Costa Coffee

Last updated

Costa Limited
Costa Coffee
FormerlyC. B. Costa Bros. Coffee Co. Limited (1976–1997) [1]
Company type Subsidiary
Industry Coffee shop
Founded
  • 1971;53 years ago (1971)
  • London, England
Founder Sergio Costa
Headquarters Loudwater, Buckinghamshire, England
Number of locations
Increase2.svg 3,883 (2018)
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Philippe Schaillee (CEO)
Products
  • Coffee
  • Tea
  • Sandwiches
  • Sweet snacks
  • Iced drinks
RevenueIncrease2.svg £1.168 billion (2016) [2]
Increase2.svg £153 million (2016) [2]
Parent The Coca-Cola Company
Website costa.co.uk OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

Costa Limited, [1] trading as Costa Coffee, is an English coffeehouse chain with headquarters in Loudwater, Buckinghamshire, England.

Contents

Costa Coffee was founded in London in 1971 by Sergio Costa as a wholesale operation supplying roasted coffee to caterers and specialist Italian coffee shops. It was acquired by Whitbread in 1995, then sold to The Coca-Cola Company in January 2019 in a deal worth $4.9 billion and has grown to 3,401 stores across 31 countries and 18,412 employees. [3] The business has 2,121 UK restaurants, over 6,000 Costa Express vending facilities and a further 1,280 outlets overseas, including 460 in China. [2] [4]

Costa is the second largest coffeehouse chain in the world, and the largest in the UK. [5] [6]

History

Signage outside a branch in Cromer Costa signage.jpg
Signage outside a branch in Cromer

Sergio Costa founded a coffee roastery in Fenchurch Street, London, in 1971, supplying local caterers. The family had moved to England from Parma, Italy, in the 1950s. [7] [8] Costa branched out to selling coffee and opened their first store in Vauxhall Bridge Road, London in 1981. [9]

By 1995, the Costa Coffee chain had 41 stores in UK, [10] and was acquired by Whitbread, the UK's largest hotel and coffee shop operator, becoming a wholly owned subsidiary. In 2009, Costa opened its 1,000th store, in Cardiff. In December 2009, Costa Coffee agreed to acquire the Polish chain Coffeeheaven for £36 million, adding 79 stores in central and eastern Europe. [11]

The company's products (such as its coffee and drinks) were sold in Brewers Fayre and Beefeater until it was subsequently purchased by the Coca-Cola Company from Whitbread.

In 2018, Whitbread faced pressure from two of its largest shareholders, activist group Elliott Advisers and hedge fund Sachem Head, to sell or demerge Costa Coffee, the theory being that the individual businesses would be worth much more than the one company alone. [12] On 25 April 2018, Whitbread announced its intention to fully demerge Costa within two years. [13] On 3 January 2019 the Coca-Cola Company purchased Costa Coffee for $4.9 billion. [3]

In March 2020, all UK coffee shops were closed indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In late May some branches reopened for takeaway or drive-through orders. [14] In 2022, Costa Coffee discontinued the Costa Book Awards that Whitbread had started 51 years earlier. [15] At the end of July 2022 Jill McDonald stepped down as CEO of the company, [16] and was succeeded by Philippe Schaillee in April 2023. [17]

Products

An espresso served at Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham. CostaEspresso.jpg
An espresso served at Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham.

Costa branches sell hot and cold drinks, sandwiches, cakes and pastries, and snacks. In 2020, the brand collaborated with three chocolate brands (Quality Street, After Eight and Terry's) for some of their limited-edition Christmas drinks. [18]

Costa moved its roastery from Lambeth to Basildon, Essex, in May 2017 with an investment of £38 million, increasing their annual coffee-roasting capacity from 11,000 to 45,000 tonnes (12,000 to 50,000 short tons). [19]

Costa Coffee employs Gennaro Pelliccia as a coffee taster, who had his tongue insured for £10m with Lloyd's of London in 2009. [20] [21]

In 2020, Costa Coffee introduced canned coffee and iced coffee. [22]

Operations

Management

On 19 August 2019, Costa Coffee attracted media attention due to claims of unfair deductions from the pay of its employees. Costa said contracts for franchise stores were managed by franchisees, and that some staff contracts did have "clauses relating to deductions". [23]

Four days later, additional claims appeared in the media that Costa Coffee franchise workers were "not treated like humans". The report included managers' alleged refusal to pay for sickness, annual leave, or working outside contracted hours, and retaining tips. It cited an anonymous former employee at a store under Goldex Essex Investments Ltd who claimed that almost £1,000 of their holiday pay was deducted from their salary, despite being contracted to work 48 hours a week. The report said that baristas and employees at managerial level had complained about the numerous deductions outlined in Costa Coffee franchisees' contracts. A Costa Coffee spokesperson responded that an independent audit had been launched. [24] [ needs update ]

Locations

A Costa Coffee branch in Forster Square Retail Park, Bradford Costa - Forster Square Retail Park - geograph.org.uk - 1157388.jpg
A Costa Coffee branch in Forster Square Retail Park, Bradford

Costa Coffee operates 2,467 outlets in the United Kingdom as of October 2019. Overseas, it operates 1,413 stores in 32 countries. [2] The first Costa store outside the UK opened in the United Arab Emirates in 1999, [25] and, in September 2017, was the first coffee shop worldwide to start delivering coffee via drones. [26]

Costa Coffee's headquarters are in Loudwater in the UK, with the Costa Roastery being located in Basildon, Essex.

