Yamamah University students mark International Coffee Day with economic report on Saudi market

Yamamah Insights marked International Coffee Day by releasing a student-led report titled "From Bean to Margin: A Financial and Economic Analysis of the Coffee Sector in Saudi Arabia." The initiative offers a practical application that connects students’ studies in economics and finance with real market dynamics and economic sectors.

The report was prepared by students Mohammed Al-Ghaib and Nouf Al-Enazi, under the supervision of financial and economic analyst Hamad Al-Saeed, as part of Equity Hub activities. It provides an in-depth look at the sector, moving beyond coffee as a consumer product to analyze the value chain, foreign trade, local production, café economics, profit margins, risks, and future opportunities.

The report serves as a model for turning economic events and occasions into applied knowledge content produced by students, helping them use official data, interpret markets, and connect academic concepts with real-life cases from the Saudi economy.

The report highlighted several sector indicators, including point-of-sale transactions in the restaurant and café category reaching 84.83 billion riyals (SAR) in 2025, with 2.818 billion transactions. It also noted that Saudi coffee imports reached about $606 million in 2024, while local production exceeded 870 tons of green coffee annually.

The study also discussed the expansion of Saudi coffee production, import, roasting, and packaging chains, as well as café operations, covering concepts such as average order value, profit margins, labor and rental costs, and investment payback periods.

Coinciding with the report’s release, Yamamah University set up a booth in the main hall for International Coffee Day, offering printed copies of the report, a QR code for digital access, and complimentary coffee for students and staff.

This initiative reflects a broader approach to involving students in creating economic and knowledge content, transforming market data and events into analytical material for academic discussion and benefit, rather than simply receiving information.

The report centers on a key question: Where is value and profitability created in Saudi Arabia’s coffee economy? It traces the journey from the bean and supply chain to the café and consumer, examining the factors that determine companies’ and brands’ ability to turn growing demand into sustainable profits.