Coffee Shop Business in Australia: Regulations and Economics

This essay provides an analysis of the coffee shop business in Australia. It begins by highlighting the influence of Italian and Greek immigrants on Australia's coffee culture and the subsequent growth of local cafes. The essay then discusses the various regulations that govern the coffee business in Australia, including food safety standards, permits, and compliance with consumer protection laws, and insurance. Furthermore, the essay explores relevant economic concepts, such as trade, market structure (monopolistic competition), and the interplay of demand and supply within the Australian coffee market. It notes Australia's high per capita coffee consumption and the impact of coffee-to-go orders. The conclusion reiterates the importance of regulations and the impact of immigration on the coffee industry.

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Abstract
In the recent years, Australia has been on the map for its increased appetite towards
coffee. Nevertheless, the increased appetite is courtesy of the large number of immigrants. The
large number is made up of both the Italians and the Greek residents who have recently moved to
the coastal region of Australia. This movement was regardless of either business or pleasure
purposes. Moreover, Coffee, which is based under the food and beverage industry, is therefore
prone to fall under different regulations. This essay shall discuss about the coffee business in
Australia.

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Australia has recently drawn attention to its self by creating a unique coffee culture of
its own. Mostly, this unique coffee culture has been largely influenced by the massive Italian
residents who have settled on this ocean lying country. The increased Italian population was
considered as a benefit to Australia as they came along with them with the great taste for coffee.
The great love for coffee opened business opportunities thus increasing the gross product of the
Australian government. Of late, there has been an increased boom of locally build cafes. These
local cafes have been known to roast their own coffee and have been distributing the same in the
cities such as Sydney (Chapman & Hodges, 2017, p. 45). There are several brands of coffee
found in Australia due to the great Australian influence. Such brands include; Campos Coffee,
Single Origin, Vittoria, Segafredo Zanetti, Lavazza and Toby Estate (Bortman, 2014, p. 56).
However, the Australian Government and other local authorities have been forced to set
up rules, laws and regulation. These regulations are meant to benefit both the suppliers, business
owners and the consumers of coffee. Therefore, it is a requirement of all business owners to a
bind by these regulations so as to get the business permits in Australia. On the other hand,
compliance means conforming to the set rules. Such rules include policies, specifications,
standards or laws (Siddique, 2017, p. 376). In addition, regulatory compliance refers to the set
goals that an organization aspires so as to achieve economically.
Therefore, opening up a new coffee shop in Australia, there are a number of regulators
which one has to not only understood, but also a bind by them. This is referred to as
understanding the requirements for a café. For instance, by opening up a coffee shop, one is
likely to also prepare and serve food. Basically, one will have to be aware and abide with the
Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code. In addition, there are other relevant food safety
requirements that one has to be aware of. Apart from abiding to the laws, one also requires the

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services of a Food Safety Supervisor so he/she can undertake consistent food inspections.
Furthermore, if one is planning on seating patrons on the designated footpaths, then one has no
option but to apply for a permit from the local council. Nevertheless, one will also need to
always comply with all regulations (Gale & Haward, 2015, p. 57). Such regulations include
obliging to requirements such as providing a smoke-free environment for his/her coffee
consumers.
It is also very important for one to keenly understand his/her business competitors
and customers. By doing this, one will be able to abide to the rules, laws and regulations which
are foreseen by the Australia Competition Consumer Competition (ACCC). This board ensures
that both the supplier, consumers and business owners are protected in incidents where there
emerge disputes. Hence, such occurrences can be easily dealt with using the set rules without
oppressing one party (Goss, 2011, p. 76).
Insurance
An insurance cover is another relevant regulation which is very important for anyone
who needs to start up a coffee shop. Public Liability Insurance would be the most effective
insurance cover for one to invest in. in case of any kind of loss caused by natural causes or
human based, one has no worries as the insurance cover will always compensate the business
(Lin, 2015, p. 165). On the other hand, there are various economic concepts that one has to be
aware of. This essay is going to tackle the following economic concepts.

