Until now Costa Coffee has operated in the US market via automated Costa Coffee Smart Café machines and BaristaBot locations | Photo credit: Costa Coffee

UK coffee chain Costa Coffee has opened its first retail store in the US, marking its initial foray into brick-and-mortar outlets in the country. 
 

Following its £3.9bn ($4.8bn) acquisition by Cola-Cola in late 2018, the company has operated in the US market via automated Costa Coffee Smart Café machines and BaristaBot locations.  

In October 2020, Costa Coffee purchased US ‘coffee robot’ brand Briggo for an undisclosed sum, a savvy acquisition at the time given in-store trading restrictions during the pandemic.  

While the launch of its first physical store, located in the CODA mixed-use development unit in Atlanta, Georgia, indicates the increasing appeal of the Costa Coffee brand in the US, neither Coca-Cola nor Costa Coffee have set an expansion target for further outlets in the country. 

“We are excited to bring the masterful brews from Costa Coffee to the US. We are taking a disciplined approach to the expansion, including opening our brick-and-mortar cafe in Atlanta at the Coda building in Midtown Atlanta’s Tech Square. This cafe will help us build and share the unique Costa Coffee experience,” said ​a Costa Coffee spokesperson.

In July 2022, Coca-Cola said that the recovery of Costa Coffee in its domestic UK market, where it operates over 2,800 stores, helped the Atlanta-based beverage giant achieve a 12% rise in revenues to $11.3bn for the three months ending 1 July 2022. 

In August 2022, Shakir Moin, Chief Operating Officer for Costa Coffee in the US, began serving as the coffee chain’s Interim CEO while Coca-Cola pursues a permanent replacement for former Costa Coffee CEO Jill McDonald, who left the post in July 2022 to join US fast-food giant McDonald’s.