High street coffee giant Costa Coffee is facing a furious shopper boycott over changes to its drinks. The coffee chain has been slammed by shoppers, with some saying they now plan to buy their hot drinks elsewhere.
Some have called it 'sneaky', with others going so far as to call it 'disgusting'.
Fans of the coffee giant have taken to Twitter to complain that their flat white had increased overnight from £2.95 to £3.30. Others claimed their medium skinny lattes had gone up from £3.10 to £3.35 and small cappuccinos from £3.15 to £3.50.
Complaining to Costa on Twitter, one customer said: “Another sneaky price rise of 30p on my large latte. Would be good if you had notified us on social media.”
Another tweeted: “Yesterday I was charged £2.40 for my normal drink, large skinny cappuccino. Today I was charged £2.70, an increase of 30p overnight!! Any reasons for this ridiculous price increase??!”
A third said: “Had coffee nearly every day for past two & a half years just jumped up from £2.80 to £2.95. I’m going to use my Waitrose Loyalty card for a FREE coffee.”
A fourth commented: "Well I’ll be cutting back on Costa. £3.15 for a flat white now with no pre-warning of increase. Nah. Sorry £2.90 was pushing it." Costa says the average increase is 14p. It had already put up prices at the end of last year, in a blow for loyal customers. Someone else branded the change 'disgusting' at a time when people are struggling to pay for things.
The drinks chain has confirmed it put up prices on June 1 and said the increase varies depending on what beverage you order. Prices also vary between branches around the country. Costa told The Mirror that the price rises are down to “unprecedented inflationary pressures resulting in increased costs” for its business.
It comes as inflation in the UK soared to 9% in April - with experts predicting that it will reach 10% later this year. A Costa Coffee spokesperson said: “Like all retailers, Costa Coffee is facing unprecedented inflationary pressures resulting in increased costs.
“We know this is a challenging time for our customers as well, which is why we are absorbing costs wherever we can. Despite this we’ve had to make the difficult decision to increase the prices of our drinks.
“We are always thinking of new ways to offer great value across our range, including our £1 and £2 breakfast deal, available every day. We also have additional exclusive offers for our Costa Club members, where customers can earn a free drink after buying eight drinks, or just four drinks when using a reusable cup. Currently they also have the chance to win millions of prizes through a special scan to win Coffee Shot competition."
