Costa Coffee has announced an agreement with Sainsbury’s to open new cafés within 11 of its stores across the UK by the end of 2024.
The collaboration will see the coffee chain invest more than £3m and create over 100 job opportunities.
The inaugural café was opened on 15 February at Sainsbury’s Farlington Superstore in Portsmouth, which Costa described as a contemporary and relaxing setting for customers to unwind after their supermarket shop or meet up with loved ones whilst enjoying a pick-me-up beverage or food item.
Costa Coffee already has over 1,000 Costa Express machines in Sainsbury’s stores and petrol stations, which shifted 10 million cups of coffee in 2023 alone.
“We know that customers like the convenience of being able to stop for a drink, snack or sit-down lunch while they’re doing their shopping, and we think that Costa Coffee stores will offer a fantastic opportunity to do this within Sainsbury’s supermarkets,” said Richard Crampton, Sainsbury’s director of fresh food.
“That’s why we’re delighted to be building on our existing collaboration with Costa Coffee to roll out this fantastic new option for customers in our stores over the next year and we’re looking forward to hearing what they think.”
Sainsbury’s has existing café tie-ups with coffee chain Starbucks and more recently bakery brand Greggs, which teamed up with the retailer first to launch a new type of concession inside its Biggleswade petrol station. These third-party outlets have been steadily replacing hundreds of Sainsbury’s own instore cafés over the past three years, as part of CEO Simon Roberts’ cost-cutting strategy entitled ‘Save to Invest’.
Founded in London by Italian brothers Sergio and Bruno Costa in 1971, the company now operates around 1,520 shops in the UK, and has more than 2,700 stores including franchises spread across the UK and Ireland, with a further 1,300 globally.
Last week, it revealed an average pay rise of 9% for its 15,000-plus UK barista staff, its fifth successive salary increase since 2021.
Its new menu rolled out in January featured a focus on vegan offerings, including the new Plant-Based Saucy Chicken Fajita Wrap, Plant-Based Crackin’ Ham & Cheeze Toastie, and vegan Caramelised Biscuit Rocky Road.
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