83% of UK consumers surveyed said they were satisfied with coffee shops’ festive beverage offerings this year | Photo credit: Nathan Dumlao 

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The festive period presents a prime opportunity for branded coffee chains to pull out all the stops when it comes to offering decadent flavours in-store. With 43% of 2,000+ UK consumers surveyed by World Coffee Portal indicating they have already purchased a seasonal festive beverage in 2021, those efforts appear to be paying off.
 
Indicating that operators are doing a great job of spreading the good festive cheer, a whopping 83% of UK consumers surveyed said they were satisfied with coffee shops’ festive beverage offerings this year.
 
In fact, the festive period could be one of the most opportune seasonal periods for UK operators. Christmas, and its association with popular flavours including mulled spice, gingerbread, cream, and indulgent chocolate, appears to be a firm seasonal favourite among UK consumers when compared to other seasonal offerings.
 
Just 11% of consumers surveyed indicated Valentine’s Day-themed coffee shop beverages were more appealing than those sold at Christmas. At Easter, the figure rose to 12%, while seasonal beverages in the long summer period are more attractive among 26% of consumers. Later in the year, Halloween’s pumpkin and cinnamon inspired beverage ranges are more popular among 19% of consumers surveyed.
 
A merry methodology
 
With Christmas such an important part of the UK coffee shop calendar, World Coffee Portal asked consumers what their favourite festive products were in 2021. Those that came ‘Top of the tree’ represent the overall highest polling products in their category.
 
‘Best of the Rest’ were the highest polling products among second-placed brands in their category, while votes for this year’s ‘pound for pound’ favourites were weighted relative to the number of stores that coffee chain has in the UK.
 
So, without further ado – here are the UK’s top voted festive coffee shop products of 2021…
 

Festive beverages category

Top of the tree: Costa Coffee's Gingerbread latte & cream | Photo credit: Costa Coffee 

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Coffee beverages

1. Top of the tree  
    Costa Coffee – Gingerbread latte & cream

2. Best of the rest
    Starbucks – Gingerbread latte
 
3. Pound-for-pound favourite  
    AMT Coffee – Irish cream latte

Best of the rest non-coffee festive beverage: Starbucks' fudge brownie hot chocolate | Photo credit: Starbucks 

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Non-coffee beverages

 

1. Top of the Tree  
    Costa Coffee – Terry’s Chocolate Orange hot chocolate
 
2. Best of the rest
    Starbucks – Fudge brownie hot chocolate
 
3. Pound-for-pound favourite
    Coffee #1 – Hot apple & cinnamon
 

Festive food category

Always a crowd-pleaser: Greggs Festive bake | Photo credit: Greggs

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Meat-based

 
1. Top of the tree
    Costa Coffee – Brie, Maple Bacon & Cranberry Panini
 
2. Best of the rest
    Greggs – Festive Bake
 
3. Pound-for-pound favourite  
    Bakers + Baristas – Festive Feast Baguette

A top meat-free festive treat: McDonald's Cheese Melt Dippers | Photo credit: McDonald's 

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Meat-free

 
1. Top of the tree
    McDonald’s – Cheese melt dippers
 
2. Best of the rest
    Greggs – Vegan festive bake
 
3. Pound-for-pound favourite
    AMT Coffee – Brie, cranberry & spinach toastie
 

Cakes

 
1. Top of the tree
    Costa Coffee – Christmas Cake
 
2. Best of the rest
    Caffè Nero – Salted Caramel Billionaire's Cake

3. Pound for pound favourite
    Paul – Black Forest Gateau Christmas Tree Cake
 

The pound-for-pound favourite: Gail's Mince Pies | Photo credit: Gail's 

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Mince pie

 
1. Top of the tree
    Costa Coffee – All butter mince pie
 
2. Best of the rest
    Greggs – Sweet mince pie
 
3. Pound-for-pound favourite
    Gail’s – Mince Pies
 

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The UK Festive Favourites survey was conducted by World Coffee Portal in December 2021 and based on the responses of 2,071 UK consumers