Costa Coffee trials ‘world’s first’ hot and iced beverage self-serve machines in the UK

Costa Coffee will be trialling the machines at 40 Costa Express locations in Bristol, UK | Photo credit: Costa Coffee

The new Costa Express hot and iced beverage machines are capable of serving a selection of more than 500 hot and iced beverages, including cappuccino, iced vanilla Latte, and iced fruit cordials.
  

According to a company press release, The Coffee Express Hot & Iced Drinks Machine is the world’s first integrated self-serve coffee machine delivering both hot and iced drinks. 
 

The coffee chain will be trialling the machines at 40 Costa Express locations in Bristol, UK, over the course of the next two months. 
 

“The technology is nothing short of a gold-standard level of innovation – a world’s first for the self-service coffee machine industry – and we’re proud to lead the charge as our customers can now enjoy their favourite hot or iced barista quality, machine crafted coffee,” said Nick Orrin, Director of Costa Express UK&I. 
 

Costa Coffee was an early entrant into the self-serve coffee market. In 2011, Europe’s largest coffee chain acquired the 900-unit Coffee Nation vending machine business for £59.5m ($77.3m), which it converted into its Costa Express brand. 
 

World Coffee Portal data shows Costa Express is by far the largest brand in the UK premium self-serve segment, operating 10,390 units and holding a 71% market share.  
 

Supermarket giant, Sainsbury’s, has the UK’s second largest premium vending presence with 810 units, with the Starbucks We Proudly Serve automated concept operating 750 units across the UK.