Hospitality Business Magazine

Kiwi friendships brew over a coffee and muffin 

rsz_muffin_break_-_coffee_and_friendship2Friendship is alive and well in New Zealand if a recent survey is anything to go by. And one of the most popular places for it to be nurtured is in a café over coffee and a muffin.

The survey by bakery café Muffin Break reveals the majority of New Zealanders agree coffee is a great way to take a break with friend(s) when out together (82per cent). And when we catch up with friends, most of us (55 per cent) do so by having coffee away from the home in a café or similar outlet. 

Kiwis also like to regularly keep in touch. Almost one third of New Zealanders catch up with their friends weekly for coffee while a further 45 per cent catch up at least monthly over a caffeine fix.

Having coffee with friends is seen as one of the most effective ways of connecting and bonding with them (61 per cent) and having coffee makes half of New Zealanders revitalised and ready to carry on through the day (50 per cent).

 Perhaps surprisingly, 62 per cent of people think a group of two or three is ideal for a coffee catch up while less than half that number (26 per cent) feel a one-on-one coffee break is ideal. 

The survey shows overwhelmingly the reason we go out for coffee is most likely to be because we just want to catch up (90 per cent). However, almost one in six coffee drinkers go so far as to delay finishing a cup just to make sure they don’t have to leave the premises. 

Muffin Break commissioned the survey in support of its latest marketing campaign helping Kiwis celebrate their friendships by offering a One, Two, Free Deal – buy any two coffees and receive a free muffin (to share). 

And the survey reveals muffins are New Zealanders’ preferred food accompaniment with their favourite coffee (22 per cent) compared with cake (19 per cent) and sandwiches (eight per cent). 

“At Muffin Break we know coffee and friends are the perfect blend as our customers have been sharing coffees and muffins at our bakery cafés for 21 years,” says Gemma Fitzsimons, Muffin Break Marketing Manager. “We see daily, that our friendly café culture is alive and well, with many of our customers sharing our award winning coffee with loved ones.”