There has been much excitement in Orpington over the Summer, as our Costa store inside Tesco Extra was updated to its fresh new design.
This new design has struck me as something a little different and I have a hunch that is exactly what Costa was trying to do.
Following the launch of the Tooley Street Store back in June, Costa has announced change is coming to their stores across the country, welcoming new technology and “a bright, uplifted interior,” Luke Shaughnessy Regional Operations Director, Costa Coffee.1
Coffee shops have long been the darkest, cosiest places on the high street, with many brands taking on the roasted maroon colour that Costa are known for. Their previous branding was very much telling the story of their ingredients and artisanal expertise placing them as the experts of coffee, but unfortunately both the maroon colour and coffee beans they are known for are not their's alone as they are frequently used by other brands; big and small.
Previous Costa In Store Design - ODA Branding
It is clear to me that a coffee brand cannot just be about coffee - making coffee or where it is from. Brands cannot stand out when coffee shops all look the same. But how does the leading brand take a stand and cement them selves as the original, when their assets seem to be under threat? In terms of colour, for example, one brand in particular, Insomnia, which I have seen popping up in the UK from Ireland, seems to be stepping on Costa’s toes.
In this new brand refresh, Costa have reinvigorated their colour palette for a more distinctive and modern feel with their brand maroon at its centre.
The stuffy maroon has been lifted with bright pinks and aqua-marines, with a unique print wallpaper celebrating the growth of their coffee beans.
What struck me as interesting about this brand refresh is that these small tweaks seem to have gone far. There has been no logo change. Maroon is still Costa’s brand colour, but they are owning it now - they have taken it to a new modern space not leaving it in the stuffy old cafés of the past. They are still celebrating their coffee beans - their knowledge and the origin of their quality ingredients that makes their coffee theirs but they are doing this is in a unique way without an illustration of the roasted bean or coffee cup in sight.
So on the surface it appears they have just added a few brighter chairs, changed the table colour and put a lick of paint on the walls, but it is much more than that. Costa have made a stand against the coffee copy cats on the high street.
1 Quoted in a Costa press release 17 June 2024
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