Coffee and sandwich shop prices have grown faster than other eating-out venues for the first time in more than two years.
The average price of an item on a food and drink menu soared 13.8% year-on-year in coffee and sandwich shops in the second quarter of 2025, according to the quarterly menu tracker produced by Lumina Intelligence.
This is more than twice the average 5.6% increase across the eating-out market and ahead of all other venue types covered by the tracker in percentage terms (see graph below).
In actual terms, this was a 51p increase in the average price of a coffee and sandwich shop menu item. Businesses covered by the tracker include Costa, Subway, Greggs, Starbucks, Greenhalgh’s and Gail’s.
Coffee and sandwich shops also recorded the highest growth when excluding drinks, with prices up 9.6% against an industry average of 7.4%.
The latest tracker report also reflects the evolution of menus. While sandwiches remain the most popular item on coffee and sandwich shop menus – accounting for almost 20% of all items – its share has fallen slightly. Wraps, which make up 6% of menu items, have also declined.
Meanwhile, the second and third-place items – chicken dishes and pizza – have grown in popularity as operators increase their development of restaurant-style food options. The report highlights how the Soho Coffee chain has recently boosted its offer with two seasonal jacket potatoes – a smoky red pepper chickpea jacket and a chicken Caesar jacket.
“This subscribes to the trend of coffee and sandwich operators starting to offer more flexible and filling options to encourage lunch time customers,” said Lumina in the report.
When it comes to sweet products, cakes make up 35.9% of menus – a figure that has grown year-on-year – as have pastries at 15.6%.
Innovation in sweet products has included a collaboration between Joe & The Juice and Danish ice cream maker Hansens to create an ice lolly version of the chain’s Power Shake milkshake.
“This move reflects a wider consumer appetite for familiar flavours in novel forms, particularly among Gen Z audiences who crave fun indulgences with functional or nostalgic cues,” reported Lumina.
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