Coffee and Tea Manufacturers
Industry Profile Report
Dive Deep into the industry with a 25+ page industry report (pdf format) including the following chapters
Industry Overview Current Conditions, Industry Structure, How Firms Operate, Industry Trends, Credit Underwriting & Risks, and Industry Forecast.
Call Preparation Call Prep Questions, Industry Terms, and Weblinks.
Financial Insights Working Capital, Capital Financing, Business Valuation, and Financial Benchmarks.
Industry Profile Excerpts
Industry Overview
The 910 coffee or tea manufacturers in the US produce roasted coffee, packaged tea, and related products. Coffee manufacturers roast coffee beans and produce coffee-based products, such as concentrates, extracts, flavorings, and syrups. Tea manufacturers produce tea concentrates or herbal teas or blend tea. Firms may offer related products, such as green coffee, other types of beverages, coffee filters, sugar, and creamers.
Variable Ingredient Costs
The cost of green coffee, the primary input to roasted coffee, is volatile and affects margins and profitability.
Dependence on Imports
The US is the world’s largest importer of coffee beans and the third-largest importer of tea.
Industry size & Structure
The average coffee or tea manufacturer operates out of a single location, employs fewer than 22 workers, and generates about $13-14 million annually.
- The coffee and tea manufacturing industry comprises about 910 firms that employ 20,000 workers and generate $12.5 billion annually.
- The industry is highly concentrated; the top 50 companies account for about 91% of industry revenue.
- Multi-national food conglomerates, including J.M. Smuckers (Folgers) and Kraft Heinz Group (Maxwell House), roast and sell coffee beans, as do large coffee chains, such as Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts.
- Large coffee manufacturers include Farmer Brothers and Coffee Holding Co.
- Large tea manufacturers include Unilever, R.C. Bigelow, Hain Celestial, and Twinings. Major soft drink manufacturers like Coca-Cola and Pepsi have tea brands in their product portfolios.
- Domestic production comes from Kona coffee grown in Hawaii, which represents less than 1% of US consumption. The rest is imported primarily from Colombia and Brazil.
Industry Forecast
Coffee and Tea Manufacturers Industry Growth
Recent Developments
Feb 20, 2025 - Record High Prices
- The Producer Price Index (PPI) for coffee and tea manufacturers, which measures prices before reaching consumers, jumped 11.8% in December compared to a year ago after rising 6.8% in the previous December-versus-December annual comparison, according to the latest US Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Producer prices are at record high levels as poor harvests in key growing areas crimp supplies and drive up the cost of coffee beans. Employment by makers of coffee, tea, and other food products fell 3.6% year over year in December, per the BLS, amid declining sales for food companies.
- For the first time in its history, the price of coffee futures on the commodities market topped $4 per pound in February, according to Business Insider. Year-to-date, coffee futures prices are up almost 35% and have more than doubled from the same time last year. Climate change, dwindling global stockpiles, and President Trump’s threat to impose a 25% tariff on all goods from Colombia, including coffee, are driving up coffee prices. Although the tariff threat to Columbia was ultimately removed, Trump’s affinity for tariffs and the possibility of a resultant trade war have added instability to commodity markets, including the coffee market. The price of tea is also subject to climate and geopolitics. Tea prices exhibited volatility in 2024 rising steeply in the first half of the year and then falling back to January 2024 levels at the start of 2025, according to data from Trading Economics.
- Coffee drinkers should prepare for surging prices amid global shortages in 2025, according to BBC News. The price of Arabica coffee beans surged to a record high of $3.44 per pound in December, up more than 80% for the year, due to bad weather in the top producing countries Brazil and Vietnam. Brazil suffered its worst drought in 70 years during August and September, followed by heavy rains, raising fears that the flowering crop could fail, Ole Hansen, Head of Commodity Strategy at Saxo Bank told the BBC. In Vietnam, Robusta crops are also threatened by droughts and heavy rains. While producers have been absorbing rising production costs, the increases are so severe they say they'll soon have to pass them on to consumers who will start to feel price increases as early as the beginning of 2025.
- Coffee and tea prices are rising along with global temperatures. Futures prices for coffee and tea are up more than 50% since the start of the year, according to data from Trading Economics. A major factor in the price rise of these two commodities is the changing climate, marked by longer summers and prolonged droughts. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal Italy’s Illy Coffee Chairman Andrea Illy, said “Coffee producers have to adapt to climate change in order for global prices to stabilize.” With daily coffee consumption at a 20-year high according to the National Coffee Association, robust demand amid a shrinking supply is driving up coffee prices. In addition to climate change, geopolitical pressures – including tensions in the Red Sea and the war in Ukraine driving up fertilizer prices – are disrupting the traditional tea supply chain, causing tea prices to boil.
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