Quick-service restaurants fight to steal share from bakery, coffee cafés

Chicago – Though Canadian bakery and coffee cafés face fierce competition from quick-service restaurants, cafés will continue to thrive as they meet consumers’ demands for affordability and convenience while still providing quality, says a report from research firm Technomic.

To stay ahead of the competition, these cafés are enhancing beverage programs, adding higher-quality fare and integrating more technology to engage consumers and speed up operations, says the “Canadian Bakery & Coffee Café Consumer Trend Report.”

“Cafés should highlight and continue to focus efforts on what sets them apart from others in the space, particularly quality, a better-for-you positioning and the overall experience,” Kelly Weikel, director of consumer insights at Technomic, said in a news release. “But increased competition means they now also have to work harder at justifying price points, innovating their food and beverage lineups but still meeting consumer needs for convenience.”

The report compiles consumer and menu data from Technomic’s proprietary Digital Resource Library and MenuMonitor resources, in addition to survey responses from more than 1,000 Canadian consumers.

It includes the following findings:

• 77 per cent of consumers visit coffee cafés each month, and 34 per cent visit bakery cafés as often.
• 42 per cent of consumers visit bakery cafés because they enjoy the food while 17 per cent say the same for coffee cafés.
• Breads, such as bagels, English muffins and toast, account for 21 per cent of baked goods at bakery cafés, followed by pastries (11 per cent). Dessert bars top the baked goods at coffee cafés (14 per cent), followed by bagels/English muffins/toast (10 per cent).