Richard Corney: Flight Coffee co-founder on the growing popularity of iced coffee

Flat whites are out and iced coffees are in - and there's a wide range of factors behind this change.

Cafes across the nation have noticed an uptick in younger customers reaching for cold drinks over hot.

Flight Coffee co-founder Richard Corney says there's been a rise in people buying iced drinks, as well as chilled RTD coffees.

"I don't have stats off the top of my head in terms of value now, but we've definitely seen a big consumer shift in how coffee's being consumed - mainly lead by Gen Z." 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Heither duper c Ellen.

Speaker 2 (00:01):
So apparently the flat white is over nineteen past five
and the iced coffee is in. This is apparently the
American influence taking hold in this country. Richard Corney is
the co founder and the managing director of Flight Coffee
and is with US High Richard Golda.

Speaker 1 (00:15):
Heather has a game.

Speaker 2 (00:15):
Well, thanks mate, you've seen this. You've seen the old
iced coffee taking off.

Speaker 1 (00:19):
Yeah. Absolutely, it's been gradually growing well, probably over the
last ten years. Really our cafe and Wellington about thirteen
fifteen percent of our beverage sales are cold or iced beverages.
But you're also seeing a really big rise in the
likes of chilled RTD coffee is ready to drink coffees right,

(00:41):
So like some Tory boss and about twenty nineteen the
market in New Zealand for RTDs was pretty much non existent.
They came in. I don't have steps off to my
head what it is in terms of value now, but
you've definitely seen a big consumer shift and how Yeah,
coffee's been consumed mainly led by gene is it, but
also people just wanting, you know, something different.

Speaker 2 (01:04):
Now I can understand the iced coffee because the young
people in the office were telling me it's more it's instagrammable.
But I don't get why are you drinking a coffee
and a can?

Speaker 1 (01:13):
Well, that's each to their own reading. I suppose it's
the inconvenience factor. Yeah, absolutely, yeah, yeah, absolutely, it's the
convenience if you don't.

Speaker 2 (01:20):
Have time, if you don't have time, Richard, to stop
and go to a coffee shop or make one yourself.
How many are you smashing in a day?

Speaker 1 (01:27):
Oh, you have to ask, you have to ask the
trades that one. But yeah, like a it's a massive
growing market, you know. For us we have a range
of five or six scus of RTDs and and yeah,
that's a that's a growing channel for us.

Speaker 2 (01:43):
So it's how does thisess going for you? Guys? Is
it all right? At the minute?

Speaker 1 (01:48):
Business is challenging. Coffee is hard right now. Coffee industries
and cafes and hospitality too as well as is still
facing some pretty extreme cost pressures from a really high
coffee market. And we're sort of we're sitting in the
space for the rest of the year. Really, we just
got to just got to trade through it somehow.

Speaker 2 (02:08):
Yeah, So if we want to come in and help
you out. We've got to buy a coffee and or
something else, don't we Yes, yes, please, good to know. Hey,
thank you very much, Richard, best of luck with it.
Richie Corney, co founder managing director of Flight Coffee. They
do a mean cup of coffee. For more from Hither
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