There are no cheap shots when it comes to the price of coffee  

The business of coffee, like any other business, has its up and downs. However, the cost of coffee in the last few years is showing an upward trend.  

Statistics released by the Central Statistics Office show that coffee prices in Ireland will have risen by 10.6% by the beginning of November 2025. This is also in line with a general increase of the overall Consumer Price Index (CPI), which has increased by 2.9%.  

Internationally, coffee prices have risen by 109% globally, and this is just in the past year. In the past five years there has been an increase of 145%, which is a very high jump from previous years. This has to do with the type of coffee beans being used, the most popular coffee bean being Arabica.  

Stephen Kennedy, a café owner in Dublin has been involved in the business of coffee for ten years. “It is challenging. Coffee prices have risen by about 40% in the last three years,” said Kennedy. “There are several reasons for this. Firstly, the demand for coffee is increasing. There are issues around the supply chain because of weather events like floods and droughts, which result in crop damage, all of which contribute to the higher cost of our coffee beans.” Milk has gone up by 65 %, packaging has increased by 40%, insurance has gone up by anywhere between 45% and 70%. The highest cost increase is in the price of a latte, and that is a 25% increase over the last 3 years. So, our cost base has increased by anything up to 70% but we can’t pass that on to the customer.  Businesses are absorbing the cost of the increases, and the only way to stay afloat in this sector is to get busier.” 

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) released figures that show that dairy prices have soared since November 2024 with the national average price of two litres of full fat milk having gone up by 10c. As of November 2025, this has since shot up by a whopping 12.1%, or a total of 27c. This doesn’t seem like a lot but when running a business which buys in bulk supply, this is a significant increase.  

Kennedy also said that rising electricity costs are another challenge to keeping the business going. “Prices increased by 200% because of the war in Ukraine. They have now fallen back to 122%. The minimum wage has also had an impact as it has increased by 4%.  Although I am in favour of improving pay and conditions for lower paid workers, the real question is affordability and how businesses meet those increased costs.” 

According to IBEC, 84% of businesses surveyed were planning a pay increase in 2025, with a forecast average increase of 3.4%. In 2024, the average increase was 4.1%.  

 “We have pushed very hard for a reduction in the VAT rate which will come into operation in July 2026. But there are other factors like national minimum wage increase, pension auto enrolment, statutory sick pay, and additional bank charges which must be factored in.  These are all costs that businesses need to shoulder which make the business model very challenging and very tricky.  It’s a balancing act to make it work.”  

So how to keep afloat and stay profitable with all these charges? 

“Get busier, have an excellent product that people will return to, create a neighbourhood style café that is part of the community and be sensitive to the environment you are working in.”