Business
How coffee chains like Costa lost the matcha generation
Rachel Clun & Connie BowkerBusiness reporters, BBC News
BBCLucy Williams is enjoying an iced strawberry matcha after going with her sister to her niece’s first-ever haircut.
“I feel like a strawberry matcha is a coming out with your sister thing, rather than an everyday thing,” she says.
But here in the UK, you can’t get an iced strawberry matcha – or any kind of matcha at Costa Coffee.
Lucy is at Blank Street Coffee where a rainbow array of matcha drinks have gained the chain a cult following, including celebrity fans Molly-Mae Hague and Sabrina Carpenter.
Lucy drinks coffee at home every day, but buys a barista-made cup for when she wants a treat.
“There are only certain places I’d go for a coffee,” she says and Costa is not on her list.
Costa’s owner Coca-Cola is reportedly looking to sell the chain, with one analyst suggesting it could go for £2bn – about half of the $4.9bn (£3.9bn) it paid in 2019. So is something going wrong?
The Boston Globe via Getty ImagesCoffee and tea drinking trends are changing particularly among younger generations, analysts say, and when combined with higher coffee prices and cost of living pressures in general, chains like Costa are in hot water.
But not Blank Street which began in 2020 as a tiny coffee cart in the garden of a Brooklyn diner before expanding across New York, Washington and Boston. It opened its first London store in 2022 and now has about 35 in the capital with three more in Manchester, two in Birmingham and two in Edinburgh.
Its popularity has in part been driven by its TikTok appeal, with fans posting videos of themselves ordering in its minty fresh decorated cafes or at free tattoo pop up events.
For Australian travellers Bree Taylor and Rebecca Trow, both 27, Blank Street was on their London to-do list after seeing its pastel-hued drinks on TikTok.
“We saw it and were like ‘we have to go there’. We saw it and came here specifically. We wanted to try it,” says Rebecca.
Lauren Nicholson, 24, and Jordan Brookes, 27, were also drawn to the cafe for its brightly coloured matcha which cost just under £5 each.
Jordan says he started drinking matcha about two months ago and is now “hooked”.
He’s not the only one – the worldwide matcha craze means supplies of the bright green Japanese tea are drying up and the demand is pushing up prices.
Costa’s rivals have jumped on the trend with Starbucks and Pret offering an iced matcha latte and Nero a strawberry and vanilla iced matcha latte.
And it is not just a London thing – popular national chains like Gail’s and Black Sheep Coffee make it. The latter offers green matcha waffles too.
Seeking out a new luxury drink as an affordable treat is a trend that emerged since Covid and has continued to grow as the cost of living remains high.
“If you think about a lot of gen Z, they’re looking at matcha, they’re looking at brews, they’re more healthy. My late teenagers, they don’t drink caffeinated beverages at all,” says Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell.
Traditionally, matcha is considered to contain antioxidants and have a more tempered caffeine effect than the “high” and “crash” of regular coffee but there is some debate over any proven health benefits.
Alongside standard coffees, Costa serves a variety of frappé and fruit coolers, but these contain syrups and can be topped with whipped cream which may not appeal to the clean-living green-juice sippers among us.
With the rising popularity of home coffee machines, chains have to come up with special reasons to get customers through the door.
Getty ImagesCosta is not the only brand struggling with the changing UK coffee market, says Clive Black, vice chairman of independent investment group Shore Capital.
The rise of smaller chains and artisanal independent stores have also “eaten into the share” of the major chains, he adds.
Young people increasingly care about spending choices – Lauren and Jordan both say they generally avoid big coffee chains in favour of supporting smaller businesses, but also because of considerations about the taste.
And when a coffee can cost you the best part of £5 you expect something you can’t make yourself.
“A straight up latte isn’t a treat, that’s a necessity,” says Clare Bailey, independent retail analyst and founder of The Retail Champion.
“I feel like businesses that don’t reimagine themselves and don’t respond to consumer behaviour, and perhaps get a little complacent, are the ones who end up in trouble,” she adds.
Coca-Cola’s chief executive James Quincey admitted to an investor call last month Costa was “not where we wanted it to be” and the company was “thinking about how we might want to find new avenues to grow in the coffee category”.