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Trade
In Australia, coffee is considered to be a big deal. Unfortunately, there are no relevant
documentations concerning the history of coffee consumption of the indigenous Australian. This
was the Era before the colonization. The British convicts were considered to be the fast tea
transporters in the 18th century (Chapman & Hodges, 2017, p. 98). However, the Greek and the
Italian migrants were responsible for the todays’ Australian espresso culture. Starting slowly
from the post-war immigration, the culture started blending in and booming in the late 1950s and
1960s (Chapman & Hodges, 2017, p. 68). However, Australia is not considered to be among the
leading producers of coffee in terms of coffee production. In the year 2017, Australian residents
consumed approximately 1.92 kilograms of coffee per person on average. Among the 1.92
kilograms of coffee, 1.39 kilograms were meant for the production of roast coffee, while
approximately 0.53 kilograms were intended for production of instant coffee. Nevertheless,
Australia are by far much behind countries such as Scandinavian and Finland when considering
the per capita consumption. Australian residents are fond of ordering coffee-to-go orders. This
habit of coffee-to-go orders has ranked Australia as the fourth nation after Japan, Canada and the
United State of America.
Market Structure & Pricing
The other economic concept is market structure and pricing. In general, a market is said to
be a place whereby exchange of goods, products and services takes place. Mostly, these activities
are completed by transfer of lieu of money or other equivalent considerations. However,
economic wise, a market is not restricted by time, venue or place. Whenever a supplier, business
owner and consumer are satisfied regardless of the venue, place and time, that is called a market.
Moreover, a market structure enhances one to determine the various aspects of a market.

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Basically, a market structure takes care of the competition which exists in between the products
and the services available in the market (Lin, 2015, p. 90). Australian market structure is
composed of several market structures such as monopoly, oligopoly, duopoly and monopolistic
competition. The most prominent markets structure regarding the coffee industry is monopolistic
competition. It’s considered to be the most perfect since there is no restriction to entry or exit in
to the business. Moreover, the products sold have little or no difference. The industry offers with
a lot of similarities but with some minute distinguishing factors such as difference in pricing.
Demand and supply
The other economic concept is supply and demand of coffee in Australia. Recently,
Australia has been on the spot light for the massive increased demand and supply of coffee. This
has been as a result of the large immigrant groups of both the Italians and the Greek who came
along with their love for coffee. The taste and preferences of different customers have created an
increased shift in the demand for coffee related products (Winston, 2016, p. 165). The increased
demand for coffee in Australia has provided an already market for suppliers to venture in.
Therefore, the increase in demand and supply for coffee in Australia has led to the shift in the
demand and supply curve.
Figure 1.0 figure shows an increase in demand of coffee over the last five years.

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Conclusion
Australia is not considered to be among the top coffee producers in the world. However,
due to the great immigrants who have moved to Australia, their love for coffee has triggered the
demand and supply of coffee related products. Nevertheless, the Australian Government, in
conjunction with the local authorities has ensured that there are regulations that govern the
interest of both the consumers, business owners and the suppliers.

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References
Bortman, M. (2014). Environmental encyclopedia (Vol. 1). Detroit: Gale Printing Press.
Chapman, G., & Hodges, G. (2017). Compliance (Vol. 2). New York City: Macmillan.
Gale, F. P., & Haward, M. (2015). Global commodity governance (Vol. 2). Basingstoke:
Macmillan.
Goss, A. (2011). The floracrats (Vol. 23). Madison: University of Wisconsin press.
Lin, B. (2015). Australian Market structure. Journal of Market structures, 3(1), 56-132.
Siddique, M. A. (2017). The economics of tea and coffee consumption in Australia.
Journal of Agrocultural Agricultural Economics, 23(3), 234-254.
Winston, T. (2016). Coffee Growing in Australia. Journal of Agricultural business, 2(1),
34-60.

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