Why one Auckland café is now charging $8.50 for a flat white

Stats NZ says food prices have risen 8.3% in the past year, Newsroom reports. Traditionally, selling takeaway coffees was seen as high-volume, high-margin retail. But for businesses where coffee is their raison d’etre, it’s become more and more difficult. Red Rabbit founder Steve Barrett explains: “The industry has been consumer-focused in terms of what people are going to pay for a price of coffee. But the reality is, it’s been under-price for a really long time. And if one roastery doesn’t stand up and say something, no one else is gonna follow suit. And the coffee industry will actually suffer.”