Overview

• Supermarkets across Germany have begun locking coffee packs in glass vitrines to deter growing organized shoplifting
• The sector lost about €3 billion to coffee theft in 2024 and invested roughly €1.6 billion in security upgrades
• Handelsverband Deutschland is calling for minimum sentences for gang-related theft to rise from six months to a year and wants GDPR changes to allow AI-based surveillance
• Global raw coffee prices jumped over 70 percent in 2024/25, driving consumer bean prices up 12.2 percent year-on-year in April
• Shoppers are switching to cheaper private-label beans, buying bulk online or crossing into the Netherlands to save up to €10 per kilo