Coffee News Recap, 13 Feb: Coca-Cola retains full ownership of Costa Coffee, PRF El Salvador announces speaker line-up & other stories

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

Editor’s note

After months of speculation about Costa Coffee’s future, Coca-Cola has confirmed that it will retain full ownership. Speaking to Bloomberg, CFO John Murphy said Coca-Cola has “no immediate plans to do anything with Costa other than to get it performing even better”.

Murphy asserted that performance in the UK and Ireland, where Costa operates roughly 2,700 locations, is strong, while the business is struggling in China, where homegrown brands are scaling rapidly.

It’s likely that Coca-Cola will shift its focus towards Costa’s retail and RTD channels, potentially closing underperforming stores in key markets in the months ahead.

In other news, Pennsylvania’s Passenger Coffee recently released a Kenyan Peaberry harvested in 2016. Passenger has been freezing green coffee for over a decade, and the Kiriani Estate Peaberry lot is one of the longest-preserved coffees in its archive.

The “time capsule” coffee offers a glimpse into what’s possible with preserving freshness and flavour.

Top stories of the week

• Tue, 10 Feb – Two new US Coffee Champions crowned at Seattle event. Marco Monzon of Mandarin Coffee is the 2026 US Latte Art Champion, and Texture Coffee’s Hugo Cano placed first at the 2026 US Coffee in Good Spirits Championship. Both will represent the US at their respective World Championships in San Diego and Brussels. (Seattle, Washington, US)

• Tue, 10 Feb – Consumption of coffee, tea & other caffeinated drinks linked to lower dementia risk. A questionnaire-based study including 132,000 US adults over four decades found that people with the highest daily intake of caffeinated coffee had an 18% lower risk of developing dementia compared to those with the lowest intake. Researchers caution that the link isn’t necessarily causal. (Boston, Massachusetts, US)

• Wed, 11 Feb – Coca-Cola retains full ownership of Costa Coffee and reviews China operations. The beverage giant purchased the UK’s largest coffee chain for £3.9bn in 2018, but recent operating losses have more than doubled to £13.5m. Coca-Cola had hoped to sell Costa for £2bn; however, bids allegedly fell short of sale expectations. CFO John Murphy says the performance of Costa stores and Costa Express machines remains strong in the UK and Ireland. (Atlanta, Georgia, US)

• Fri, 13 Feb – CoffeeFest Madrid to begin on 14 February. The event, which has helped transform Spain’s specialty coffee culture, is expected to attract more than 60,000 visitors and 240 exhibitors. It will feature a Roasters Village, several competitions, the Tea Fest, the Cacao Fest, a green coffee auction, and the Top 100 Best Coffee Shops awards ceremony. (Madrid, Spain)

Industry news

• Mon, 9 Feb – Ajinomoto shares rise as coffee seasonings help drive profit. Tokyo-listed food and seasoning maker saw its stock jump after reporting better-than-expected business profit for the quarter, boosted in part by strong performance in its coffee-related seasonings and broader food products segment. (Tokyo, Japan)

• Tue, 10 Feb – Costa Coffee’s largest European franchisee quits Belgium. The withdrawal removes 27 branded stores from the Belgian market, with the operator citing strategic refocus and challenging trading conditions while Costa evaluates franchise and expansion plans across Europe. (London, UK)

• Tue, 10 Feb – Five To Go targets 1,000 stores by 2028. The Romanian chain projects €72m in turnover in 2026, plans 15 stores in Bulgaria, 10 in Moldova, and two in Ireland, will open about 100 shops a year domestically, and will launch bakery and matcha bar concepts. (Dublin, Ireland)

• Wed, 11 Feb – NOWWA Coffee partners with Reveillon Group for Southeast Asian expansion. The Shanghai chain, which recently surpassed 10,000 stores in China, signed a master franchise agreement to enter the Malaysian market. This strategic move follows a successful Series C funding round and the brand’s international debut in Australia and Indonesia. (Shanghai, China)

• Fri, 13 Feb – Happy uses NetSuite to expand its coffee retail presence. Co-founded by Robert Downey Jr., the brand uses NetSuite’s AI ERP to accelerate reporting, improve visibility, and expand retail and ready-to-drink reach across 70,000+ outlets, while linking purchases to NAMI mental health resources. (New York City, New York, US)

• Fri, 13 Feb – Oatly achieves first full-year of profitability but loses UK milk labelling court case. Revenue increased US$19.5m for the fourth quarter ended 31 December 2025. The financial milestone coincided with the oat milk brand losing its longstanding legal battle, with the UK Supreme Court ruling that it could no longer use or trademark the phrase “Post-Milk Generation” because it could confuse consumers. (Malmo, Sweden)

