2025 Wrap Up. Café Reality Check: Adjustment, Relentless Costs & What Comes Next, With Raihaan Esat

About this episode

In this episode, Phil Di Bella and Raihaan Esat discuss the challenges faced by cafés in 2025, including rising costs and changing consumer behavior, while looking ahead to 2026.

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…

People in this episode

Host: Phil Di Bella

Guest: Raihaan Esat

Topics covered

• café industry challenges
• cost management
• consumer behavior
• automation in cafés
• menu pricing
• sustainability in coffee

Keywords

• café costs
• consumer psychology
• menu pricing
• automation
• sustainable coffee
• wages
• innovation

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: International Coffee Traders

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