Coffee News Recap, 6 Feb: Greggs overtakes Costa as UK’s biggest chain, China’s Cotti Coffee launches in London & other stories

Every Friday, Perfect Daily Grind rounds up the top coffee industry news from the week. 

Editor’s note

Costa Coffee, recently voted the UK’s Favourite Coffee Shop for the 16th consecutive year in World Coffee Portal’s survey, has long dominated the UK market.

But according to WCP’s latest Project Café report, Greggs has overtaken Costa to become the UK’s biggest branded coffee operator. The bakery chain, best known for its sausage rolls and pasties, operates roughly 2,737 outlets across the UK, versus Costa’s 2,707 stores.

This signals that UK consumers are increasingly seeking “non-traditional” options for out-of-home coffee. As per the Project Café report, the average price of a regular-sized latte in the UK’s branded coffee shop market has risen to £3.76. Value-focused brands like Greggs, which offer both hot coffee and RTD options, will therefore continue to see greater success as margins remain tight.

The bakery chain also just launched its first-ever matcha range, a strategic move as sales of the bright green drink skyrocket and Gen Z continue to influence market trends.

Top stories of the week

• Mon, 2 Feb – Vietnamese authorities seize counterfeit coffee made from soybeans. Law enforcement in Lam Dong province confiscated about 4.1 tonnes of counterfeit ground coffee and roughly 3 tonnes of raw ingredients following raids on a facility allegedly producing blends of soybean and additives sold as coffee, the country’s Public Security Ministry reported. Investigations are ongoing. (Lam Dong, Vietnam)

• Thu, 5 Feb – Arabica futures slide to lowest since August. New York arabica contracts dropped to around US$3.08/lb, the weakest since August 2025, as improving Brazilian weather and abundant crop forecasts weighed on sentiment. (London, UK)

Industry news

• Mon, 2 Feb – Starbucks unveils AI ordering companion and relaunches rewards programme. The chain is integrating AI into the digital ordering process to help customers build customised drinks through “natural, intuitive prompts,” as part of its turnaround plan. Starbucks will revamp its rewards scheme on 10 Mar with three tiers offering stepped benefits and personalised perks to its 35.5m members. (Seattle, Washington, US)

• Tue, 3 Feb – Curious Roo Coffee Roasters increases capacity by 50% after opening new roastery. The new 5,000-square-metre facility in Chiswick, which also houses a training school, has increased UK wholesale and retail operations by 50% to support more independent operators. Owners Edwin and Magda are also attempting a world record coffee delivery, crossing 25 countries over six months. (London, UK)

• Thu, 5 Feb – IWCA appoints new global board leadership. Emily Bollinger was named president, and Shelby Colley was vice president. Bollinger leads green coffee logistics at Peet’s, and Colley is VP of marketing at Equator Coffees. The new board will focus on governance, strategic growth, and strengthening chapters across 36 countries. (Springfield, Illinois, US)

• Fri, 6 Feb – Nestlé UK & Ireland appoints three senior leaders. Katya Simmons becomes managing director for coffee, shifting from Nestlé Professional. Martin Krohn is named head of technical and production. Lorenzo Vigano will lead Nestlé Professional UK and Ireland, focusing on quality, safety, and B2B growth. (London, UK)

• Fri, 6 Feb – Centurium gains more control over Luckin Coffee. The investment firm acquired 136.2 million Class B shares from Lucky Cup Holdings. This allows Centurium to streamline its ownership structure without changing its stake in Luckin. (Beijing, China)

Businesses for sale

• Thu, 5 Feb – Schuil Coffee acquires Leelanau Coffee Roasting in Michigan. Grand Rapids-based Schuil has bought the Glen Arbor roaster and café, bringing all 25 Leelanau staff into its wider operation and plans to maintain key offerings while updating packaging and online sales. (Glen Arbor, Michigan, US)

New launch

• Mon, 2 Feb – Eversys launches redesigned website. The rebuilt platform offers streamlined product and industry pages, expanded technical resources, community storytelling, and improved navigation to support operators and preview upcoming product and service rollouts. (Sierre, Switzerland)

