Dialed In: April 2026 Recap
Hello and welcome to the April edition of Dialed In. In this month’s installment we’ll be recapping some key metrics from the implementation team's efforts in April, as well as highlighting a recently launched customer and discussing changing trends in the coffee industry over the past few months.
Implementation by the Numbers
April once again saw the Implementation team working with new Dripos users to launch their shops on the platform all over the country, with customers going live in 21 different states. April’s launches saw a larger share of new businesses beginning their operations on Dripos than the previous month, with a roughly 70% - 30% split of new versus existing shops officially launching on Dripos. 52% of these customers launch with premium features added to their platform, utilizing features like payroll, third party delivery integrations, custom branded apps, and our newly released accounting and bookkeeping features.
Customer Highlight
One customer in particular that launched in April that we would like to spotlight is Grind Coffee Company, with two locations located in Edinburg and Mcallan, Texas. Serving exceptional coffee in south Texas, Grind recently hit their 10 year anniversary and the management and staff at Grind were looking for a true all in one solution that could combine not only their systems, but also their costs into one flat fee - while at the same time modernizing some workflows, such as moving their loyalty system from physical punch cards to a digital process under Dripos. From kick off call to launch in under a month for both locations, Grind was able to not only transition to the core software, but also add premium features such as payroll and third party delivery integration to help them scale as their business grows. If you are ever in South Texas, check them out!
Industry Trends
As a trusted partner for new and existing coffee shops alike, our aim at Dripos is to offer insights into the coffee industry as a whole. As we move through 2026 here is what we have observed and our outlook for the near future: Trends around the specialty coffee industry have remained constant - coffee drinkers want premium, customizable, specialty beverages. Specialty coffee sales are expanding rapidly, with the global market valued at over $111 billion in 2025 and projected to grow at double-digit rates in 2026 and beyond, mainly driven by younger age demographics. The 18–24 year old demographic accounted for 32.3% of specialty coffee market revenue in 2025, the largest share of any age cohort. 89% of coffee-drinking 18–24-year-olds choose specialty coffee, versus just 53% of consumers over 60—showing younger drinkers skew heavily toward higher-ticket beverages. Cold and innovative beverages such as cold brew, flavored espresso drinks, and functional wellness coffees are becoming major revenue drivers, helping increase average ticket sizes and sales across the industry. At the same time, coffee shops are focusing more on creating experience-driven spaces such as coffee shop/vinyl bar hybrids, even as rising coffee, labor, and rent costs continue to pressure margins.
Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for next month's installment of Dialed In and be sure to keep up with Counter Talk for all things Dripos.
Sources:
https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/specialty-coffee-
