Buns, matcha, and iced drinks have helped drive growth at coffee house Caffè Nero in Q4.
The premium coffee specialist reported 8% growth in the UK between 1 March and 31 May 2025, building on what it described as a ‘robust’ performance in the previous three quarters of its latest financial year. Like-for-like sales were also up 5% vs Q4 the year prior.
The strong UK performance was supported by the ‘hugely successful’ launch of the summer Iced Drinks Menu, with a sales increase of 56% vs the previous year. Menu items include a Tiramisu Iced Latte, Pistachio Iced Latte, Salted Caramel Iced Velvet Americano, and Millionaires Luxury Frappe.
It recently added a new variant to the range in the form of a Baileys Iced Latte. The non-alcoholic drink is made with espresso and a Baileys syrup.
Caffè Nero UK also saw significant sales of its new Vanilla Iced Matcha and Strawberry Iced Matcha, shifting 514,000 units during the period. Other items such as the Cinnamon bun, which has now sold 900,000 units, and the Maritozzi Bun, which has now sold over 600,000 units, also performed well.
The Maritozzi Bun was rolled out as part of the firm’s summer 2024 menu and brought back for summer 2025. Described as the ‘star of Italian breakfasts’, it consists of soft sourdough brioche infused with lemon and orange, filled with a sweetened cream and finished with a dusting of icing sugar.
The group continued its new store opening programme in Q4 opening 20 new stores during the period. This takes the total new stores opened at group level in FY25 to 94 (including the acquisitions of 200 Degrees and FCB). In the UK, Caffè Nero opened a further four new stores in Q4, increasing the total number of new openings in the financial year in the UK to 19.
As a result, at the end of May 2025, the Group operated 1,140 stores across 11 countries with 11,000 employees. In all, 95% of Nero Group’s stores are company-owned.
A further increase came as more customers visited the firm’s sites with numbers up 3% vs the previous year.
Gerry Ford, founder and group CEO, said the business has a “different model than most other companies” in the sector which is “paying off” as it continues to grow its brands across the world.
“We are an independent, home-grown start-up focussed on the premium end of the coffee market that now has scale. We own our stores and have built our business with strong foundations over many years,” Ford added.
The business is also delivering growth across its international estate with a 12% increase in sales across the world, and 6% in like-for-like sales.
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