Q&A: Does Costa Coffee Franchise in the UK?

Lily Sweeney, writer

Published at 24/03/2022, Updated on 04/05/2022 , Reading time: 5 min

Q&A: Does Costa Coffee Franchise in the UK? — Photo © Q_A-Does-Costa-Coffee-Franchise-in-the-UK.jpg

If you’re passionate about coffee and love the idea of running your own coffee shop WHILE benefitting from expert training, support and operations guidance, you could be the perfect Costa Coffee franchise owner. When looking into coffee shop franchise opportunities, you’re bound to come across Costa - one of the biggest names in the UK cafe space. Read on, and discover whether a potential franchise investment with Costa is in the cards.

The UK’s cafe/coffee shop market in the UK is absolutely booming in 2022, worth £5 billion and consisting of nearly 15,000 businesses [IBISWorld]. If you think you have what it takes to run a successful coffee shop franchise and you’re searching for the perfect investment in this space, you’ll find it’s hard to beat the prospect of running your own Costa Coffee business, serving delicious drinks to loyal customers. But does Costa franchise in the UK?

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Does Costa Coffee franchise in the UK?

For those interested in opening their own Costa Coffee shop, it’s good news and bad news: Yes, Costa Coffee does franchise, but not in the UK (anymore). This coffee giant welcomes franchisees looking to take the brand international but isn’t looking to open standalone UK Costa stores right now, instead focusing on developing brand partnerships with locations like hotels, cinemas and service stations that can incorporate Costa into their existing offering.

Costa Coffee has been voted the ‘Nation’s Favourite coffee shop’ 10 years in a row. With 50% of the out of home coffee market spending money at Costa Coffee and over 6m active Coffee Club users, a partnership with Costa Coffee connects you to our passionate and loyal customer base. - Costa Coffee

The history of Costa Coffee

Costa Coffee was born in 1971 when founders Sergio and Bruno first sold their deliciously rich coffee to London locals. A year later, the first shop was officially opened, and in 2022, the brand has more than 1,000 stores across the globe, providing caffeinated goodness and tasty treats to customers in 29 different countries. Costa is beloved for its distinct aesthetic, its amazing food and drink options and most especially, its quality and signature coffee.

Sergio and Bruno arrived in London with a burning desire to make great tasting coffee a part of everyday life. Setting up a small roastery in Fenchurch Street, they committed to crafting the finest quality coffee. It was here the Costa brothers blind-tested 112 variations of coffee before they tasted one good enough to be our signature blend. They named it ‘Mocha Italia’ and it remains our signature blend to this day. - Costa Coffee

Start a franchise in the coffee shop industry today

If everything you’ve learned thus far about Costa and the UK’s coffee shop industry has you keen to invest, read on. The three questions answered below will equip you with all the information you need in order to make a fully informed franchise investment with Costa OR kickstart the research process and find the perfect UK coffee shop franchise opportunity...

1. How do you go about running your own coffee shop business with Costa?

You can find out more and register your interest in an international franchise partnership via Costa’s website, which contains a section dedicated to business and B2B opportunities. Note, before you do, that Costa has a clear sense of what it’s searching for in an ideal franchisee: Someone with vision, drive, field experience and exceptional people skills. Someone with plenty of enthusiasm for the coffee sector and a hands-on attitude to employee management and customer service. If this sounds like you, you might well be the perfect Costa partner.

2. How much do you need to invest?

To become a Costa franchisee/pursue a franchise partnership with Costa outside of the UK, you’ll need to make a minimum initial investment of £250,000, with a total investment cost of £800,000. This is considerably above the average cost of starting a franchise, which was £42,200 in 2018 [British Franchise Association], but given the hugely recognisable brand name attached, that’s to be expected. Here are some cost examples for other coffee shop franchises, to give you a better sense of where an international Costa franchise investment stands:

Sweet Spot - In order to become a Sweet Spot franchisee, you’ll need to make a minimum initial investment of £50,000, with franchise fees of £15,000 and a total investment cost of £90,000.
Triple Two Coffee - In order to become a Triple Two Coffee franchisee, you’ll need to make a minimum initial investment of £25,000.
Dunkin’ Donuts - In order to become a Dunkin’ Donuts franchisee, you’ll need to make a minimum initial investment of £1,200,000, with a total investment cost of £3,000,000.

3. What do you get for your investment?

In return for an investment with Costa, you’ll gain access to ample franchisee training (ongoing and initial), advertising and marketing support, barista/employee training support and the consistent range of Costa Coffee products and services beloved across the world. The undeniable biggest pro of franchising is franchisor support, and when it comes from a company as experienced and successful as Costa? You can be certain it will be of a high standard, refined through years of experience and franchisee feedback.

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Costa Coffee franchise opportunities are a great way to start running your own business in a thriving industry

Hopefully, this article has given you a strong sense of whether an investment with Costa Coffee and a business launched outside of the UK is the right professional path for you. If you’re a total coffee lover but you’re still on the fence about an international investment with Costa, stay on Point Franchise, continue your research and remember how vast and opportunity-filled the coffee shop sector really is. Discover the six biggest advantages of running a coffee shop franchise(/article-6-advantages-of-running-a-coffee-shop-franchise), find out how to start your own coffee shop franchise(/article-how-to-start-your-coffee-shop-franchise) step by step, and browse opportunities from Centenary Lounge(/franchise/centenary-lounge) to Cafe2U.