Chamberlain Coffee: Gen Z Doesn’t Want to Wait Around for Their Java

As direct-to-consumer (D2C) coffee brands look to capture the loyalty of Generation Z, Chamberlain Coffee is finding that the more work they remove from the brewing process, the more these young consumers will keep coming back.

In an interview with PYMNTS, Liz Ahern, chief marketing officer of the coffee brand, which sells its products via its D2C shop as well as in thousands of retail locations, and which was founded by celebrity influencer Emma Chamberlain, discussed the shift.

“With our consumer, which is the Gen Z consumer, what we’ve found is, a move towards and a preference for convenience when they’re looking for coffee formats,” Ahern said. “So, for example, a single-serve pack for a Keurig or a Nespresso machine, or something that is equipment-less… We’re finding that our consumer is really gravitating towards these formats.”

Ahern noted that consumers are spending less time brewing their coffee at home, and that in addition to pods and just-add-water sachets, the company has also seen “a big shift to ready-to-drink coffee,” a category that performs better in brick-and-mortar retailers, given the high cost of shipping these products.

Many coffee brands have been looking to capture this demand for ready-to-drink beverages and other quick, easy options to gain share from coffee shop quick-service restaurants (QSRs). Conversely, leading QSRs are expanding their lines of at-home products to hold onto their place in consumers’ coffee-drinking routines.

In these efforts, major brick-and-mortar retailers can be the key gatekeepers, making or breaking a brand. These retail placements can be important to a brand’s ability to build more than just a niche following.

PYMNTS Intelligence from the study “Tracking the Digital Payments Takeover: Catching the Coming eCommerce Wave,” created in collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS), revealed that only 12% of grocery orders are placed via digital channels.

The competition in brick-and-mortar is stiff, with more D2C players entering into physical retailers, where they must compete with the existing wide array of options, making it difficult for any brand to stand out. Still, the channel cannot be overlooked.

“We’re expanding into retail right now so that we can reach consumers and shoppers where they are,” Ahern said. “We know that coffee is still one of those things that’s most commonly purchased on that weekly [restock] trip.”

Chamberlain Coffee, for its part, has been selling its ready products at Walmart since April and “just launched” at more than 100 Target locations, Ahern said. According to the company’s store locator on its website, the brand is available at more than 5,000 brick-and-mortar locations.

The company has big plans, looking not to garner a niche following but to become the largest player among Gen Z consumers.

“Our goal is for Chamberlain Coffee to be the go-to coffee and tea brand for the next generation of consumers,” Ahern said. “We have a presence in the U.S. and Europe currently, but we aim to be a global brand.”