Nespresso, a coffee pod-making company, is set to launch its first on-the-go coffee bar in London, UK, The Times has reported.

The new outlet, situated on Old Broad Street near Liverpool Street train station, is scheduled to open on 21 March 2024, according to Nespresso UK & Ireland CEO Anna Lundstrom.

The anticipated price for a latte at the new Nespresso bar is around £4.15, which aligns with Starbucks' pricing and is marginally less expensive than Costa Coffee.

Lundstrom was quoted by The Times as saying: “While we’re focused on at-home coffee, on-the-go coffee is so big in British culture. There is a real cultural phenomenon around coffee shops and on-the-go coffee and we wanted to participate. It’s truly a great moment to be in the coffee business in the UK.” 

Project Café UK 2024, a report by World Coffee Portal, has found that 31% of UK consumers purchased a beverage to-go on their last coffee shop visit. This trend surpasses the percentage who ordered one to consume in-store.

The Old Broad Street site is the first Nespresso on-the-go coffee bar concept to be launched in Europe.

She is optimistic about the format's potential expansion across London and the UK.

Nespresso's decision to introduce the Nespresso bar concept in the city follows the closure of two coffee shops there in 2019, as the company shifted its focus to its boutique retail outlets.

The boutiques, of which there are 25 across the UK, including ten in London, are part of Nespresso's retail strategy.

They sell the brand's coffee pods and machines and serve as collection points for recycling used capsules.

The company had previously experimented with takeaway coffee offers at its stores in Cannes, France, and in New York, US, in 2017. In November 2023, it introduced a similar Nespresso-to-go concept at its Gran Vía boutique in Madrid, Spain.