$5.1bn Costa purchase to boost Coca-Cola expertise across coffee supply chain

The $5.1bn purchase of Costa Coffee will provide Coca-Cola with strong expertise across the coffee supply chain, including sourcing, vending and distribution, the beverage giant has said. 

The acquisition of Costa from parent company Whitbread PLC will give Coca-Cola a strong coffee platform across parts of Europe, Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa, with the opportunity for additional expansion.

Costa operations include a leading brand, nearly 4,000 retail outlets with highly trained baristas, a coffee vending operation, for-home coffee formats and Costa’s state-of-the-art roastery.

For Coca-Cola, the expected acquisition adds a scalable coffee platform with critical know-how and expertise in a fast-growing, on-trend category.

Costa ranks as the leading coffee company in the United Kingdom and has a growing footprint in China, among other markets. 

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In a statement, Coca-Cola said: "Costa provides Coca-Cola with strong expertise across the coffee supply chain, including sourcing, vending and distribution. This will be a complement to existing capabilities within the Coca-Cola system.

Coca-Cola President and CEO James Quincey, commented: “Costa gives Coca-Cola new capabilities and expertise in coffee, and our system can create opportunities to grow the Costa brand worldwide. 

“Hot beverages is one of the few segments of the total beverage landscape where Coca-Cola does not have a global brand. Costa gives us access to this market with a strong coffee platform.”

Late last year, Coca-Cola signalled its intent to make significant changes to its supply chain operations, as part of the organisation’s new ‘Sustainability Action Plan’.

Dubbed ‘This is Forward’, the company and its European partners pledged to address some of the biggest issues in society by using their business and brands as a force for good, and with impact to meet complex global challenges.