Coca-Cola CEO: buying Costa Coffee is not to challenge Starbucks and Nestl é

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James Quincey, president and chief executive of Coca-Cola, said in an interview that Coca-Cola's $5.1 billion acquisition of British coffee chain Costa is not so much a challenge to giants like Starbucks as to create a new coffee experience.

For Quincy, the coffee industry has been divided into three parts: "ready-to-drink", "home" and instant consumption in coffee shops.

"the biggest part is immediate consumption," Quincy said. And, in fact, although there is a coffee shop, the most important thing is the rest. It is a great opportunity for them to help other customers open a store and sell coffee in other people's stores. I think there are many blank markets around the world that can do better. "

Coca-Cola, a $213 billion beverage maker, has been criticized by some for overpaying for Costa. Costa, a former subsidiary of Whitbread, has nearly 4000 stores around the world, most of them in the UK.

But Quincy, who was born in the UK, believes that the opportunity to quickly provide quality coffee at existing locations such as gas stations and convenience stores has not yet been released. He set the total potential market for coffee at about $500 billion.

"our idea is not to go head-to-head with companies like Starbucks and Nestl é," the chief executive said. Nestl é reached a $7 billion licensing deal with Starbucks in May.

"whether you want to call it a catering service or a partnership with customers, Express Coffee is like a high-end vending machine that gives customers a barista experience, whether at a gas station, in a convenience store or in the workplace," Quincy said. We have a storefront in the cinema store. So there is a huge opportunity to work with customers to sell more coffee in other people's stores, really high-quality barista-level coffee. "

Coca-Cola shares hit a 52-week high on Friday and closed up 0.86% at $50.17. Wall Street was impressed by the company's third-quarter results in late October, with a 30% increase in profits and double-digit sales growth for the Coca-Cola zero-sugar brand.

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