They say men are from Mars and women are from Venus, but do gender differences really impact a person’s beverage choices? According to a 2013 study in Japan, the answer is yes! Over 1000 young people (aged 19-20) were surveyed to record in depth information about their coffee drinking habits and knowledge about coffee in general. The results are very interesting and go to show just how important it is to cater to a wide and diverse customer base.

Popularity

The biggest difference between the 2 groups was that they found 50.8% of the men surveyed were coffee drinkers, compared to only 32.8% of the women. This may even out more in older groups or in European countries where coffee culture is more embedded, but it’s certainly an interesting result. Of those coffee drinkers, the men also drank more coffee on average, consuming 2.4 cups per day in comparison to women who drank only 1.9 cups. The study found that many more of the coffee drinkers were aware of the caffeine content than those who don’t drink coffee, which isn’t all that surprising. Interestingly, they also found that even in the coffee drinker group few were aware of the other chemicals in coffee besides caffeine.

Other preferences

Popularity was not the only difference between the genders though. It was found that men and women also seemed to prefer different kinds of coffee. The most popular drink for women was a latte, compared to a “regular” coffee for men, which in this instance means a standard filter coffee. Women also seemed to favour sweeter drinks, with sugar or artificial sweeteners being more popular than unsweetened coffee, whereas the most popular option for men was no sweetener at all. There was also a difference between the preferred milk options, with men most commonly opting for black coffee, and most women going for semi or skimmed milk.

These differences just demonstrate how it’s absolutely vital to offer a wide range of coffee options to make sure all customers are looked after. Quality needs to be consistent across all different types of brew, or you may risk accidentally excluding a potentially profitable group of customers. WMF coffee machines use top of the range automation technology to ensure every single cup of coffee is perfectly crafted, be it a simple black americano or delicate flat white. The WMF 9000 S+ for example utilises the Dynamic Milk system to provide a wide range of different hot and cold milk consistencies, and can also use two different types of milk including low fat and dairy free options. Perfect for making sure every customer gets the exact drink they want.

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