Costa loses crown as UK’s biggest coffee chain to budget favourite

Costa Coffee has been overtaken as the biggest branded coffee operator in the UK, with Greggs taking the crown after another expansion.

While better known for its sausage rolls and pasties among its to-go food offerings, Greggs has muscled in on consumer taste changes to put lower-priced coffee on the menu than some rivals who are more traditionally coffee-and-cake focused.

Greggs added 34 shops to Britain’s high streets and shopping centres in the first half of the year to total 2,737 outlets, compared with Costa’s 2,707, according to Allegra World Coffee Portal’s Project Cafe UK 2026 report.

This has moved the bakery brand ahead of the coffee chain for the first time, says Retail Gazette, while adding that consumers have been mixing preferences for higher-priced coffee with value offerings.

The wider coffee shop economy grew to £6.8bn in 2025, an increase of more than 5 per cent year on year, but competition remains not only fierce but also on the increase - over 12,300 branded coffee outlets across the UK were in existence, up 3.5 per cent on the prior year.

Greggs’ 2025 annual financial report, released earlier this year, says it ranked No.1 for value on YouGov’s Brand Index, among quick-stop and coffee shop services, while the CEO comments highlighted the chain had “grown [market] share of categories such as coffee, breakfast, vegan-friendly options and iced drinks.”

The firm intends significant further expansion, with more than 100 shops in total planned for opening across 2026 and a longer-term target of having 3,500 outlets, including their smaller ‘Bitesize’ stores.

At the start of this year, Costa Coffee, which is planning a refurbishment and range refresh rather than expansion, announced losses of more than £13m for 2024, while an intended sale of the brand by parent company Coca Cola fell through after bids and interest were reportedly significantly lower than expected.

The UK coffee scene continues to attract plenty of attention and sales, but escalating prices have put some consumers off the higher-end of the market.

That sector could yet come under more pressure with the price of coffee beans among the commodities imported to the UK that are expected to increase further in price due to this year’s climate events, including El Nino.

A separate study recently showed Costa’s brew had the highest caffeine content when compared to rivals, with Greggs coming in second.

The boss of coffee group Grind recently provided a cost breakdown to claim that he makes 18p profit off a £4.10 drink, once staff, energy and other costs are factored in.