How Costa and its abysmal rocket fuel took over the high street

Costa. Not a purveyor of top-tier coffee, but a place to find serviceable refreshment to wake up with, to down as a last resort when running for a train or hungover to the hilt. As for toasties and the wraps, well, are there any more anaemic, more flabby on the market? And yet, our high streets remain in a Costa chokehold. Costa still outnumbers Starbucks by roughly two to one, with 2,707 traditional stores and shops compared to Starbucks’s roughly 1,300 branches. And if you think there’s a Pret on every corner, you probably live in London: there 516 locations in the UK and more than half are in the capital. So, what is drawing people in? Why do thousands of thirsty Brits find themselves drinking metallic cappuccinos and bitter espressos? Shorts Costa’s caffeine content is one idea. A study by the consumer champion Which? revealed Costa’s medium cappuccino has the amount of caffeine (325mg) of around four cans of Red Bull. It’s nearly three and a half times as much as Starbucks’ version of the same drink and well exceeds Caffè Nero (the only coffee that might taste even worse – an americano here feels like swallowing pond water). I decide to visit my local Costa in the City of London to attempt to figure out the appeal. I sit down and nibble at my average croissant: neither offensive nor enamouring; few are eating here, but I see a selection of fairly normal-looking cakes and biscuits. I stick to my pastry. My coffee provides me with little by way of excitement – in the past, I’ve been harsh, calling it undrinkable, but my flat white (£4.30) is fine, if uninspiring. It does bring a much-needed boost of caffeine. Post the commuter stampede, the place isn’t too hectic, though baristas are still feverishly sending out hot drinks, asking time and time again what sort of milk customers would like. Could anybody pinpoint when “regular milk” became an option rather than the standard? Coffee culture has changed dramatically in Britain in the last 10 years, with the emergence of independent retailers that focus on single-origin beans and specialist roasts. Even from the window of this branch of Costa, I can see Rossalyn, a growing group of high-end coffee shops that inspire lengthy morning queues, and Blank Street, an American chain that started with coffee carts in 2020 which now, after raising £67m through Big Tech investment, has more than 100 stores. Costa is being squeezed from below, too. Earlier this year, it was narrowly overtaken by Greggs, which has become Britain’s largest branded coffee shop operator. Recent figures show Greggs outnumbering Costa’s traditional stores by 30, at 2,737. Though Costa is still by far the most famous when it comes to waking up – it also has thousands of self-serve machines at service stations and other transport hubs. And so, even with financial challenges and a changing market, Costa remains a massive name on British high streets, a known brand since 1971, when brothers Sergio and Bruno Costa arrived in London from Italy and established a small coffee-roasting operation on Fenchurch Street, supplying coffee to caterers and specialist Italian grocers before opening shops in the years that followed. The brothers grew their business quickly until the 90s, when the hospitality giant Whitbread came knocking. Whitbread, best known today for owning Premier Inn, bought Costa for £19m in 1995. It sold to Coca-Cola for more than £4bn in 2018. Not a bad investment. Costa’s story in Britain is a long one. In 2026, Costa’s coffee is hardly what it was, or was reckoned to be. But with so many other options available today, why do people still visit? “It’s sort of offensively inoffensive, I guess,” says one member of the Hardy family who have stopped for a mass coffee order before they depart on holiday. “It’s consistent at least. Maybe consistently bad. But then we do sometimes end up here. The issue beyond anything with coffee these days is the price.” On the high street, average prices at Costa (£4.05) sit above Nero and Pret (£3.85 and £3.88), but a little below Starbucks (£4.28). James Robson, who owns London restaurants, including the world-famous Fallow, says Costa remains a powerhouse to reckon with, even if its coffee isn’t the best on the market, because “it’s consistent, and it’s convenient”. The last time I visited a branch of Costa, I was ranking high-street coffees for this newspaper. Costa came out somewhere in the middle, sandwiched between Caffè Nero and Pret, neither of which are my go-to either. But, as Robson points out, there is something starkly convenient about the brand – and in train stations and airports, it’s often the only choice. “The customer who goes to Costa is after caffeine, a wake-up in the morning, and an easy choice,” he says. “It’s here because it has enormous economies of scale and dominant distribution. Artisanal coffee doesn’t operate in the same way. Costa can get better rates on premium sites.” “I’m here this morning because it’s close to my office,” says Jane*, a banker popping in for a takeaway latte. “I don’t think the coffee is anything special, but it’s here, and I like my early morning coffee. If I have more time, I’ll probably go somewhere a little nicer and take my time. You have to credit Costa for its efficiency – the baristas are fast in rush hour.” But Costa isn’t having an easy time of it at all. In January, Costa’s operating loss more than doubled to £13.5m on revenues of £1.2bn in 2024, according to accounts filed at UK Companies House. At the time, the company blamed weak high-street footfall and competition from cheaper rivals. Pret still offers much more affordable filter coffee, a relative bargain at 99p (or £1.20 in some locations) and though its flavour is disastrous, it’s hard to argue with the price. Phil Way, the owner of Flying Horse Coffee, a small, London-based operator, said he isn’t surprised Costa is struggling: “I think people are waking up to higher quality coffee and have been for a decade or so now. There will always be a place for convenience and affordability, but coffee isn’t just seen as fuel any more, it’s a treat, something special to have with friends at the weekend. “Young people are drinking less alcohol and spending their money on other things. Having a properly made coffee from a trained barista fits into that space,” he says, adding that people are more conscious about provenance and sustainability, too. “10 years ago, hardly anyone knew the difference between arabica beans and robusta, now people are learning.” This week, I was contacted by Costa representatives about a new autumn menu. We are soon to enter “pumpkin spice latte season”, one of the most depressing trends to have emerged in recent years. Upcoming at Costa this year is a coffee called the “hazel iced matcha latte”, an alarming combination of words. The drink blends matcha green tea with roasted hazelnut flavour syrup, maple sauce and chilled milk. I would rather remain tired. Costa also highlighted the fact these drinks are available as sachets and will be sold aboard Jet2 planes from 1st September. There’s nothing like a coffee sachet 35,000 feet above the Earth. Stefan Chomka, who runs Restaurant magazine, sums Costa up quite well: “For habitual coffee drinkers, it’s all about convenience. Costa is still popular because it’s there. The high caffeine content can only help – I guess Costa’s morning cup of joe gives an addictive kick that some of the other chains just don’t deliver.” Maybe I’m a snob. Is coffee the equivalent to a Jet2 holiday? That is to say, not a first choice for anyone, but very much a needs-must sort of experience? Costa gets the job done: I’m certainly more awake than earlier. Then again, £4.25 for this level of flat white? There’s nothing like a Jet2 holiday, but there’s plenty of cheaper coffee.