In-store coffee chain builds presence in Scotland
IN-STORE coffee-to go-offer Barista Bar has marked its 50th machine installation in a Spar Scotland company-owned outlet, after introducing the brand in the country just a year ago.
The premium retail coffee-to-go service rolled out its latest bean-to-cup machine to Spar Newhouse Road in Grangemouth on 17 October.
This makes up part of what has been a record-breaking year for the brand in Scotland, with The Grocer reporting that Barista Bar is on course to become the second biggest coffee brand in the convenience channel in Scotland by Christmas.
Since making its debut in Scotland through wholesaler CJ Lang & Son, with the first machine installation taking place in Pinkie Farm Spar in East Lothian, Barista Bar has managed to secure a strong foothold north of the border, with 64 installs, including independent stores.
Keavy O’Mahony-Truesdale, brand manager at Barista Bar, said: “It’s been a whirlwind year with the Barista Bar branding popping up in Spar Scotland stores across the country, with incredible results for both our brand and retail partners.
“By the end of the year, we will have 111 Barista Bar stands installed across Scotland. Remaining CJ Lang stores will complete installation within the first quarter of 2025, alongside independent retailers who are choosing to adopt the Barista Bar brand and enjoy a success story of their own.”
Owned by Henderson Foodservice, a division of the Henderson Group that owns the Spar brand in Northern Ireland, Barista Bar was first formed in 2015 before it made its way over to Scotland in 2023, after CJ Lang announced it would roll out across its company stores at the Spar trade show event that year. There are now 750 machines available across the whole of the UK.
And Spar retailers in Scotland have certainly seen their own degree of success with the Barista Bar brand, as Keith Fernie, managing director at David’s Kitchen Glenrothes, noted a massive increase in coffee sales at the store.
He said: “We installed our Barista Bar machine in June 2024 and have seen nothing but significant growth in sales ever since.
“The offering has boosted our like-for-like cup sales by 35% year on year, which continue to grow by the week. We’ll be introducing Barista Bar to our other sites in Falkirk and Kirkcaldy in January and have no doubt we’ll experience the same success as our Glenrothes store.
“Partnering with such a premium brand with a quality product to back it up has given us continued returning custom and I would encourage my fellow independent Spar retailers to talk to the Barista Bar team about the benefits the brand can bring to their business.”
Not only have there been success stories straight from the shop floor, but from across entire businesses, with Stephen Brown, head of food-to-go at CJ Lang & Son, calling the service an “accelerator for sales, footfall and shopper loyalty”.
Brown said: “Introducing Barista Bar to our company-owned estate has proved hugely successful, with the coffee-to-go offering boosting sales growth in the past year.
“Like-for-like sales on hot drinks have grown by 25% since we began installing Barista Bar and it is hugely exciting to reach such a prominent milestone with the brand.
“One of the most significant changes we’ve made since introducing Barista Bar has been to our breakfast deal in September, creating a much stronger offer – £2.99 for a breakfast roll and hot drink – which has enabled us to double our deal sales throughout stores.
“Barista Bar is an attractive brand with a quality product, allowing us to bring better deals and choice to our shoppers, from whom the response has been resoundingly positive.
“Not only do our shoppers return for the quality product and affordable price point, but the brand adds even more value to our thriving food-to-go offering throughout our company-owned estate.”