Costa Express

Following Whitbread's £59.5m acquisition of Coffee Nation, a chain of coffee machines, the machines were re-branded as Costa Express. [27] The company planned to expand to hospitals, universities and transport interchanges. [28] In Denmark, Costa Express machines are located in Shell stations; they had previously also been in Shell Canada. [29] In the UK, many grocery store chain SPAR petrol station stores have Costa Express machines. [30]

In July 2023, a Costa Express van had art depicting a trans man with top surgery scars, as part of a mural designed for Pride Month. The design provoked backlash from gender-critical commentators James Esses, Maya Forstater, and Helen Joyce. [31] Costa defended the art, saying that it "showcases and celebrates inclusivity". [32] [33]

World distribution

Costa Coffee in Warsaw, Poland 2018-07-07 Costa Coffee at Krakowskie Przedmiescie Street in Warsaw.jpg
Costa Coffee in Warsaw, Poland

As of January 2022, Costa Coffee was available on four continents in 38 countries, with 3,884 locations in total. [34]

CountryNo. of locationsweb page
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom 2,467 https://www.costa.co.uk/
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China 459
Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg  United Arab Emirates 150 https://www.costacoffee.ae/
Flag of Poland.svg  Poland 147 https://www.costacoffee.pl/
Flag of Ireland.svg  Ireland 114 https://www.costaireland.ie/
Flag of Kuwait.svg  Kuwait 95 [35] https://www.costakuwait.com/
Flag of the Czech Republic.svg  Czech Republic 54 https://www.costa-coffee.cz/
Flag of India.svg  India 57 https://www.costacoffee.in/
Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg  Saudi Arabia 56 https://www.costaksa.com/
Flag of Egypt.svg  Egypt 44 https://www.costacoffee.eg/
Flag of Russia.svg  Russia 36temporary paused
Flag of Spain.svg  Spain 27 https://www.costacoffee.es/
Flag of Cyprus.svg  Cyprus 24 https://www.costacoffee.com.cy/
Flag of Bahrain.svg  Bahrain 23
Flag of Oman.svg  Oman 22
Flag of Bulgaria.svg  Bulgaria 21 https://costacoffee.bg/
Flag of the Philippines.svg  Philippines 16
Flag of Kazakhstan.svg  Kazakhstan 12
Flag of Malta.svg  Malta 12 [36] https://www.costacoffee.mt/
Flag of Latvia.svg  Latvia 11
Flag of France.svg  France 8
Flag of Croatia.svg  Croatia 7 https://www.costacoffee.hr/
Flag of Malaysia.svg  Malaysia 7 https://www.costacoffeemalaysia.com/
Flag of Morocco.svg  Morocco 7 https://www.costacoffee.ma/
Flag of Qatar.svg  Qatar 7
Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa 6
Flag of the United States.svg  United States 6 [37] https://us.costacoffee.com/
Flag of Portugal.svg  Portugal 5
Flag of Turkey.svg  Turkey 5
Flag of Azerbaijan.svg  Azerbaijan 4
Flag of Cambodia.svg  Cambodia 4
Flag of Jordan.svg  Jordan 4
Flag of Pakistan.svg  Pakistan 4 https://www.costacoffee.pk/
Flag of Germany.svg  Germany 3 https://www.costacoffee.de/
Flag of Japan.svg  Japan 7 (20.5.2024) https://www.srcafe.co.jp/shop/
Flag of Austria.svg  Austria 2 [38] https://www.costa-coffee.at/
Flag of Georgia.svg  Georgia 2 [39]
Flag of Maldives.svg  Maldives 2
Flag of Greece.svg  Greece 1 https://www.costacoffee.gr/
Flag of Hungary.svg  Hungary 1 [40] https://hu.costacoffee.com/
Flag of Indonesia.svg  Indonesia 1
Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 1
Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico 1 https://www.costacoffee.mx/
Flag of Norway.svg  Norway 1 https://www.costacoffee.no/
Flag of Uzbekistan.svg  Uzbekistan 3
Flag of Vietnam.svg  Vietnam 1

Controversies

In February 2022, an investigation by BBC's Panorama found dairy cows supplying milk to Costa were being abused on a farm in Wales. Workers kicked and punched cows in the face and stomach, twisted their tails, and hit them with sharp metal shovels. Cows were left to die overnight and medical care was not provided when required. [41]

In January 2023, an investigation by animal rights group Viva! reported the poor treatment of dairy cows at a farm that supplies Costa and various other customers. The animals were also handled roughly, with one being hit in the udder and others being slapped or having their heads pushed, footage suggested. [42] Costa responded to say they had investigated the supplier and found that it complies with Red Tractor standards on animal welfare. [42]

In February 2023, a 13-year-old girl died after drinking a hot chocolate from a Costa in East London. She suffered a severe allergic reaction and died in hospital despite being treated with an EpiPen. [43] The inquest found that there had been a failure of communication between the girls' mother, who ordered the drink, and the Costa staff, causing the drink to be made with dairy milk. It also ruled that training provided to Costa staff on food allergies was not sufficient at the time, only consisting of a "tick-box exercise". [44]

Costa Book Awards

Costa Coffee has been the sponsor of the Costa Book Awards (formerly the Whitbread Book Awards) since 2006. On 10 June 2022 they announced this would end. [45]

See also

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References

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