Coffee price war 2024 – Starbucks vs Woolworths vs Wimpy vs McCafè and more
Many South Africans love coffee, but the prices have increased substantially in recent years.
According to the latest data from Stats SA, annual consumer price inflation stood at 5.2% in May, unchanged from April.
After five consecutive drops, food and non-alcoholic beverage inflation remained at 4.7% in May.
That said, hot drinks like coffee saw inflation close to 18%, with the cost to brew a cup almost doubling in price over the last few years.
Inflation for hot beverages increased from 11.4% in April to 14.2% in May, the highest rate since January 2023 (16.4%).
Inflation for instant coffee, ground coffee, coffee beans, and black tea stood above 10%.
Instant coffee prices, specifically, rose from 13.8% in April to 17.9% in May.
The average price for instant coffee (250 g) was 82% higher in May 2024 compared to January 2017, when Stats SA started publishing average prices.
Many coffee lovers also enjoy adding milk and sugar to their drink of choice, and these items’ prices have increased by 72% and 37% since January 2017, respectively.
Coffee Price War
Considering the high prices, BusinessTech has compared the prices of a medium-sized – or equivalent – Americano, a Caffè latte, a Cappuccino and a single espresso across ten of South Africa’s largest coffee retailers.
Overall, McCafe offered the lowest prices for an Americano, Caffè latte and Cappuccino, with their online prices dropping from 2023.
Vida offered the cheapest espresso, coming out at R24.00.
On the other end of the scale, Washington-based Starbucks and Seattle sold items at the highest prices.
Starbucks has the most expensive Espresso, Caffè latte and Cappuccino, whereas Seattle has the most costly americano.
It should be noted that Starbucks offers four sizes—short, tall, grande, and venti—compared to the usual three. We have thus provided the prices for both the tall and venti (a Starbucks exclusive) sizes in this comparison.
Moreover, the comparison is solely based on prices, as everyone’s coffee preferences differ.
The Coffee Price War 2024 can be found below:
| Company | Americano | Caffè latte | Cappuccino | Espresso |
| Motherland | R35.00 | R38.00 | R37.00 | R28.00 (double) |
| Mugg & Bean | R33.00 | R39.00 | R35.00 | R26.00 |
| Seattle | R36.00 | R39.50 | R39.50 | R27.50 |
| Woolworths | R35.00 | R42.00 | R42.00 | R28.00 |
| Vida | R35.00 | R38.00 | R35.00 | R24.00 |
| Bootlegger | R33.00 | R39.00 | R36.00 | R26.00 |
| McCafè | R26.00 | R30.50 | R29.50 | N/A |
| Starbucks* | R35.00 (R43.00) | R44.00 (R54.00) | R44.00 (R54.00) | R30.00 |
| Wimpy | R33.90 | R42.90 | R37.90 | R24.90 |
| Daily Coffee Cafè | R32.00 | R38.00 | R36.00 | R29.00 |
Notably, when comparing prices from the 2023 price war, the average increases across these stores are far less than Stats SA’s data.
When looking at all retailers, the average increase for an Americano was 4.35%; for a Caffè latte, 4.11%; for a Cappuccino, 1.90%; and for an Espresso, 6.58%.
These prices were, however, brought down by McCafè’s price decrease.
When excluding McCafè, the average When looking at all retailers, the average increase for an Americano was 6.34%; for a Caffè latte, 5.74%; for a Cappuccino, 3.25%; while the price of an espresso stayed the same.
Even without McCafè’s, coffee inflation is still well below the SA data.
| Coffee | 2023 Avg | 2024 Avg | Change |
| Americano | R32.83 | R34.26 | 4.35% |
| Caffè latte | R38.86 | R40.44 | 4.11% |
| Cappuccino | R37.99 | R38.71 | 1.90% |
| Espresso | R25.37 | R27.04 | 6.58% |
| Coffee | 2023 Avg | 2024 Avg | Change |
| Americano | R33.09 | R35.19 | 6.34% |
| Caffè latte | R39.19 | R41.44 | 5.74% |
| Cappuccino | R38.39 | R39.64 | 3.25% |
| Espresso | R25.37 | R27.04 | 6.58% |
(All prices were sourced by visiting a store in Johannesburg, the retailer’s online store or via email communication with the respective retailer).
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