Barista Bar, the leading retail coffee-to-go brand owned by Henderson Foodservice, has invested £12 million into its next generation of self-serve coffee machines through an exclusive partnership with Melitta Professional, representing its biggest investment to date.
The new machines have been customised specifically for Barista Bar’s third operational model since it launched over 10 years ago, and has been developed collaboratively with an investment into system technology, a refreshed brand design and an expanded drinks platform.
In total, the business will invest £21 million over the next five years to support growth of the brand, which continues to expand outside of Northern Ireland, throughout GB and Europe.
In addition, Barista Bar will be Melitta Professional’s exclusive convenience, retail and forecourt partner for the bean-to-cup technology provider’s next generation coffee system in the UK.
The new machines, which will roll out across SPAR, EUROSPAR and ViVO branded stores in Northern Ireland from 21st September, will offer more than 80 drinks in total, including over 30 new menu additions, covering hot and iced beverages, oat milk as standard, decaffeinated options across espresso-based drinks, and trend-led products including Matcha, Chai and Iced Chocolate.
The demand for premium coffee-to-go continues to grow, with shoppers increasingly seeking café quality drinks with greater choice when on-the-go, giving retailers the opportunity to position their stores as a key destination for coffee-to-go capable of driving repeat visits and increased upselling opportunities.
Mark Stewart-Maunder, Commercial & Development Director at Henderson Foodservice commented; “This is the biggest investment we have made in the Barista Bar brand and a significant commercial milestone for the business. Our partnership with Melitta Professional gives us a machine platform that has been developed specifically for our company-owned estate, our independent retail partners and our own growth ambitions.
“Barista Bar has already demonstrated that it can travel successfully outside of Northern Ireland, with over 200 retail stores and forecourts carrying the brand in Scotland and England, and this investment gives us the infrastructure to accelerate that growth and explore further opportunities in Europe.
“For our retail customers, we have designed a new system to drive sales, repeat shopper visits and incremental basket spend, while giving shoppers the broader, premium menu they now expect from coffee-to-go, right on their doorsteps.”
Barista Bar is now the UK’s third largest coffee-to-go brand[1], serving more than 14 million cups annually with more than 900 self-serve coffee machines installed at locations throughout Northern Ireland, Scotland and England.
