British coffee brand Costa Coffee is now active in Belgium. Owner Coca-Cola has launched its coffee brand in the hospitality industry and through vending machines.
Belgium is a coffee country: consumption there is on average a quarter higher than in the rest of Europe, accounting for a total retail value of around two billion euros. Coca-Cola has already taken a part of that market with Chaqwa, but thinks the time is right to also introduce Costa Coffee to the Belgian coffee drinker. The ambitions are high: “We want to make Costa the most popular coffee brand in the country,” Christophe Cuyx, Director of Hot Drinks at Coca-Cola Europacific Partners Belgium, says.
Costa Coffee will first be launched in four ‘anchor cities’: Antwerp, Brussels, Ghent and Liège. The launch will be modest, with just a few dozen establishments. However, Costa should be available in 200 Belgian locations by the end of the year. “We have already signed agreements with more than 100 customers,” Cuyx says. “By mid-October they will all have been installed.” This does not only concern bars and restaurants, but also locations for coffee machines.
