CALGARY, Canada – Costa Coffee, the UK’s fastest growing coffee shop business is set to launch in Canada. Costa launches in collaboration with Shell in Canada, which will see approximately 150 Costa Express self-serve coffee bars rolled out in Shell gas stations in Toronto, Alberta and Vancouver, with potential for a further 550 sites nationwide by 2020.
Costa Express is part of Costa Coffee, the UK’s favourite coffee shop chain with over 2,000 coffee shops in the UK and more than 1,180 stores across 30 international markets.
Costa Express self-serve coffee bars expertly marry high-quality coffee and fresh milk that coffee-lovers enjoy in coffee shops with the ease, speed, and efficiency offered by leading-technology to better serve customers on-the-go.
The Costa Express proposition has enjoyed significant growth internationally, expanding from 877 machines in 2011 to over 5,000 today across the UK and nine international markets.
Murray McGowan, Costa Express Managing Director, comments: “We are delighted to extend our global presence with our launch in Canada, a dynamic and thriving country with an established coffee culture.
The scale of Shell in Canada, as well as our well established multi-market partnership gave us the ideal platform from which to roll out our brand.
Through our partnership with Shell and our world-leading coffee proposition we feel confident that we will transform Canadian customer perception about the quality of on-the-go coffee available in forecourts, just as we did in the UK, increasing the appeal of Shell sites to their customers and giving customers more reasons to visit more often.”
With a sleek design courtesy of Italian specialist, Pininfarina, famous for designing vehicles such as Ferrari, the Costa Express self-serve coffee bars are unlike any other self-serve coffee machine.
The 27 inch touch screen control has been developed by gaming specialists, Atomhawk, who helped to create Pottermore, the interactive site for Harry Potter fans, while customers will also smell freshly ground coffee and hear coffee shop sounds mixed by eMixpro – a firm that often works with the likes of U2 and Katy Perry.
Murray McGowan, adds: “The success of Costa Express is down to being able to provide customers with quality coffee when they need it most, in locations that they were previously unable to find it.
We have always been confident that combining our superior technology with the same quality freshly-ground coffee and fresh milk found on the high-street through Costa, we would be able to deliver an unbeatable customer experience.
Customer feedback from our initial trials in Vancouver was really positive and we’re excited about bringing Costa Coffee to more of our customers in Canada.”
Sydney Kimball, Shell Vice President Fuels Sales & Marketing North America, said: “We’re pleased to be the first to market and lead the introduction of Costa Express Coffee into Canada.
We aim to provide our customers with a great experience when they visit our locations. Our goal to offer the best service and quality fuels to customers is now strengthened with the best On-The-Go food and coffee options.
Costa is a valuable business partner and we look forward to extending our relationship further in response to customers’ needs.”
