UK coffee chain Costa has inaugurated a new roastery in Essex, with the project’s total investment reaching £38 million.
The increased capacity at the site ‘signals a major milestone in the business’ expansion’, the retailer said. The expansion has more than quadrupled Costa’s annual roasting capacity from 11,000 tonnes of coffee to 45,000 tonnes, and will allow it to roast enough coffee for 2.1 billion cups a year.
Named Paradise Street, the new facility is Europe’s biggest coffee roastery and covers more than 85,000 square feet near Tilbury Docks, where its raw coffee beans are imported.
Driven by growing demand for Costa’s coffee both at home and overseas, the facility is expected to operate for the next 20-30 years.
Dominic Paul, managing director for Costa, said: “Costa is growing rapidly as a global business and our new roastery will provide the platform for sustained international expansion as we continue inspiring the world to love great coffee. Turning on our new roasting capacity is a landmark for the business. It’s a statement of our ambition to grow and our passion for great coffee.”
“Roasting here in Basildon keeps the UK at the centre of our growing global brand and enables us to build on everything we have learned from more than four decades of roasting in Lambeth. Today is about quality, capacity, investing in the future and being true to our heritage – it’s about embracing our traditions whilst continuing to innovate and drive global growth.”
FoodBev first reported on plans for the roastery in July 2015, though its estimated cost at the time was slightly lower at £36 million.
And Costa production director Giorgio Fioravanti said: “When we were designing the roastery we had to focus on the long term. We are now able to produce 45,000 tonnes of coffee every year, with the future potential to expand to 60,000 tonnes.”
“This excellent new facility will enable Costa to grow for decades to come, as we look to go from the UK’s favourite coffee brand to the world’s favourite. The latest roasting technology we have here will help us to do that, slowly and carefully roasting every coffee bean to seal in the unique flavour of our coffee.”
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