In the coffee machine market, China, known as the world’s factory, is a central production hub for coffee machines. Data suggests that nearly 80% of coffee machines worldwide are produced in China.
In recent years, with the rise of cross-border e-commerce, Chinese coffee machines have begun to enter the global market under brand identities such as TIMEMORE, Cyetus, Kalerm, and HiBREW, according to AliExpress’s summary of the top ten best-selling products in the cross-border e-commerce industry in 2023, coffee machines, robotic vacuum cleaners, and pet supplies ranked in the top three.
Three Waves
In legend, the shepherd Kaldi, living in Ethiopia, made the first cup of coffee in human history. Today, coffee, cocoa, and tea are ranked as one of the world’s three significant beverages, representing a particular lifestyle and aesthetic pursuit to some extent. In 2022, global coffee consumption reached 100.224 million tons, demonstrating people’s love for coffee.
Throughout history, the coffee industry has undergone three waves of reform.
The first coffee wave occurred in the early 20th century, with Nestlé coffee as its representative. Instant coffee appeared, and during World War II, instant coffee was transported worldwide through military logistics, globalizing coffee consumption and significantly changing people’s dietary habits.
The second coffee wave occurred from the 1960s to the 2000s, with Starbucks as its representative enterprise. During this period, people emphasized the variety and quality of beans, pursued roasting technology, and promoted the boutique nature of coffee. Starbucks’ expansion popularized Italian espresso coffee in the United States.
The third wave of coffee has been from the early 21st century. Prosperity and the development of coffee culture have propelled coffee from boutique to aesthetics, emphasizing latte art and the original flavor of coffee beans.
In the popularization and improvement of coffee culture, consumers have higher requirements for coffee’s quality and production process. More and more people are abandoning instant coffee and turning to specialty coffee. Data shows that American coffee enthusiasts dislike instant coffee, with only 5% consuming it in 2023.
Consumption and Competition
According to Statista data, the United States and Europe rank top in the coffee machine consumption market, reaching $3.52 billion and $4.98 billion, respectively, in 2022, accounting for 29.4% and 41.6% of the global market size.
As a significant coffee-consuming country, approximately 150 million Americans are passionate coffee lovers, with 80% drinking at least one cup at home. In terms of age, about 72% of Americans aged 60 and above drink coffee every day.
Many local brands dominate overseas markets, posing high entry barriers. According to SellerSpirit data, among the Top 100 coffee machine products searched using the keyword “coffee maker” on Amazon U.S., only seven products are from Chinese sellers, with a brand concentration rate of 78.2%.
Chinese Players
According to data from the General Administration of Customs, in 2023, the total export value of Chinese coffee machine products, including drip, distillation filtration, and pump pressure types, amounted to $2.1 billion. However, these exports mainly consist of mid to low-end products.
China’s coffee machine industry is concentrated in Foshan, Dongguan, and Ningbo. Through searches on Zhiyouji, a platform for finding factories, it was found that in Foshan alone, there are dozens of coffee machine manufacturing enterprises such as Xinbao Electric, Yilong Group, Shunde Karama, Xuetelong Electric, Benli, and Huashen.
Leading overseas crowdfunding service provider Langhan Technology stated that China’s coffee machine industry supply chain also includes many component suppliers, providing various components and accessories required by coffee machines, such as motors, water pumps, and heating elements.
With the rise of cross-border e-commerce, Chinese coffee machines have begun to enter the world stage under the guise of brands, broadly divided into three types of players.
The first type is small and medium-sized players selling OEM products on Amazon. They sell domestically produced coffee machines on Amazon to earn price differences. The second type is emerging startup brands. The third type, represented by companies like Bifei, is OEM factories eager to transform. The pandemic has led to emerging coffee machine brands going global. Brands like Cyetus, xBloom, and Wirsh were born in 2021.
Due to objective constraints during the pandemic, most overseas consumers could not go to coffee shops, significantly increasing demand for home coffee making. During this period, many professional baristas, World Barista Championship (WBC) champions, and other KOLs took the initiative to post videos on social media, teaching ordinary consumers how to make coffee at home that rivals the quality of coffee shops, further fueling the trend of homemade coffee.
Furthermore, these emerging coffee machine brands have targeted the U.S. market and chosen the home coffee machine segment as their niche.
Advanced Gameplay
As emerging players go global, Chinese coffee machine brands are gradually shifting their focus from emphasizing product quality and manufacturing craftsmanship to emphasizing innovative design, multifunctionality, and intelligence.
Observing the official websites of most coffee machine brands, one will find a section dedicated to tutorial videos and recipes suitable for different models of coffee machines.
To attract consumers’ attention, other brands of coffee machines strive to create points of differentiation. For example, Xiaogou Electric focuses more on intelligence and convenience, with products typically featuring smart controls, preset coffee recipes, remote operation, and sleek, stylish designs suitable for home users. Koepf mainly focuses on commercial coffee machines that have high performance and strong stability.
Meanwhile, xBloom specializes in premium home coffee machines, using the mainstream American capsule coffee machine type and filling the capsules with coffee beans (whereas Keurig capsules contain coffee powder), enhancing coffee quality through freshly ground methods. What’s more distinctive is that xBloom’s capsules are made from sugarcane fiber and are 100% biodegradable.
Environmental consciousness is critical today. Reports show that factors such as the treatment of farm workers and whether coffee beans are grown sustainably will influence coffee enthusiasts’ brand choices. If people believe that coffee is produced environmentally and ethically, they are willing to pay an extra $1.36 per pound of coffee.
With the booming development of the camping economy, the demand for portable coffee machines is gradually increasing. Compared to traditional large-capacity coffee machines, small-capacity coffee machines with compact size and easy portability have become the new favorite for outdoor travel. Just imagine, who could resist a cup of coffee on the journey?