More coffee shops and cafés are opening in Ceredigion, new figures show.

The number of businesses has risen from 35 in 2010 to 50 this year, according to the latest Office for National Statistics data.

The ONS figures for unlicensed restaurants include both coffee shops and fast-food outlets.

And it is these two types of businesses that are driving the sector boom across the country, market analysts say.

But more businesses on high streets also means more competitors.

The investment bank Citybank said in a report released last year that the number of coffee shops cannot keep growing at the same high pace and forecasts that the boom in the sector will not last beyond 2022.

People in the UK drink 95 million cups of coffee each day, up from 70 million 10 years ago, according to a study by the Centre for Economics and Business Research.

One in 10 are sold in coffee shops, and more than half of those are served by Costa, Starbucks and Caffé Nero.

Mike Cherry, the Federation of Small Business’s national chairman, said: “Crucially, it isn’t just chain stores which are seeing their fortunes rise, but independents are also thriving in this food and drink boom.

“Not only does this help small firms, but also gives shoppers a greater wealth of choice and promotes good healthy competition.

“The caveat for this success is that all smaller firms, whether they are selling coffee, clothes or carpets, are constantly threatened by ever-rising business rates.”

The ONS data shows that the number of coffee shops in Ceredigion has remained steady since 2016. The expansion of these businesses in Ceredigion was slower than the average for the UK.

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