You’d think that if there was one group of people who knew their way around a bar, it would be students. Turns out, though, that that’s just a cliché, and apparently today’s students are more likely to be found in a coffee shop than a bar.
Abertay University near Dundee in Scotland has found that demand for alcohol from students has diminished so dramatically that they’ve shut the student union bar due to lack of demand. The bar opened in 2005 and has seen alcohol sales drop by two thirds since 2014, as students prefer coffee to booze.
It’s not just in Scotland, either – today’s young people are educated about the dangers of alcohol and are actively choosing alternatives. To combat the change, Abertay have opened a new café in the student library which is proving popular. The Scottish University is understood to be the first in the UK to have stopped selling alcohol from a student bar onsite, although other similar venues are readily available nearby. The decision follows a study carried out by University College London, where researchers found that the proportion of young people aged between 16 and 24 who don’t drink alcohol has risen to 29 per cent in a ten year period to 2015. A recent survey by the National Union of Students has even revealed that one in five students in the UK are teetotal and don’t drink at all. In a corresponding change, coffee shops have seen an increase in customers among the same demographic with young people increasingly choosing to meet friends and socialise during the day instead of in the evening.
At the Wholesale Coffee Company, we’re delighted to see this move towards Britain’s favourite hot drink. We’re coffee experts, and we’re proud to supply the best in coffee beans and coffee accessories to our commercial customers, all at great wholesale prices. To find out more, browse our shop pages.