In Ukraine, there are not that many companies that could share their experience of operating in different countries. This applies to coffee sales too, a beverage that is largely popular in Europe. Among global brands, only Shell operates in Ukraine, and NaftoRynok has already covered the impact the company had on coffee culture at Ukrainian gas stations. Another energy giant, BP, failed to prosper in Ukraine. SOCAR network is only starting to experience competition for the loyalty of European drivers, while AVIA is barely recognizable by Ukrainian customers due to a lack of marketing. At the same time, AMIC ENERGY is a large brand presented on both markets – Ukraine and Poland. Therefore, the company was approached to share information about coffee sales in these two countries.

Ukrainian coffee market has developed dynamically over the last 20 years, and customers now have certain expectations towards quality of coffee at gas stations. "Generally speaking, coffee culture in Ukraine is at a very high level; since customers have an option to choose between a wide range of different coffee-selling spots, the requirements regarding beverage quality are very high too," says AMIC Ukraine, noting that customer expectations are a decisive factor when it comes down to development of coffee offers.

The era of instant coffee remained in the 90s. Nowadays, customers in Ukraine expect drinks to be made from at least bean coffee and real milk. However, the type of beans, the level of the coffee machine, the range of drinks, etc. are becoming increasingly important, AMIC Ukraine notes. The company revealed that they are very cautious when it comes down to selecting coffee beans for distribution, conducting tests on various coffee tastes when prepared in different coffee machines under different modes and settings etc. "We adjusted settings and beans in accordance to the instant feedback we received, trying to fine-tune the recipe. We had five stages of testing before the beans are delivered to gas stations," AMIC Ukraine mentioned.

The company said that they have been working with 100% Arabica for a long time in Ukraine and are not considering the introduction of robusta. "Over the past few years, we have been working with a premium coffee brand," says AMIC Ukraine. “The brand we use to make our coffee is a medium-roasted (moderate Italian) coffee with notes of toffee, dark chocolate, and macadamia nuts. This coffee fits best for making black and milk-based coffee drinks."

Choosing the right beans is an art, as Ukrainians' preferences differ from region to region. "For example, in one region, people prefer more bitter coffee, while in another, they like a more neutral taste with less pronounced bitterness, but with sourness," AMIC Ukraine noted. The company added that when selecting the beans, the main task was to pick the variety and roast that would appeal to all customers.

Growth Prospects

It is believed that the most coffee is consumed in regions with a cold climate, such as in Northern Europe, Scandinavia in particular. In Central Europe, the cold period is quite long, which has an impact on the sales of hot beverages. In both Ukraine and Poland, the demand for coffee is high, and at the same time, the markets show potential for consumption volume growth.

The volume of the coffee market in Poland continues to grow and is currently estimated at about PLN 7 billion, AMIC Polska told NaftoRynok. Of this amount, more than PLN 4 billion is spent on coffee consumed at home, and about PLN 3 billion is spent outside the home. Over the past three years, the number of Poles who drink coffee outside the home has been steadily increasing. According to surveys, 30% of Poles who have a habit of drinking coffee outside their homes choose gas stations. "Why do people choose gas stations as a place for coffee? It's a convenient place, good quality coffee machines and coffee beans, and, of course, the price, which is slightly lower than in coffee shops," AMIC Polska noted.

Overall, coffee consumption in Poland has increased by 80% over the last 10 years, according to AMIC Polska, adding that on average, each Pole consumes 3 kg of coffee per year. The Polish AMIC network sells about 20 tons of coffee per year, as reported to NaftoRynok. According to POPiHN data as of the end of 2022, the network included 117 gas stations. "The average sale of coffee cups at gas stations is about 50 cups per day," commented AMIC Polska. Coffee beverages make up to 95% of the total sales volume of hot beverages. The rest is attributed to tea and hot chocolate, the company added.

The full-scale russian military invasion of Ukraine led to a certain decrease in demand. Some people fled the country, while others experience financial struggles. However, the demand for coffee in Ukraine remains high. In AMIC Ukraine states that they currently sell over 4 million cups of coffee per year, which equals around 40 tons of coffee beans – twice as much as in Poland. However, the company owns more gas stations in Ukraine. There are about 200 gas stations in Ukraine currently, under the AMIC brand. Co-owner of AMIC ENERGY Management, Günter Maier, previously mentioned that before the full-scale invasion, the company used to have 227 gas stations in Ukraine, but some were destroyed, and nearly 20 gas stations are located on temporarily occupied territories. Coffee can be purchased at all AMIC ENERGY gas stations – both in Ukraine and Poland.

Dairy Countries

Clients in Ukraine and Poland share a common feature – they enjoy drinking coffee with milk. 68% of Poles prefer “white” coffee, as noted by AMIC Polska. Meanwhile, nearly 65% of Poles don't add sugar, whipped cream or syrups to their coffee. In recent years, the popularity of alternative milk such as oat milk, soy milk, etc., has been growing, according to the company. Poles often enjoy a take-out coffee while shopping (21.7%) or travelling (21.2%).