Costa began as a London roastery in 1971 and has since expanded to more than 4,000 stores and with operations in 50 countries. It is a prominent feature of many a high street in small towns across the country, often appealing to families.
In the 2023 financial year, the most recent report, Costa reported revenues of £1.2bn, but said inflationary pressures including increased prices of goods, energy and pay resulted in an operating loss of £14m.
Now Coca-Cola is working with investment bank Lazard to explore its options for the coffee chain, including a potential sale, according to reports from Reuters and Sky News. Clive, from Shore Capital, says it is not clear why Coca-Cola bought Costa in the first place.
Costa, Coca-Cola and Lazard were all approached for comment.
There are now 11,450 branded coffee chain outlets across the UK, up from 9,800 five years ago, according to World Coffee Portal.
And the number of independent coffee shops has also risen over the last five years from 11,700 to around 12,400 now.
With so much choice, competition to attract customers heats up. Mimoza Emsa, 47, says while she used to drink Costa, she now always goes to Pret because it’s close to her work and she has its subscription which offers discounts.
“It’s really convenient. It’s one of the things that persuades me to have coffee here,” she says.
Costa and similar chains are not as quick and cheap as a Greggs or McDonalds coffee, but also don’t offer the higher-end experience for when we want to treat ourselves.
“We’ve seen all these middle of the road retailers struggle because they’re neither one thing nor the other,” says retail analyst Clare.
Despite these shifts, Costa still has loyal customers.
Rafik Khezmadji, 37, says he comes to Costa because it’s close to work, but he also enjoys being able to sit outside and savour his coffee.
“I enjoy having this moment to myself,” he says.
For 20-year-old fashion business student Megan Penfold the coffee at Costa is “not the worst and not the best”. She has stopped at the cafe on Wigmore Street in London for a quick black coffee.
“Trends don’t affect me as much. I like what I like,” she says.
Correction: An earlier version of this story said Coca-Cola bought Costa for £4.9bn in 2019. The figure was actually $4.9bn, which was worth about £3.9bn.
Business
Piyush Goyal Dismisses Rahul Gandhi’s Farmer Meet Video, Rebuts ‘Fake Narrative’ On India-US Trade Deal
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The minister offered a detailed reality check to counter what he termed ‘Rahul ji’s fakery’
Goyal reiterated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s policies are intrinsically linked to farmer welfare. (File Photo: PTI)
Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal has accused Congress leader Rahul Gandhi of orchestrating a “fake narrative” aimed at provoking India’s farming community. Responding to a video released on social media by the Leader of the Opposition on Friday, Goyal dismissed the interaction as a stage-managed performance featuring Congress activists masquerading as genuine farmer leaders. He asserted that the dialogue followed a predetermined script designed to mislead the public regarding the safeguards in the recent India-US trade deal.
Rahul Gandhi has alleged that “any trade deal that takes away the livelihood of farmers or weakens the food security of the country is anti-farmer”. He was pointing to the recently concluded India-US framework agreement for bilateral trade, which is expected to be signed after tweaks by the end of March.
Piyush Goyal offered a detailed reality check to counter what he termed “Rahul ji’s fakery”, placing on record that the Narendra Modi government has fully protected the interests of annadatas, fishermen, MSMEs, and artisans. The minister categorically clarified that sensitive crops like soyameal and maize have been granted no concessions whatsoever in the agreement, ensuring that domestic farmers remain shielded from competitive pressure. He criticised the opposition for repeating “baseless allegations” in an attempt to instill unnecessary fear among the rural population.
Addressing specific claims regarding apple and walnut imports, the minister provided a technical breakdown of the protectionist measures in place. He noted that while India already imports approximately 550,000 tonnes of apples annually due to high domestic demand, the new US deal does not allow unlimited entry. Instead, a strict quota has been established, far below current import levels, and subject to a Minimum Import Price (MIP) of Rs 80 per kg. With an additional duty of Rs 25, the landed cost of US apples will be roughly Rs 105 per kg—significantly higher than the current average landed cost of Rs 75 per kg from other nations—thereby ensuring Indian growers are not undercut. Similarly, for walnuts, the US has been offered a modest quota of 13,000 metric tonnes against India’s total annual import requirement of 60,000 metric tonnes, making it impossible for the deal to harm local producers.
