CARLISLE and West Cumbria is now home to major international coffee brands including Costa Coffee, Starbucks and Tim Hortons.
The rise of 'coffee house' franchises from Workington to Penrith shows huge demand for the popular beverage as round the clock working lives get even busier.
The coffee industry is worth a mouthwatering £10.1bn to the UK economy growing annually by 7.9%.
Growth is not limited to global brands like Starbucks, Costa Coffee and Tim Hortons - as smaller independent coffee shops also taking up a large portion of market share.
A recent study from Aqua Cure called ‘The Rise of Independents UK 2019’ - which is the first dedicated report on the UK’s independent coffee sector. The report shows that 7,022 independent cafés operate in the UK, with an estimated value of £2.4 billion.
Carlisle and West Cumbria has a multitude of coffee shops from Starbucks in Cockermouth and Workington, as well as a new store in Carlisle.
Costa has locations across Cumbrian towns and cities including Keswick, Workington and Whitehaven
Tim Hortons are opening a new franchise store in Penrith.
However, many smaller coffee business have stood the test of time in our area.
Local people are lured by the appeal of local home town coffee shops not just big name global brands.
Cockermouth is also home to many independent boutique coffee shops such as The Moon and Sixpence and VeeVa!
These two cafes bring customers back time and time again, which raving reviews on the 'quaint little coffee shops'.
The growth in the 'Shop Local' campaign may have helped many local coffee shops as many opted to support smaller names during COVID, rather than the big brands.
However, many big brand coffee companies have expanded their stores to include drive-thru options such as Costa at Working and Starbucks at Cockermouth/Workington.
The ease of getting a quick coffee on the go also gives rise to the new 'coffee republic' we are witnessing.
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Read more: Plans approved to build drive-thru Starbucks in Carlisle
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