Once solely the UK’s favorite coffee chain, Costa Coffee quickly became the go-to cuppa for people across the globe.

The coffeehouse giant has a tremendous presence with 2,121 UK restaurants, over 6,000 Costa Express vending facilities, and a further 1,280 outlets across 31 countries.

While caffeine enthusiasts everywhere celebrated, Lever discovered that Costa Coffee’s cage-free egg policy didn’t extend to the chain’s international markets and decided it was time to improve the living condition of laying hens in the company’s international supply chain, starting from China. Costa Coffee operates nearly 500 cafes in China and has announced it intends to reach 1,200 locations by 2022. It is the country’s third largest cafe chain, following only Starbucks and Luckin Coffee.

Lever’s team helped Costa Coffee see the benefits of abandoning cages and provided key resources to access cage-free egg suppliers in the country. With Lever’s support, the coffee chain has committed to using only cage-free eggs by 2025 to cover all international markets, including China.

Costa Coffee joins major companies such as Caffe Nero, illy, Peet’s Coffee, and others that have announced a move to using only cage-free eggs worldwide after engaging with Lever. Costa Coffee devotees in China and elsewhere will soon have access to safer food items, while egg-laying hens will be spared unbearable suffering throughout their lives.

 

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