2025 Wrap Up. Café Reality Check: Adjustment, Relentless Costs & What Comes Next, With Raihaan Esat
Description
2025 was not a “business as usual” year for cafés. It was a year of adjustment.
In this final episode of Bean There, Done That for 2025, Phil Di Bella is joined by long-time collaborator and one of Australia’s top coffee minds, Raihaan Esat, General Manager of International Coffee Traders. Together, they unpack a relentless year for café owners: rising costs across the board, shifting consumer psychology, the comeback of instant coffee, and why knowing your numbers and your customers is now non-negotiable.
They dig into:
Why 40–50% of a menu price is wages
How automation helps (and where it ruins the café experience)
The move from “customers” to “guests”
Menu simplification, disposable income and ham & cheese croissants
Government and council support that actually moved the needle
Innovation from farm to cup and sustainable pricing for coffee farmers
Phil closes with a challenge: grab a pen and map out what December 2026 looks like for you, your café, your family and your community.
In this episode:
2025 in one word: “Adjustment”
Psychological load on café owners
Moving from “the game has changed” to “this IS the game now”
Looking ahead to 2026 as a year of recomposition
Relentless costs & a new normal
Every major cost going up at once for the first time in decades
Wages at 40–50% of the menu price
75% growth at Coffee Commune with flat profit: a real-world example
Why many product-based businesses have had to accept margin cuts
Automation vs humans behind the bar
Super-automatic machines, milk systems and “out-automating” each other
The shift to using tech in the background to guarantee consistency
Why trying to remove the barista turns coffee into a commodity
“We don’t need to out-automate each other, we need to out-human each other.”
Emotional engagement & the ‘guest’ mindset
Moving from “customers” to “guests” in language and behaviour
Red Bull, luxury brands and the power of emotional connection
First Name Fridays and Tasman’s guest experience in the café
Knowing your numbers & your audience
P&L, cash flow and understanding demographic + geographic reality
Disposable income at record lows and what that means for menus
Back to basics: bacon & egg rolls, ham & cheese croissants, muffins
Upcoming market segmentation project from Coffee Commune
Where people are actually drinking coffee now
Total coffee consumption up, in-café consumption per person down
At-home and office drinking on the rise
The quality and value of modern instant coffee
Government, councils & collaboration that actually helps
New state government focus on small and medium business in Queensland
Moreton Bay and Gold Coast councils funding training for café owners
18% uplift from council-backed Coffee Commune training programs
Collaboration between independent cafés to pool purchasing and cut costs
From farm to cup: sustainability & paying farmers properly
Farmers returning to coffee as prices become sustainable again
Direct relationships and paying equitably at origin
Why prices needed to rise gradually, and what happened when they didn’t
Community, awards & impact
Coffee Commune as a place of collaboration, not “another coffee brand”
1,700+ members, 1,200 cafés and 75% growth across the community
ICT coffees and roasters winning national and global awards
Phil representing hospitality around the 2032 Brisbane Games table
Final challenge for listeners
“Life is measured in moments – go and create some amazing ones.”
Sometimes you’re the pigeon, sometimes you’re the statue
Grab pen and paper and write down what December 2026 looks like:
Professionally
For your family
For your circle of friends
Links mentioned:
Connect with Raihaan Esat on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/raihaan-esat-081147a9/
Learn more about International Coffee Traders:
https://ict.coffee/
Coffee Commune: https://www.coffeecommune.com.au/
Produced by The Podcast Boss
United States