Goyal also took a swipe at the historical record of the Congress party, pointing out the irony of its current stance. He reminded the public that during the Congress-led UPA era, India imported nearly $20 billion worth of agricultural products, including dairy items, which the current administration has strictly excluded from the US pact. He challenged Rahul Gandhi to explain his “betrayal of farmers” and questioned how much longer the opposition intended to peddle fabricated stories.
Concluding with the slogan “Kisan Surakshit Desh Viksit”, Goyal reiterated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s policies are intrinsically linked to farmer welfare. He maintained that the India-US agreement is a balanced framework that opens new markets for Indian exports like basmati rice and spices while keeping the nation’s agricultural backbone secure.
February 14, 2026, 05:29 IST
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Business
Without Rera data, real estate reform risks losing credibility: Homebuyers’ body – The Times of India
New Delhi: More than 75% of state real estate regulators, Reras, have either never published annual reports, discontinued their publication or not updated them despite statutory obligation and directions from the housing and urban affairs ministry, claimed homebuyers’ body FPCE on Friday. It released status report of 21 Reras as of Feb 13.The availability of updated annual reports is crucial as these contain details of data on performance of Reras, including project completion status categorised by timely completion, completion with extensions, and incomplete projects. The ministry’s format for publishing these reports also specifies providing details such as actual execution status of refund, possession and compensation orders as well as recovery warrant execution details with values and list of defaulting builders.FPCE said annual report data is not only vital for homebuyers to assess system credibility, but is equally necessary for both state and central govts to frame effective policies, design incentivisation schemes, and develop tax policy frameworks.“Unless we have credible data proving that after Rera the real estate sector has improved in terms of delivery, fairness, and keeping its promises, we are merely firing in the air,” said FPCE president Abhay Upadhyay, who is also a member of the govt’s Central Advisory Council on Rera.As per details shared by the entity, seven states — Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Goa — have never published a single annual report since Rera’s implementation, and nine states, including Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Telangana, which initially published reports, have discontinued the practice.Upadhyay said when regulators themselves don’t follow the law, they lose the legal right to demand compliance from other stakeholders. “Their failure emboldens builders and weakens the very system they are meant to safeguard,” he said.
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Over recent quarters, payouts had gradually improved from roughly 65 percent to 80 percent and now to an average of about 85 percent in Q3FY26.
Infosys logo is seen.
IT major Infosys rolled out performance bonus payouts averaging around 85 percent for the quarter ended December 31, 2025 (Q3FY26), marking the strongest variable pay outcome for eligible employees in at least the past three-and-a-half years, Moneycontrol reported citing people in the know.
The bonus payout for mid- to junior-level employees ranges between 75 percent and 100 percent, with most employees clustering around the organisation-wide average of 85 percent, the report said. The development signals a steady recovery in variable compensation at the Bengaluru-headquartered IT services firm. Over recent quarters, payouts had gradually improved from roughly 65 percent to 80 percent and now to an average of about 85 percent in Q3FY26.
Employees are expected to receive their bonus letters over the next few days, with the payout scheduled to be credited along with their February salary.
One employee told the outlet that it is the strongest bonus outcome seen in recent years. The payout is also among the rare instances since the Covid-19 period when variable pay has approached the upper end of the eligible range.
Infosys last paid out 100 percent variable compensation during the pandemic. In the quarters that followed, payouts were lower amid macroeconomic uncertainty and a broader slowdown in client spending across global markets.
The higher payout comes at a time when global IT stocks have faced renewed pressure, driven by concerns over rapid advances in artificial intelligence and their potential impact on traditional IT services models.
Shares of global IT firms have seen sharp sell-offs in recent weeks amid heightened investor focus on AI leaders such as Anthropic. Investors fear that generative AI tools could compress pricing, automate routine services work and reduce demand for legacy outsourcing models.
Against that backdrop, the improved bonus payout at Infosys is being viewed as a signal of operational resilience and near-term performance strength, even as sentiment around the broader IT sector remains cautious.
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February 13, 2026, 21:44 IST
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