Costa has announced that it will invest £36m in the construction of a new roastery, increasing the company’s capacity four-fold ahead of a period of significant projected growth.
The high street retailer will build a 45,000 tonne-capacity facility in Essex to complement its existing 11,000 tonne Old Paradise Street operation in south east London, which has been producing the Mocha Italia blend since 1971. The facility is already roasting coffee 24 hours a day, five days a week – and Costa will need to increase this in order to meet growing demand from consumers.
The company announced a 17.9% uplift in sales in its full-year results and expects “to grow significantly” in the next five years. Shoppers bought more than 460m cups of Costa coffee last year.
The new roastery in Basildon is scheduled to open in early 2017 and incorporates a 10,000 square metre building on a 5.3 acre site. The investment was described by Costa as “strategically important – enhancing operational efficiency as well as roasting capacity”.
Costa managing director Christopher Rogers said: “Costa is growing and to meet strong customer demand we need to increase our coffee roasting capacity. Our existing Lambeth site does not have the long-term roasting capacity to cater for our increasing UK and international demand. The solution is to build a second roastery in the London area, which will continue to produce the high quality coffee our customers love in the quantity the business requires.”
Costa master of coffee Gennaro Pelliccia added: “My job is to oversee the roasting process, and, most importantly, ensure Costa’s Mocha Italia and Old Paradise Street blends retain the same great taste as the Costa brothers’ coffee, first produced in 1971. The quality of our beans gives our coffee the unique flavour – setting us apart from the competition and making us the UK’s favourite coffee shop. We are immensely proud of our coffee and our heritage which is why we have worked so hard to ensure our new roastery will continue to meet our high standards.
“When our new roastery opens in 2017, we will have a cutting-edge roastery supplying the best quality, from bean to cup, right here in the UK.”
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