executive general manager Michael Courtney told news.com.au the $1 price, heavily-discounted in comparison to a cup from most cafes, was about “democratising quality coffee”.

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The fancy new machines let customers make their perfect cup for $1. Picture: Supplied.

“Drinking coffee is such an important ritual of the day for so many people, it should be an enjoyable experience and not cost a small fortune, especially when you’re on to your second or third cup of the day,” he said.

Already, the supermarket’s new Urban Coffee Culture blend has a loyal customer base according to Mr Courtney.

“We have seen customers come in every day for this coffee and since we started rolling out the new machines and coffee blend with the business seeing up to a 20 per cent increase in coffee volumes and a strong uplift in customer satisfaction since the rollout began,” Mr Courtney said.

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Coffee sales have risen up to 20 per cent since the new machines were introduced. Picture: Supplied.

Using new Swiss-made automated machines, customers can construct their perfect cup of Java choosing from a weak, medium or strong coffee blend with either skim or full-cream dairy milk.

“We also have the option of iced coffee which has been a popular option during the warmer months,” Mr Courtney said.

It has also won a series of awards, picking up five medals including a bronze for best chain store-franchise coffee at the Golden Bean competition last year.

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Coffee blend development expert and world barista judge Justin Metcalf. Picture: Supplied.

Coles’ blend was created by Aurigin Coffee, with coffee blend development expert and world barista judge Justin Metcalf in charge of creating the perfect drop for the supermarket.

The Melbourne-based coffee company is also behind the supermarket’s at-home Coles Finest Coffee range.

Mr Metcalf said it took him and his team “a number of months” to develop the blend, stating it’s crucial the coffee be suitable for the automatic machine while not being compromising on flavour.

“The feedback indicates that we have developed a consistent barista-style coffee in a convenience channel that hasn’t been done before,” he said.

“And to have five medals awarded to Coles Express in the largest coffee competition in the world is testament to the quality.”