Why is coffee creamer not commonly available in the UK?

[-]

Agreeable_Fig_3713@reddit

Coffee mate exists. It’s vile though so there’s no market for it. We’re generally not that arsed for seasonal flavours either.

[-]

There's a vending machine version of Coffee Mate. It used to be called Karima. It manages to taste worse than the retail version. I saw the inside of a vending machine where all the drinks were made from powder. It looked like a snow globe. It's not surprising vending machine "tea" was a plot point in Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

[-]

Agreeable_Fig_3713@reddit

Yep. I’ve got no idea how we Got to - here’s some milk and cream but really let’s use some powdered white chemicals

[-]

carpet_tart@reddit

Someone made me a cup of tea with it in, part of me died that day after one miserable sip

[-]

rob_76@reddit

Coffee Mate? You can buy in any supermarket.

[-]

CoffeeNoSugar6@reddit

Alright Mate?

[-]

Fractalien@reddit

The fact it tastes disgusting is the reason it is not common.

[-]

mh1191@reddit

I always assumed it was just Americans using a funny word for milk. Never knew it was something else.

[-]

Harrry-Otter@reddit

The fact it isn’t sold much here suggests there isn’t a huge market.

You can get coffee-mate easily in supermarkets, but it’s not particularly popular. I actually quite like it, but purely because my parents have some strange obsession with drinking it on holiday and it reminds me of that.

[-]

No_Tangelo4644@reddit (OP)

how can they know when it's not widely available? people buy all sorts of things, coffee syrups, premade iced lattes, etc. i don't see why it wouldn't be financially in their interest to sell it here.

i think the coffeemate you're referring to is the powdered stuff, that's not the coffee creamer i mean. in the US, it's a creamy milky type thing.

[-]

Harrry-Otter@reddit

Because not many people buy the ones that do exist here, or buy creamer drinks in coffee shops. The companies involved have obviously considered the British market and decided that going heavy on creamer is unlikely to be successful. There’s nothing to stop you opening a creamer business if you think there’s a market gap being overlooked though.

It would also be a tricky one to market though since it’s horrifically high in sugar and fat (so much so that I know dieticians actually recommend it for weight gain in the elderly).

[-]

No_Tangelo4644@reddit (OP)

so no sticky toffee flavoured coffee creamer for me anytime soon 😭😭😭

[-]

Harrry-Otter@reddit

Probably not, but you can get toffee syrup and coffee-mate. I’d imagine the end result is pretty similar.

[-]

No_Tangelo4644@reddit (OP)

oh and also, it's vegan, so the vegans would love it too!! i just cannot be convinced that there's no market for it here. there must be another reason

[-]

bobmanuk@reddit

used to run an american sweets/treats shop. got some american coffee creamer once to see what its like myself before we tried to sell it. it was too sweet, like someone put 10 of the cheapest sweetener tabs into my brew, tasted nothing like vanilla and the whole drink left an oily feel on the lips and tongue like id made the brew with butter in the mug.

this might not be the intended results of american coffee creamer, it might be better if it hasn't spent months in a shipping container with all manner of temperatures.

[-]

No_Tangelo4644@reddit (OP)

hmm that does sound vile ngl lol.

i've heard it tastes like diluted sweetened condensed milk, would you say that's accurate?

[-]

bobmanuk@reddit

I guess it depends which ones you try, I tried the liquid ones, so you might say that if you opened a tin of carnation condensed milk and tried to make a brew with it, your description might be accurate.

They do powdered ones similar to our coffee mate as well, those might be a bit better

[-]

Alarmed_Crazy_6620@reddit

Can you do an AMA about owning one of those shops?

[-]

bobmanuk@reddit

wasnt necessarily one of "those" shops, we were a small company that did things by the book, we paid everything that was necessary, unfortunately "those" companies made it VERY difficult for us to compete.

We tried a kiosk in a shopping centre, actually took on a shop temporarily to see if it worked better for us, lots of street markets and foodies festivals.

we got lucky for some of the trends (Prime in the early days, Van Holtens Pickles, Takis and Buldak Noodles) but it never really made enough money to be actually decent even with a suitable markup.

we spent more time sourcing stock replacements, and since we werent in london, it meant a lot of travelling into london, some wholesalers had minimum order quantities, or only accepted cash.

we spent a LOT of time re-labelling stuff (as is the law) for the UK market, as a result we never lost any stock to trading standards, and we got inspected a lot at various food shows. for this reason as well we were also very careful about buying jolly ranchers, technically they shouldnt be sold at all, but cant remember why, one of the ingredients is banned in the UK I think. We sometimes got specific requests for them and only ordered them for special requests, not to sell off the shelf.

anything else you want to know?

[-]

greylord123@reddit

Money laundering for the Albanian mob.

[-]

mhoulden@reddit

There isn't a huge market for it. The long-standing popularity of tea means non-UHT milk is widely available. Smaller quantities such as single pint bottles get used up quickly. If people want something a bit richer they use fresh cream. Again that's pretty easy to get hold of. Our single cream is 18% fat compared to the 10 - 18% of US half and half. Elmlea is probably the closest direct equivalent, being 15% and made from butter milk and thickeners.

This is a pretty common question:

r/CasualUK/comments/w7oxyx/why_dont_we_have_coffee_creamer/

/r/AskUK/comments/smbbfj/the_uk_alternative_to_coffee_creamer/

/r/AskUK/comments/xwlfcc/uk_equivalent_coffee_creamer/

[-]

No_Tangelo4644@reddit (OP)

my bad i always forget to just search lol thank you for the links

that's the thing though our cream is too creamy i'd want something with less fat than cream but more than milk. and if i mix them myself it would just separate...

[-]

66Michelle9s@reddit

UK hates creamy coffee!

[-]

ConstantineGSB@reddit

What the fuck's a coffee creamer?

[-]

Agreeable_Fig_3713@reddit

Coffee mate. It’s like baby formula

[-]

ConstantineGSB@reddit

So just powdered milk with sugar?

I see why Its not popular over here lol.

[-]

Agreeable_Fig_3713@reddit

Of course not. The Americans love it so it’s naturally stuffed full of chemicals and E-numbers.

https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/314592477

[-]

You can buy it in any large supermarket.

Most people don't because it's fucking vile.

[-]

MrNippyNippy@reddit

I always assumed it was white coloured printer toner.

Simple answer - there’s no market for it. You can get flavoured syrups and there used to be flavoured coffees but they seem to be mainly discontinued.