Do you want a game of wall ball with that coffee?
So this first, of what I hope to be many, short posts, is a metaphoric comparison between coffee and sport - both are anchor points to many peoples lifestyles and both are accessible everywhere you look, drive, walk and go. Whether that be in the chilled coastal city of Newcastle of the busy metropolis that is Melbourne.
The average Australian spends $70 (£39) a week on coffee which is four times the amount they spend on gym membership and equates to an $8.3 billion industry. Sport and physical activity on the other hand, are equally accessible, but cost a quarter of the price and in some cases is completely free. 70% of 18-25 year old Aussies participate in an average 1 hour a day of physical activity, which equates roughly to the time spent thinking about coffee and consuming it. So with both coffee and sport being so dominant in a young persons life, it only makes sense to look at what both of them have in common - we may learn something!
Similarities:
Both wake you up - science shows even the smell of a brew can make one more alert and we all know jumping into the Tasman Sea for a swim isn't going to put you to sleep!
An open air swimming bath in Newcastle, NSW
Both are social - whether it's having a coffee on the Anzac walk with a friend, walking to get a round with a colleague or chatting to your local 'brista' coffee and conversation go hand in hand. Sport does the same, it unites like-minded people and encourages social interaction.
Both involve drinking - so you drink coffee, no further explanation needed. Sport socials are traditionally something that drinking plays a large part in whether it be soft or alcoholic, sports club houses are the heart of most teams.
Both are on trend - drinking coffee, being active, playing sport are all things our digital society encourages, scroll Instagram now and tell me if in the last 24 hours you don't see a coffee or exercise of some kind.
Both are international - like maths, sport and coffee are internationally similar. Coffee is grown in over 70 countries and like football, is present in every single country worldwide. Fact, the cappuccino is the most commonly known coffee in the world, Australia's most purchased is the flat white.
AFL Hawthorns vs. Sydney, MCG, Melbourne
Both are popular on Wednesdays - Wednesday is the most popular day for coffee in Australia, and in the UK, Wednesday afternoons are when universities (well most of them) give students the time to play sport, commonly known as #BUCSWednesday.
So in essence, sport and physical activity, much like the drinking of coffee are routine for a lot of the younger population in Melbourne and Newcastle, it's anchored into daily life. You can't walk too far without seeing someone exercising and then look a little further and there will be a coffee shop in sight - and a very good one at that!
It's important that this is understood outside the wider context of a direct comparison, finding an activity, of any kind whether it be coffee drinking, wall ball or even e-sports, that a young population enjoys could lead to better understanding of motivations and behaviours of that said population and help us tailor our offering accordingly... coffee beans for thought!
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