Independent stores are battling it out with national chains for a slice of Britain’s £9 billion coffee shop market.
It is predicted the UK’s coffee shop market will be worth £15 billion by 2020 with over 30,000 premises – a rise of 10,000 outlets in three years.
Research suggests the bigger players are winning the fight of the frapuccinos, with 29% outlets now national chains.
While national chains bring consistent standards and local employment, small business
campaigners say they keep earnings local.
“Every penny that comes into them, every £5 that comes into them, £4 is recycled because they use local suppliers,” says Susan Wilkinson from the Federation of Small Businesses.
Ultimately the consumer will decide with their pennies and shape how the high streets look in the future. Whether it is dominated by the big chains or the independents only time will tell
We are a big fan of independents. They usually know their customers by name, can offer a wide range of locally supplied goods including cakes and special dietary requirement goods
like Gluten Free , Vegan and are often quite quirky in design unlike the standard uniform design of the big chains and competitively priced
