AFTER THE BELL: Lovers of the bean, rejoice — a coffee price battle is brewing

South Africa’s coffee market is getting crowded, prices are rising, and Shoprite’s acquisition of Vida e Caffè could trigger an even more intense battle for our daily caffeine fix. For coffee lovers, that may mean more choice, more competition – and perhaps better prices – but the urban coffee map could be about to change again.

There have been times in my working life when I have realised just how important good coffee can be.

I’m sure that you have had moments at work, or shifts or meetings where the outcome would have been very different without some good coffee.

Despite my love of the stuff (or dependency if you prefer), I am always blown away by how many coffee places there are. Where I live, not a million miles from Sandton, before the pandemic you would have had to move suburbs to find really good coffee.

Then, as it became clear that working from home was going to be a thing (in my own view, it’s the beginning of the end of civilisation as we know it … a diatribe for another time perhaps...), one of the big chains opened an outlet in walking distance from us.

For those up to date with their urban geography (which includes most cyclists and dog-walkers), it was part of a much bigger dynamic - of that movement away from office centres where everyone went during the day, towards a more spread out model where we worked at home, or closer to it.

The chain, which may involve the name of a parent, was clearly moving to its market.

About a year ago another big chain, one you would have to insert your legs into boots to get to, opened across the road. To the joy of those stuck at the robots on their way to work every morning it’s provided some entertainment.

First, while the interloper was being built, the more established chain sent people out into the street with leaflets, putting them in through your window whether you wanted them or not. Then, when the new guy opened, they had a big special. If you got your coffee before eight in the morning, you’d get it for under R30.

Just around the corner is not one, but two more outlets, one named after a city in the US, the other after a Greek philosopher.

This morning, as part of its results, Shoprite confirmed it’s buying another coffee chain, Vida e Caff è . Shoprite is a group that hasn’t put a major foot wrong in recent years, so they have clearly done their homework. They must believe there is still a lot of growth to come in this market.

And, obviously, they have the capital and the back-up to really propel the chain to greater heights.

But we are now at a point where a family can be driving through an area and all get their coffee from different places. In my own family there is one of us who really prefers her milky froth from an independent operator that is not far away, but isn’t close either.

Unfortunately, their americanos are rubbish, so I try to avoid it wherever possible.