News from the Executive Director

Caffeine may be the perfect drug of the Internet Age – cheap, legal, and available absolutely everywhere. For a population complaining of fatigue, exhaustion, stress, and insomnia, it appears a near perfect antidote.

Caffeine consumption has long been associated with decreased risk of liver disease and reduced fibrosis in patients with chronic liver disease.

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Analysis: Single-cup coffee sales seen growing

(Reuters) – Sara Lee Corp Executive Chairman Jan Bennink thinks it is time for his company to reinvest in the single-serve coffee market.

Back in 2001, when it teamed up with Philips to launch the Senseo machines that brew single cups of coffee in seconds, it was a pioneer of that market.

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Coffee farmers in Vietnam, the world’s largest producer of the robusta variety, have sold about 40 percent of the crop ending Sept. 30, according to Volcafe, the coffee unit of commodities trader ED&F Man Holdings Ltd.

Growers in the Southeast Asian nation had been holding back beans before the Tet festival, which marks the Lunar New Year, awaiting better prices. Vietnam’s coffee exports may increase this month as good weather helps beans to dry and the holiday ends, said traders and officials. The sales pace may slow after February as farmers wait for price direction, said Le Tien Hung, deputy director of Sept. 2nd Import-Export Co., known as Simexco, based in Dak Lak the biggest growing province.

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#coffee consumption on the rise! – U.S. Retail Coffee Sales Rose 19% in 2011, SymphonyIRI Says

By Marvin G. Perez

Jan. 24 (Bloomberg) — Sales of coffee by U.S. retailers climbed 19 percent to $4.52 billion in the 52 weeks ended Dec. 25 from a year earlier, as demand increased for ground beans and single-cup packets, market researcher SymphonyIRI Group said.

The data exclude sales at Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world’s largest retailer, as well as club and convenience stores.

About 63 percent of sales were ground coffee at $2.83 billion, followed by single-cup servings and instant coffee each at 11 percent market share, and whole beans with 7.6 percent, the figures show.

Ground-coffee sales rose 16 percent from a year earlier, single-serve sales more than doubled, while instant coffee gained 8.2 percent, according to the report.

Total units sold rose 2.1 percent from a year earlier, with single packets almost doubling from a year ago, while ground coffee sales dropped 1.7 percent and whole coffee beans declined 5.8 percent, the data show.

Prices per unit sold rose 14 percent on average from a year earlier, Chicago-based SymphonyIRI said. The U.S. is the world’s largest coffee consumer.

–Editors: Thomas Galatola, Bob Brennan

To contact the reporter on this story: Marvin G. Perez in New York at mperez71@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Steve Stroth at sstroth@bloomberg.net