Costa Coffee

Costa Coffee is a British-heritage coffeehouse brand (now owned by The Coca-Cola Company) and is one of the most widespread café chains in Europe. It serves espresso-based coffee roasted to its own recipe, alongside teas, cold drinks, cakes and light food, in a warm sit-and-stay café format. What's distinctive is the mix of an internationally recognised brand, a proprietary roast and the Costa Coffee Club loyalty programme.

In Poland and the Czech Republic, the brand is run by a master operator (Lagardère Travel Retail) that holds the exclusive licence for the country. Depending on how the master partner has set up development, they may or may not grant sub-franchise agreements to individual local partners — in the Czech Republic, the network currently grows directly under the master partner and does not open independent sub-franchises for individuals. Where sub-franchising operates, HQ provides the brand and trademark, a turnkey operating system, location assessment and approval, architectural and fit-out design, a network of approved equipment and product suppliers, a multi-week training programme covering product, sales and administration, nationwide marketing and brand campaigns, the loyalty platform, and ongoing operational support from a regional manager. The franchisee finances and owns the entire build-out and equipment, proposes and secures a suitable location for assessment, hires and manages the local team, runs day-to-day operations to brand standards, and buys through approved channels.