Cumberland Farms coffee prices going up again
BOSTON - Cumberland Farms used to be famous for their $.99 coffee, but then it became $1.29 for any coffee any size. Now customers are seeing a new set of prices.
"I picked my head up and saw they had different prices and sizes which caught me off guard," said Dillon Dodge, holding a fresh cup of Cumbies coffee. "I don't remember ever seeing this before."
Cumbies is moving to a tiered pricing scale. A small is a $1.29, and it goes up $.20 for every larger size. The company says they are doing this to keep up with the rising cost of doing business. According to the latest producer price index, coffee is up more than 6% from last year.
"A lot has to do with our coffee, which comes mainly from Brazil. In 2021 and 2022, Brazil had droughts and heavy frosts which killed a lot of the beans, and they are just now getting over it," said Jay Zagorsky, an associate professor at Boston University's Questrom School of Business. "Why is $.99 coffee going away important? Because right now people feel really economically fragile, and they think inflation is going up a lot."
Despite the price hike, they still have some of the cheapest coffee in town.
"Oh please, go over to Starbucks! You're paying $5 to $6 for a latte or whatever that is," said Wesley Digregorio while sipping on his Cumberland Farms Coffee.
"I usually come to buy here. Their coffee is $1.29 sometimes. It's cheaper, and their coffee tastes better," said Michael Bailey.
Zagorsky says Cumberland Farms keeps their coffee cheap by design.
"Coffee is a loss leader. You go to Cumberland Farms, and you pick up snacks, you pick up gasoline, you might pick up drinks, and, 'Oh yeah! I came here for coffee,'" said Zagorsky.