There is rich potential for coffee brands to forge a status symbol role, as almost half of drinkers/buyers think that drinking coffee makes you look good. Cultivating links with other…
"Confident home baristas and poor value associations of OOH coffees are a boon for retail. Dial up visual excitement to further boost enjoyment of at-home coffees."
Emma Clifford, Associate Director - Food & Drink
UK Coffee Market – Trends and Analysis
Nearly half of UK coffee drinkers/buyers believe that drinking coffee enhances their image, presenting an opportunity for brands to position coffee as a status symbol. By aligning coffee with lifestyle elements like health, fitness, and beauty, brands can strengthen its association with looking good and appeal to image-conscious consumers.
Supporting coffee enthusiasts’ connoisseurship can drive deeper engagement, as knowledgeability about coffee is also linked to projecting a desirable image.
Cold coffees remain a key growth area for engaging younger consumers. Trends like fusion drinks and drinkable desserts offer opportunities for innovation in new product development (NPD) and recipe inspiration. Coffee concentrates, which provide a convenient way to make cold coffee at home, have gained traction, and there’s still room for brands to enter this space.
The market faces competition from on-premise venues as consumer confidence improves, but poor value perceptions of coffee shop offerings and growing confidence in making enjoyable coffee at home will limit this threat.
Inflation and trading up to drive coffee value growth
Graph 2: retail market value forecast for coffee, 2020-30
Factors driving 22% value growth forecast over 2025-30
Factors putting negative pressure on growth
Snapshot – RTD coffee market size and forecast
Hot summer weather accelerates RTD coffee growth in 2025
Graph 3: retail value and volume sales of RTD coffee, 2020-25
RTD coffee value growth to slow after 2025’s hot summer weather boost
Graph 4: retail market value forecast for RTD coffee, 2020-30
RTD growth remains strong, but slowing
Market share
Own-label continues to gain share in the coffee market
Graph 5: leading brands’ value sales in the retail coffee market, 2022/23-2024/25
Market leaders are also under pressure from smaller brands
Only Costa declines in the booming RTD coffee market
Graph 6: leading brands’ value sales in the retail RTD coffee market, 2022/23-2024/25
Market drivers
Consumer confidence rises again in 2025
Graph 7: the financial confidence index, 2016-25
Coffee inflation rockets again in 2025…
Graph 8: CPI annual rate, coffee and all food and non-alcoholic drinks, 2019-25
…but some relief expected in 2026
The EPR scheme will drive a shift away from glass packaging
Caffeine concerns help fuel the matcha trend, posing competition for coffee
Graph 9: Google searches for caffeine and matcha, 2020-25
Only a fifth place importance on sustainability in coffee
Graph 10: importance of sustainability claims in purchase of selected food/drink products, by category, 2025
RTD coffee will benefit from under-35s continuing to drink these products as they age
Graph 11: population, by age, 2020, 2025 and 2030
THE CONSUMER
Usage of coffee
Coffee usage is stable at 82%; coffee mixes and beans have seen growth over the last two years
Graph 12: types of coffee used at home, 2020, 2023 and 2025
The younger generation are core users of most types; instant bucks this trend
Graph 13: types of coffee used at home, by age, 2025
Coffee drinking is ingrained
Graph 14: frequency of drinking coffee, by type, 2025
Usage of decaf has edged up since 2022
Graph 15: usage of standard and decaffeinated coffee, 2022 and 2025
Usage of and interest in trying cold coffee drinks
Potential for further development in the cold coffee space
Graph 16: usage of and interest in trying different cold coffee drinks, 2025
Brands have not missed the boat for coffee concentrates
Inspire consumers to embrace the fusion trend with coffee
Fusion products: the next wave for RTD coffee
Textures can be the next frontier in coffee drinks, aligning with the ‘drinkable dessert’ trend
Behaviours relating to coffee
Further price rises will drive trading down…
Graph 17: behaviours relating to coffee, 2025
…both from OOH venues and within retail
Graph 18: coffee drinkers who say further price rises in coffee would make them replace some/all of the coffee they drink with cheaper coffee options, by types of coffee drunk
A need to respond to coffee price rises
Highlight price per cup to boost value perceptions and discourage trading down
A need to boost the appeal of robusta blends
Championing robusta can create standout
Blue Tacuro heroes robusta, urging people to ‘join the robusta revolution’
Attitudes towards coffee
Visual excitement can boost enjoyment for the home barista
Graph 19: attitudes towards coffee, 2025
As OOH venues up the ante on aesthetics…
…retail needs to follow suit!
Look to other categories for inspiration
Lean into coffee’s role as a status symbol
Looking knowledgeable links to looking good
Forge links with other lifestyle elements that people think make them look good
Spark conversation about products to garner implied endorsements
PRODUCT, INNOVATION AND MARKETING
Launch activity and innovation
The ‘coffee as dessert’ trend inspires flavour NPD
Indulgent and spice flavours gain momentum
Graph 20: flavour landscape for coffee and RTD coffee, 2025
Caffeine-free launches edge up in 2025
Graph 21: share of coffee launches that are caffeine-free, 2021-25
Adaptogenic mushroom coffee blends attract more attention
Pods continue to lose ground in coffee launches; growth in beans in 2025
Graph 22: share of coffee launches, by format, 2021-25
A flurry of concentrate launches in 2025
More attention to ‘iced’ in other segments
NPD in RTD coffee continues to abound, but has fallen from its peak
Graph 23: share of soft drink launches, by RTD coffee and RTD tea, 2021-25
The indulgence trend continues in RTD coffee…
…but NPD also takes a better-for-you angle
Advertising and marketing activity
Coffee adspend jumped 57% YOY in 2024
Graph 24: ATL, online display and direct mail advertising expenditure on coffee, 2021-25
Graph 25: ATL, online display and direct mail advertising expenditure on coffee, by leading advertisers, 2021-25
Celebrities and influencers continue to play a major role in advertising
Brands align with healthy lifestyles
Adspend on RTD coffee slumps
Graph 26: total above-the-line, online display and direct mail advertising on RTD coffee products, 2021-25
Outdoor becomes a bigger focus for RTD coffee advertising
APPENDIX
Market share
Leading brands’ value sales in the retail coffee market
Leading manufacturers’ value sales in the retail coffee market
Leading brands’ value sales in the retail RTD coffee market
Leading brands’ volume sales in the retail RTD coffee market
Leading manufacturers’ value sales in the retail RTD coffee market
Leading manufacturers’ volume sales in the retail RTD coffee market
Advertising and marketing activity
ATL, online display and direct mail advertising expenditure on coffee
ATL, online display and direct mail advertising expenditure on RTD coffee
Market forecast data and methodology
Market value forecast for coffee
Market forecast and prediction intervals for coffee (value)
Market forecast for RTD coffee
Volume growth slows as the RTD coffee market matures
Graph 27: retail market volume forecast for RTD coffee, 2020-30
Market forecast and prediction intervals for RTD coffee (value)
Market forecast and prediction intervals for RTD coffee (volume)
Forecast methodology
Report scope and definitions
Market definition
Abbreviations and terms
Consumer research methodology
Nielsen Ad Intel coverage
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