It's hard to overstate the popularity of most walk-in cafes these days, particularly as the world normalizes after lockdowns and precautionary social distancing.
Fall 2023 saw some record increases in foot traffic as pumpkin spice returned and people everywhere flocked to pick up some of their seasonal favorites.
Related: Starbucks has a new way to produce coffee (you may love it)
One of the biggest benefactors from the pumpkin spice mania has been Starbucks SBUX, which invented the flavor 20 years ago, back in 2003.
"[Visits] on 2020’s [pumpkin spice latte] launch were – unsurprisingly – significantly lower than 2017-2019 levels," Placer.ai writes. "And while the foot-traffic trends improved in 2021 and 2022, Starbucks visits on the day of the PSL’s return still remained below 2018-2019 levels.
"But this year’s fall menu rollout drove a 25.1% increase in visits on the day of the launch (compared to the 2017 PSL launch visits) – the largest spike in recent years."
And while Starbucks reigns supreme in the seasonal category, not everybody is always in the mood for a sugary latte. Some folks just appreciate a good, plain, old fashioned cup o' joe.
Fashion brand presents a new, expanded offering
One such brand in that department is Ralph Lauren RL, which is typically known for its old-world preppy fashion styles and glitzy department store displays.
But Ralph Lauren also quietly operates several coffee shops across the U.S., known as Ralph's Coffee, located mostly in malls and high-foot-traffic areas.
The cafes provide shoppers with a unique and heavily branded experience, enabling them to continue their shopping escapades while highly caffeinated and engaged with the label.
And beginning in November, the Ralph's Coffee locations in Miami, Washington, New York and Chicago will offer customers the option of taking their coffees home with them. The cafes will sell cold-brew coffee in packs of four cans or as single carry-out cans.
"Introducing Ralph’s Coffee Cold Brew Cans!" the cafe wrote on Instagram Monday. "Best enjoyed at home or on-the-go, the black and unsweetened cans can be found at our Ralph's Coffee shops in New York, Chicago, Miami & Washington, D.C., select Ralph Lauren stores and on RalphLauren.Com."
View the original article to see embedded media.
Folks who don't live close to any of the participating locations can buy the brew on line.
Individual cans will sell for $6 and four-packs will be available for $24. Cans of the cold brew will come black and unsweetened, though Ralph's recommends serving it chilled with creamer and or a sweetener.
The coffee will be brewed by Ralph's partner brand, La Colombe, which is a coffee heavy hitter in its own right. It has 32 of its own individual stores and sells bags of its roasted beans through retailers like Whole Foods, Target TGT, Costco COST, and Amazon AMZN.
Receive full access to real-time market analysis along with stock, commodities, and options trading recommendations. Sign up for Real Money Pro now.
