Press release -

COSTA COFFEE TRAINS NEXT GENERATION OF BARISTAS USING VIRTUAL REALITY

  • Costa Coffee debuts immersive cutting-edge technology ahead of busy Christmas period
  • Costa Coffee implements an engaging new VR training programme, to upskill and inspire baristas and ensure a consistently high standard of coffee is delivered in stores nation-wide
  • New technology launches as Costa Coffee announces search for over 500 temporary staff over the busy festive season
  • 360 clips include how to hand craft the perfect Americano and the Costa Coffee Christmas drinks menu favourite – Black Forest Hot Chocolate
  • Applications for Christmas roles at Costa Coffee are now open at costa.careers.co.uk


London, 24 October 2018: The Nation’s Favourite Coffee Shop*, Costa Coffee, has launched Virtual Reality

to train new staff ahead of the busy Christmas period. The content has been designed to enhance the

onboarding process, inspire new baristas and ensure education is consistent, all ensuring quality hand

crafted coffee is served to customers across the UK.

Over 1,500 Costa Coffee stores are being issued with Google Cardboard headsets and tools for teams to

access 360 degree footage. Embedded into the existing comprehensive programme, the VR element

currently includes tips on how to perfect an Americano as well as the much-loved Christmas drink – Black

Forest Hot Chocolate.

Costa Coffee plans to add more videos to further educate staff, including the journey from bean to cup

with footage from sustainable coffee farmers in Peru. Additional content will feature a tour of the Costa

Coffee Roastery in Basildon, so new recruits can understand more about quality testing by Master of

Coffee Gennaro Pelliccia and his team in the lab.

Laura Chapman, Head of Learning at Costa Coffee said: “At Costa Coffee we’re always looking for ways

to ensure we inspire our teams to love their craft just as much as they love coffee! With the launch of

Virtual Reality we’ll be rapidly educating our new baristas and immersing them in the Costa store

environment. We believe this advanced approach to learning will particularly appeal to those in the

millennial generation who are highly open to this type of engaging training. We’re looking forward to

continuing to innovate the resources in our VR portfolio for new staff and those looking to diversify their

skills and careers at Costa Coffee.”

To apply for a role at Costa Coffee please apply online via costa.careers.co.uk

Topics

  • Lifestyle

High-resolution images are available upon request. For more information please contact the Costa press

office at CostaPR@whitbread.com

Notes to editors:

Founded in London by Italian brothers Sergio and Bruno Costa in 1971, Costa is now part of Whitbread

PLC.

*With over 2,380 coffee shops in the UK and more than 1,300 in 31 international markets we are the

fastest growing coffee shop business in the UK and are proud to be the UK’s favourite coffee shop, having

been awarded “Best Branded Coffee Shop Chain in the UK and Ireland" by Allegra Strategies for eight

years running (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 & 2017).

Looking after coffee growers is extremely important to us, which is why we established The Costa

Foundation, a registered charity with the aim to relieve poverty, advance education and the health and

environment of coffee-growing communities around the world. So far, The Costa Foundation has funded

the building of 72 schools and improved the social and economic welfare of coffee-growing communities