Fresh-brewed iced coffee is the most popular cold coffee choice, but a growing share of all iced/cold coffee drinkers are drinking Ready To Drink canned or bottled cold coffee. According to Multi-sponsor Surveys' newly released 2014 U.S. Coffee Study, frequent consumption of RTD canned/bottled cold coffee drinks (including espresso and cappuccino) increased over the past two years, particularly among Millennials and Hispanics. The popularity of canned coffee observed by Multi-sponsor Surveys International in China and Japan may be moving eastward. 

Among the key findings from the survey conducted among 1,500 U.S. adult coffee drinkers:

• Three out of four (75%) coffee drinkers now drink both hot and cold coffee beverages.
• Nearly 7 in 10 (69%) cold coffee drinkers have tried RTD canned/bottled coffee.
• Weekly consumption of RTD canned/bottled coffee is up from 15% in 2012 to 20% in 2014 among all cold coffee drinkers, but increased by the widest margins among Hispanics (up from 17% to 36%) and Millennials (up from 22% to 31%).
• Older coffee drinkers and whites are much less likely to drink RTD cold coffee.

According to Karen Bundy, V.P. of Food & Beverage Marketing at Multi-sponsor Surveys, "It is probably not a coincidence that canned or bottled ready-to-drink cold coffee is catching on at a time when fewer are drinking carbonated soft drinks, including the caffeinated colas."

Source data was compiled from: 2014 U.S. Study of Coffee — conducted by Multi-sponsor Surveys in July 2014 among a nationally representative sample of 1,500 adult coffee drinkers. The 2011 Study of the International Market for Hot Coffee & Tea was conducted in Japan, China, Russia and the U.K. by sister company Multi-sponsor Surveys International.