Costa Coffee Creations is capable of producing hot and cold barista-quality espresso beverages | Photo credit: Costa Coffee

Costa Coffee will partner with US hospitality group Delaware North to launch its new Costa Coffee Creations concept at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas in August 2024. 
 

Costa Coffee Creations is a 24sq ft fully automated robotic coffee stand capable of producing hot and cold barista-style espresso beverages without human intervention for up to seven days in row.

“Amid persistent labour shortages and growing consumer demand for convenience and personalisation, Costa Coffee Creations emerges as the perfect solution. With the ability to concoct an infinite array of coffee options in minutes and facilitating seamless mobile ordering, all without the need for human intervention, the machine embodies a win-win scenario for operators and guests alike,” said Nick Rex, Senior Director, Sales, Costa Coffee US. 

Delaware North, which operates more than 300 restaurant and retail stores across 30 airports globally, said the current self-serve Costa Coffee BaristaBot at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport has demonstrated ‘remarkable success’ – achieving double the revenue per square foot compared to other beverage offerings in the airport.  

Costa Coffee entered the US market in October 2020 through its acquisition of ‘coffee robot’ brand Briggo – a network of 52 automated coffee kiosks Costa Coffee converted to its now discontinued BaristaBot brand. 

In August 2022, the Coca-Cola owned coffee business opened its first bricks-and-mortar store in the US at the CODA mixed-use development unit in Atlanta, Georgia. Costa Coffee now operates five outlets in Atlanta alongside a single site at Seattle–Tacoma International Airport in Washington. 

Several US coffee businesses have invested in the roll-out of fully automated coffee concepts as an alternative proposition to coffee shops amid an ongoing hospitality skills crisis and high property costs. However, these concepts have yet to gain significant traction in the US.

Having launched its first automated site in San Francisco in 2017, California-based Café X has scaled its robotic barista kiosk concept to seven US sites, as well as international locations in the UAE and Germany.  

In September 2022, Seattle-based Artly raised $8.3m to roll-out its robotic barista concept across North America. The fundraise has seen the business grow from five sites to 11 across the US and Canada. 

In April 2023, Wisconsin-based Octane Coffee launched an automated, drive-thru café capable of serving customers coffee and other beverages in under 30 seconds. Two further Octane Coffee locations are set to open across Wisconsin by the end of the year.