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.<\/p>\n
Greggs added 34 shops to Britain\u2019s high streets <\/a>and shopping centres in the first half of the year to total 2,737 outlets, compared with Costa\u2019s 2,707, according to Allegra World Coffee Portal\u2019s Project Cafe UK 2026 report.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n The wider coffee shop economy grew to \u00a36.8bn 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.<\/p>\n Greggs\u2019 2025 annual financial report, released earlier this year, says it ranked No.1 for value on YouGov\u2019s Brand Index, among quick-stop and coffee shop services, while the CEO comments highlighted the chain had \u201cgrown [market] share of categories such as coffee, breakfast, vegan-friendly options and iced drinks.\u201d<\/p>\n 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<\/a>, including their smaller \u2018Bitesize\u2019 stores.<\/p>\n At the start of this year, Costa Coffee, which is planning a refurbishment and range refresh rather than expansion, announced losses of more than \u00a313m<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s climate events, including El Nino.<\/p>\n A separate study recently showed Costa\u2019s brew had the highest caffeine content<\/a> when compared to rivals, with Greggs coming in second.<\/p>\n![\"Costa](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/2231296630...jpeg\")
Costa Coffee is no longer the UK’s biggest coffee brand (AFP\/Getty)<\/p>\n![\"Greggs](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/0945ac7524ff768798f2bab00dd1edfcY29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzg5NzI3MDY3-2.79996818.jpg\")
Greggs now has over 2700 outlets across the UK (Mike Egerton\/PA) (PA Archive)<\/p>\n