JDE Peet's survives Covid thanks to expensive home brews

Coffee and tea giant JDE Peet’s saw the drop in out-of-home coffee consumption compensated by a rise in home consumption, where customers seem to prefer more expensive coffees.

Record sales

Many drinks producers have suffered from the forced closing of pubs (and lots of offices) as part of the battle against Covid-19, but JDE Peet’s was able to compensate the damage for the largest part. The owner of coffee brand Douwe Egberts and tea brand Pickwick saw its half-year turnover drop just 2.9 % to 3.2 billion euros. Despite being a smaller decrease than most companies suffered, it caused the company’s very first share drop since its flotation in May.

However, the home segment grew by 3.7 % in Europe, JDE Peet’s most important market, and the Dutch company achieved record sales in the Old Continent. This came courtesy of people being forced to work from home treating themselves with more expensive coffee in their home office compared to the ones they used to drink on-the-go. Moreover, profit margins are higher as well, and online sales went up by almost two thirds. Underlying profit went up 12 % to 393 million euros.

The group’s optimism can also be understood by viewing the recovery in the hospitality sector in June, leading JDE Peet’s to forecast turnover growth and a 5 to 8 % profit growth for the full year.