Costa’s coffee shops return to profit with iced drinks and matcha on the menu

‘People not only want caffeine but iced herbal teas and those drinks that people will drink in the afternoon and evening,’ says CEO. Photograph: Alex Tai/SOPA Images/Shutterstock

Costa’s main coffee shop arm has returned to an operating profit after revamping its high street outlets and broadening its menu with iced drinks, matcha and fresher pastries.

The chain, which has 2,700 outlets in the UK and Ireland out of 4,000 globally, and employs about 20,000 people, also opened a net 50 new outlets in the UK last year – its first net increase in several years.