The Real Price of Coffee
Just read an article, on the price of coffee. It was a very interesting read, and as this blog progresses I will share with you some of the most interesting things I find on the internet; many people who know me, find it hard to impress me, or find an article or video that I have not yet seen.
Workers of coffee only get paid on average of 50p a day, which is a fraction of coffee costs. So why is our coffee so expensive, more so why are the workers getting paid so little for the other "black gold".
First, the plantation workers don't get paid as much for coffee either. When you count transportation costs, which are high when you take into account transportation from Ethiopia to Europe or the Americas. Then of course, you have to take into account all the costs of starting a coffee business. These days, not many mom and pop shops are around anymore, with many chains putting the smaller shops out of business, or business's that have been around for a while, are offering more coffee, and coffee combinations, and especially are profiting from "premium" quality coffee sales.
To open a franchise is not cheap, when you count the money/equipment down, and all the expenses of employee's, bills, and insurance, that is a ton of coffee you have to sell each day. The franchise company has a tough job as well, inovation and marketing, both very important. Without iced coffee, summers would be a disaster for most coffee shops.
So, therefore, our expensive cup of coffee has never really been as profitable, until recently with coffee craze, and premium coffee expansion. More so, shops are making money by offering other high return products such as gum or pastries. I've read that Starbucks will be selling cd's in their stores now.
Workers are getting paid of course it is very low wages, considering how much the coffee industry has expanded, and I'm sure there are many bad practices such as poor working conditions, and long working days, with probably low probability of any pension plans, or retirment. Hopefully, as groups and individuals learn of the poor treatment of workers on the coffee, there will be changes. However, will these groups and individuals be willing to pay even more for their coffee?
Workers of coffee only get paid on average of 50p a day, which is a fraction of coffee costs. So why is our coffee so expensive, more so why are the workers getting paid so little for the other "black gold".
First, the plantation workers don't get paid as much for coffee either. When you count transportation costs, which are high when you take into account transportation from Ethiopia to Europe or the Americas. Then of course, you have to take into account all the costs of starting a coffee business. These days, not many mom and pop shops are around anymore, with many chains putting the smaller shops out of business, or business's that have been around for a while, are offering more coffee, and coffee combinations, and especially are profiting from "premium" quality coffee sales.
To open a franchise is not cheap, when you count the money/equipment down, and all the expenses of employee's, bills, and insurance, that is a ton of coffee you have to sell each day. The franchise company has a tough job as well, inovation and marketing, both very important. Without iced coffee, summers would be a disaster for most coffee shops.
So, therefore, our expensive cup of coffee has never really been as profitable, until recently with coffee craze, and premium coffee expansion. More so, shops are making money by offering other high return products such as gum or pastries. I've read that Starbucks will be selling cd's in their stores now.
Workers are getting paid of course it is very low wages, considering how much the coffee industry has expanded, and I'm sure there are many bad practices such as poor working conditions, and long working days, with probably low probability of any pension plans, or retirment. Hopefully, as groups and individuals learn of the poor treatment of workers on the coffee, there will be changes. However, will these groups and individuals be willing to pay even more for their coffee?
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home