Smart Café

Smart Café is a coffee vending machine brand operated by Costa Coffee, the British coffeehouse chain owned by The Coca-Cola Company. The brand is positioned as a self-service solution for locations where a full Costa Coffee store is not practical, such as petrol stations, convenience stores, offices, hospitals and transport hubs. In Switzerland, Smart Café machines are promoted through the Costa Coffee Switzerland website, which describes the concept as a way for partners to offer freshly ground coffee without the staffing and space requirements of a traditional café. The Smart Café offer typically includes a range of hot drinks based on Costa Coffee's signature Mocha Italia blend, such as espresso, cappuccino, latte, hot chocolate and tea. Machines are designed for high-traffic self-service environments and are often installed in partnership with fuel retailers, food service operators and facility managers. The brand extends Costa Coffee's presence beyond its physical stores, allowing customers to access Costa-branded coffee in more locations throughout the day. As part of Costa Coffee, Smart Café benefits from the parent company's coffee sourcing, roasting and brand standards. Costa Coffee was acquired by The Coca-Cola Company in 2019, and the vending and self-service channel forms part of Costa's broader strategy to grow its presence in away-from-home coffee consumption. The Smart Café brand is primarily marketed in Switzerland through the Costa Coffee Switzerland website, with the exact machine models and menu varying by location and operator.

Smart Café is a coffee vending machine brand associated with Costa Coffee, the coffeehouse chain founded in London in 1971 by Bruno and Sergio Costa. Costa Coffee grew into the largest coffee shop chain in the United Kingdom and expanded internationally, including into Switzerland. In 2019, The Coca-Cola Company acquired Costa Coffee, giving the brand additional resources to expand into new channels, including self-service and vending. The Smart Café concept was developed to bring Costa Coffee's coffee to locations where a full café is not feasible. By using self-service vending machines, Costa Coffee can place its brand in petrol stations, convenience stores, offices, hospitals, airports and other high-traffic venues. In Switzerland, the Smart Café offer is presented on the Costa Coffee Switzerland website, which targets potential business partners interested in hosting a machine. The site describes the benefits of the system, such as freshly ground coffee, a compact footprint and low operational complexity. Smart Café machines typically serve drinks made with Costa Coffee's Mocha Italia blend, the signature espresso blend used across Costa Coffee stores. The menu can include espresso, cappuccino, latte, hot chocolate and tea, depending on the machine configuration. The brand is part of Costa Coffee's broader away-from-home strategy, which also includes Costa Express self-service machines in the United Kingdom and other markets. While Costa Express is the better-known self-service format in the UK, Smart Café serves a similar role in Switzerland and possibly other continental European markets. The exact launch date of Smart Café in Switzerland is not documented in the available evidence. The brand appears to be active and promoted through the Costa Coffee Switzerland website. As a subsidiary brand of Costa Coffee, Smart Café does not have its own separate corporate structure or stock listing; it operates under the Costa Coffee business, which is owned by The Coca-Cola Company.

• Costa Coffee founded in London by Bruno and Sergio Costa.

• The Coca-Cola Company acquires Costa Coffee.

• Smart Café brand promoted in Switzerland via the Costa Coffee Switzerland website.

Self-service, barista-style coffee for locations without a full café, backed by Costa Coffee.

• Smart Café coffee vending machines

  Self-service machines offering Costa Coffee drinks.

1. 1Smart Café on Wikidatawikidata.org
2. 2Costa Coffee Switzerland – Smart Cafécosta-coffee.ch