• Tue, 3 Feb – Australia’s award-winning Wood Fired Coffee to expand into UK. The Sydney-born brand, which slow-roasts in a custom-made wood-fired roaster fuelled by a blend of Ironbark, Yellow Box, and Mahogany hardwoods, plans to launch in the UK to support retail partners across premium grocery, independent retail, and specialty food channels. (London, UK)

• Wed, 4 Feb – The Venti opens its first coffee store in the Middle East. South Korean value-focused chain launched its first outlet in Jordan’s capital, featuring a tailored menu as part of a strategy to broaden its presence in the region following openings in Canada and Vietnam. (Amman, Jordan)

• Thu, 5 Feb – New season of A History of Coffee on Filter Stories podcast released. The podcast, available on Apple, Spotify, and other platforms, will cover four main topics through historical reporting and on-the-ground documentary work: Hamburg as a coffee port, Ethiopia and the origins of coffee, coffee surrogates and substitutes, and land, power, and coffee in Guatemala.

Milestone

Trade & production

• Wed, 4 Feb – Robusta coffee exports from Sumatra climb 52% in December. Data from the Indonesian Coffee Exporters Association show shipments from the region rose sharply compared with the same month in the prior year, supported by firm demand from key Asian and African markets. (Medan, Indonesia)

• Thu, 5 Feb – Global coffee exports grew 5.5% in the early 2025/26 crop year. New data show shipments of green beans climbed versus the prior season in the first three months through December, with robust increases from major producers helping offset logistical challenges and support availability abroad. (London, UK)

• Fri, 6 Feb – Brazil forecast to harvest 66.2 million bags in 2026, Conab says. The first Conab survey projects a 17.1% rise versus 2025, driven by a 4.1% area expansion and a 12.4% increase in productivity to 34.2 sacks/ha. Arabica and conilon volumes are both expected to increase, potentially setting a national record. (Brasília, Brazil)

Research

• Thu, 5 Feb – Breeding could make robusta the coffee of the future. A Frontiers in Plant Science review by 14 authors states that coordinated global breeding, modern genetic tools, and demand-led targets can raise Coffea canephora yield, disease resistance, and cup quality. The review urges shared networks, funding, and fast delivery of improved varieties to farmers. (Kampala, Uganda)

Events & competitions

• Mon, 2 Feb – Ceado will be the Qualified Espresso Grinder Sponsor for the World Barista Championship 2026-27. WBC competitors for the 2026 and 2027 competitions will use the Ceado REV Zero and E37Z-Naked grinders. The REV Zero minimises grind retention and features RSZ83 burrs with Red Speed coating. The single-dose E37Z-Naked delivers extremely low retention, featuring DLCB83 burrs with Diamond-Like Carbon coating, screw-free design, and three-stage geometry. (Venice, Italy)

• Tue, 3 Feb – Cooxupé holds 11th Cerrado Fair in Minas Gerais. The cooperative’s Feira do Cerrado event in Monte Carmelo showcased machines, inputs, and technologies, and debuted a new parts support space to help producers cut costs and boost productivity ahead of the coffee harvest. (Monte Carmelo, Brazil)

Here are a few coffee news stories from previous weeks that you might find interesting. Take a look:

• Thu, 29 Jan – Industry leaders donate major coffee collections to UC Davis library. Three collections from Jerry Baldwin, Russ Kramer, and the Specialty Coffee Association include rare books, photographs, early Starbucks records, and trade documents, expanding the primary sources available to the UC Davis Coffee Centre and supporting archival research. (Davis, California, US)

• Thu, 29 Feb – 7 Leaves Café selects Square to support expansion. The Vietnamese-American beverage chain has chosen Square’s commerce platform, including in-store registers, handheld ordering, and loyalty tools, to streamline operations and enhance customer service as it expands to 44 US locations. (Garden Grove, California, US)

Photo credits: Eversys

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