Value-focussed coffee chain secures partnerships to deliver 50% of planned 200 openings in the next three years and seeks £3m funding for further expansion
The coffee shop chain, part of the extensive easyGroup gym, hotel and travel business, announced earlier this year it had signed franchise deals to open 100 UK outlets, including several roadside drive-through concepts.
In a recent press statement, easyCoffee CEO Nathan Lowry, said reports of the saturation in high street coffee market had been “greatly exaggerated.” During the upbeat assessment of the coffee shop market, he explained easyCoffee would focus on “untapped” value segments in the coffee out-of-home market.
“We believe there are still opportunities for growth in the largely untapped segments of the out-of-home coffee market, by focusing on value and on areas that are less well served by coffee shops. Meanwhile, the vending machine segment continues to thrive, and we believe this segment still offers potential for expansion,” he said.
Much as easyJet disrupted the airline industry in the mid-1990s by ushering in the era of low-cost air travel, easyCoffee’s business model appears to be strategically undercutting rivals by targeting value-conscious coffee consumers at a lower price point. The burgeoning chain offers Fairtrade, arabica espressos from £1 and lattes retailing at £1.95 – far lower than high-street rivals Costa Coffee, Starbucks and Caffé Nero.
EasyCoffee currently operates eight sites, including kiosks in high footfall locations, such as London’s Covent Garden and Leicester Square, which are popular tourist hotspots. The coffee shop chain also announced plans earlier this year to open several roadside locations, including on London’s M25.
The chain’s vending business operates around 250 vending machines across the UK and plans to roll out a further 500-700 units this year.