Businesses for sale

• Tue, 10 Feb – Odeko strengthens Mid-Atlantic foothold with acquisition and partnership. The coffee shop tech and support platform has acquired District Distribution in Washington, DC, expanding services in DC, Maryland, and Virginia, and has formed a partnership with Union Kitchen to broaden access for emerging food and beverage brands through its ordering and fulfilment network. (Washington, DC, US)

New launch

• Wed, 11 Feb – Dutch Bros expands CPG range to more retailers and online. Packaged beans, ready-to-drink cans, and branded merchandise will roll out to additional national grocery chains. The drive-thru chain will also expand retail presence and consumer access to products. (Grants Pass, Oregon, US)

• Wed, 11 Feb – Denim Coffee unveils new chai concentrate. Available at eight Pennsylvania locations and online, the 16oz 2:1 format highlights molasses, orange peel, and black pepper flavour notes; priced from US$8.99 and sold in single, two-pack, and four-pack options. (Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, US)

• Thu, 12 Feb – World Coffee Research and CIAT launch CafeClima for smart replanting. The new digital tool helps farmers and investors manage climate risks by identifying optimal locations and varieties for coffee renovation. It addresses the threat posed by ageing trees by providing data-driven insights to enhance agricultural resilience. (Hanoi, Vietnam)

• Fri, 13 Feb – MANUMENT launches new Swiss facility and expands to North America. From June 2026, the first units of the company’s high-end lever espresso machines will ship from the Thun facility, assembled from 590 parts. The brand, known for its two-second flow heating technology, is also officially entering the US and Canadian markets. (Thun, Switzerland)

Milestone

Trade & production

• Tue, 10 Feb – India-US trade deal reshapes outlook for farmers. The agreement lowers tariffs on coffee, tea, spices, and rice, strengthening export prospects for producers, while cheaper imports of DDGS and soybean oil may put pressure on local processors and farmers. Safeguards and quotas are included to protect sensitive sectors. (New Delhi, India)

• Wed, 11 Feb – ICO reports a 2.6% decline in global coffee prices during January. The monthly average for the Composite Indicator Price fell to 296.89 US cents/lb due to improved rainfall in Brazil’s key growing regions. Despite the price drop, global green bean exports rose 9.2% in December, driven by significant increases in shipments of robusta and other milds. (London, UK)

Research

• Fri, 13 Feb – Brazilian study maps coffee and food pairings. Research by Anna Luiza Santana Neves identifies three clusters: comforting, regional, and indulgent. She notes that pão de queijo and chocolate are top matches, while cold brew and milk-based pairings are highlighted as growth opportunities for cafés. (Campinas, Brazil)

Events & competitions

• Mon, 9 Feb – Counter Culture Coffee launches brand-new, inclusive Brewlette competition. Each Brewlette event will include two rounds: Spin & Brew, in which competitors are assigned a random TDS target, and Head-to-Head, in which the final eight competitors brew a single cup of coffee across heats. Entry is free. Brewlette will follow the CoffeeFest circuit and be hosted at Counter Culture Training Centers in four cities:
  • CoffeeFest New York – 7 March 2026
  • CoffeeFest Chicago – 14 June 2026
  • CoffeeFest Los Angeles – 23 August 2026
  • CoffeeFest Dallas-Fort Worth – 19 October 2026

• Tue, 10 Feb – NCA 2026 Convention to run 14-16 March. The event will convene nearly 800 coffee professionals, industry leaders, and decision-makers from across the coffee supply chain for networking, education, and community engagement opportunities. (Nashville, Tennessee, US)

• Thu, 12 Feb – Café Show Seoul returns to South Korea from 11 to 14 November. The event is set to attract hundreds of exhibitors from more than 40 countries and over 160,000 visitors from across 80 countries. It will run alongside the 2026 Seoul Coffee Festival. Several competitions will take place at the event, including the Korea Coffee League, the 2026 Korean Barista Championship, and the Korean Brewers Cup Championship. (Seoul, South Korea)

• Thu, 12 Feb – The 2026 Dublin Coffee Festival will take place from 10 to 12 April. After a sold-out 2025 event, this year’s festival will feature an exhibition with over 50 local and international roasters and businesses, offering free coffee tastings and samples, demos and workshops, talks and panels, and competitions. (Dublin, Ireland)

• Fri, 13 Feb – ASEAN SHOP Expo will take place from 10 to 12 September 2026. The newly launched event, combining VEND ASEAN and FNB ASEAN, is expected to attract over 30,000 visitors and 350 exhibitors. The exhibition will include coffee brands, vending machines and self-service facilities, payment solutions, commercial equipment suppliers, retail stores, and commercial displays. ASEAN Shop Expo will also feature the ASEAN Retail Leaders Summit. (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)

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

• Fri, 6 Feb – George Howell marks 50 years in coffee with events at cafés. At 81, the specialty coffee pioneer celebrated five decades in the industry with talks, tastings, and reflections on his influence, from light-roast advocacy to the Cup of Excellence, underscoring his ongoing pursuit of quality. (Acton, Massachusetts, US)

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