At AMIC ENERGY gas stations in Ukraine, the most popular coffee beverage is black coffee with milk, as shared by AMIC Ukraine. This drink is preferred by 37% of customers, while latte takes 9% and cappuccino takes 9% of a total share. An additional 2% goes to seasonal drinks, such as chilled coffee with milk (cappuccino and latte). Thus, the majority of sales are focused around “white” coffee. At the same time, 28% of customers buy Americano, and 11% buy espresso and espresso macchiato. Overall, 94% of all hot beverage sales at Ukrainian AMIC ENERGY gas stations are coffee drinks.

Poles enjoy having a wide selection of coffee beverages. AMIC Polska offers 8 different drinks on their gas stations. In addition to classic espresso, black coffee, cappuccino and latte, customers are offered cortado (a Spanish drink made of 50% espresso and 50% hot milk), flat white (double espresso and milk with ratio around 1:2), and mocha (a drink composed of 2/3 milk, with added hot chocolate and espresso). In total, on Polish AMIC ENERGY gas stations, 80% of coffee beverage sales are for coffee with milk, while only 20% are for "black" coffee.

Although Poles generally prefer coffee drinks without special additives, syrups are available at AMIC Energy filling stations in Poland and are in demand. "Currently, we use two types of syrups: vanilla and caramel (Teisseire brand) and offer them free of charge. Sometimes we use syrups to make seasonal drinks, such as Christmas coffee with gingerbread syrup or pumpkin syrup for Halloween," AMIC Polska said. The company added that 20% of total coffee sales are accounted for by drinks with syrups. At Ukrainian AMIC Energy filling stations, you can also drink coffee with syrups: chocolate, salted caramel or lavender.

In terms of capacity, AMIC Energy customers in both Ukraine and Poland prefer coffee in medium-sized cups. The Ukrainian company noted that 69% of customers buy coffee drinks in M cups, 21% choose L size, and the rest (10%) take coffee in small S cups. The company's branded disposable cups are supplied by the Ukrainian manufacturer Mayak-Cap.

Sales Driver

Undoubtedly, coffee is a driver of sales of related products at filling stations, particularly in the fast food segment. "Coffee and coffee drinks account for half of all fast food sales at AMIC Energy filling stations. In Ukraine, people consume a lot of coffee at different times of the day," AMIC Ukraine said. At the same time, the share of coffee drinks at the company's Polish filling stations is about 20% of fast food sales.

Shell, which is represented in many countries, previously told Naftogaz that Ukraine has the highest conversion rate of coffee sold to fuel transactions among the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. AMIC Ukraine noted that almost 50% of its customers buy coffee at its filling stations.

Coffee Machines

Like most of the world's leading filling station chains, AMIC ENERGY prefers to sell coffee without involving the operator in the preparation of the drink. This significantly reduces the workload on staff and helps to avoid long queues.

"Coffee machines are placed only in the self-service area. We install only new machines at our filling stations, currently 217 WMF and Schaerer machines," AMIC Ukraine said.

At Polish AMIC ENERGY gas stations, coffee is also sold in a self-service mode, so customers have to prepare all beverages themselves, including seasonal ones. "We provide them with instructions on how to prepare them," said AMIC Polska, mentioning that iced coffee is added to the assortment in the summer.

Currently, the company uses two types of fully automatic machines in Poland: Franke A600 and Thermoplan BW4C in a 1:1 ratio. "Most of our gas stations have one coffee machine, and all of them are our own," shared AMIC Polska. "On some gas stations with a higher traffic, we have two coffee machines."

Currently, the company is choosing a brand and supplier for new coffee machines and also plans to announce a tender for a new coffee bean blend this year, according to AMIC Polska. "We will invite many manufacturers to make an offer, including Austrian Julius Meinl, which is available in Poland but is not very well-known yet," they said.

Ukrainian AMIC considered the possibility of selling Julius Meinl coffee at its gas stations but found that consumers were not ready for coffee price increase at that time. Discussions on this matter are planned to be reconsider after Ukraine's Victory. "Currently, the company's priority is to ensure the stability of goods and services at gas stations," stated "AMIC Ukraine."

Charity

Coffee helps unite Ukrainians. Since December 1, 2022, AMIC Ukraine launched a charity campaign called "Invincible Coffee," according to which the company would donate 2 hryvnias from each hot beverage sold to restoration of the Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk, and Donetsk regions.

"The idea to help rebuild Ukraine emerged in parallel with the decision by the company's shareholders to file a lawsuit against Russia for its destructive aggression against Ukraine. Because AMIC ENERGY shareholders are convinced that in the 21st century, violence, destruction and hostile actions against an independent and democratic country cannot be committed with impunity," comment in AMIC ENERGY. The company's shareholders are pleased that its example has inspired other gas station chains to launch similar initiatives in support of Ukraine, setting a trend among fuel market players.

According to AMIC ENERGY, for the period from December 1, 2022, to July 31, 2023, the company accumulated more than UAH 5.5 million for the reconstruction of socially important facilities destroyed by the aggressor as part of the Unbreakable Coffee campaign. The company noted that it has extended the charity initiative until November 30, 2023, and expects to donate at least UAH 10 million in total to rebuild Ukraine.