Serving Experiences: Lessons from London Coffee Festival
4 minute read…
Some of the Unfound team headed over to drink in the vibes at London Coffee Festival last week. Even before we’d entered the event at Truman Brewery, Food & Bev brand activations were popping up in the surrounding area (classic Shoreditch). We saved our first sips until we got inside, and we’re so glad we did.
The best of the best bean brands were there. And surprisingly not that much matcha. We discovered that Burnt Lemon Cold Brew Tonics will be our summer favourite daytime drink, but not until we were 6 coffees in.
Somehow Rishi and I managed to keep the jitters at bay to document a few things that stood out to us at LCF 2026.
Read all about it
Oatly - Look Book Vol. 3 dropped just before LCF and our team were buzzing to try as many of the delicious new drinks Oatly’s beverage experience team created. We got our hands on a beautiful newspaper print version of the lookbook from The Oatly Original, an off licence activation showcasing Breaking news, complete with it’s own grumpy newsagent. The best stand at LCF by far.
Love language
The lines that stood out to us made us think about love. Personal and powerfully introspective, sometimes it’s that simple.
Löfbergs- Crafted coffee that flies the flag for Sweden across every piece of messaging. Their main marketing message If you Lof coffee, you’ll Lof Löfbergs. taps into how someone with a Swedish accent may pronounce the word ‘Love’, a strong way for the brand’s Scandi origins to show up in the UK market.
XOXO - Meme-able messaging that works hand-in-hand with the brand name serenaded XOXO’s space. Show yourself some love also worked well as a lovely invite to sample the product from branded coolboxes.
Naturally Moré -The little accent on the ‘e’ drew us in to this Aussie/Italian founded functional coffee hybrid. We were pleasantly surprised by how good this nootropic enhanced drink tasted and the clearly defined key product types. The brand felt simple and easy to navigate, manifesting its messaging We’re not here to replace coffee or overcomplicate it. We’re here to make it work a little harder.
Strong serving systems
It’s not just about the drink itself, the best coffees are delivered in a way that elevates the whole experience. Sometimes that’s the barista taking the time to explain the origins or the roast profile, sometimes that just asking how your day is going. The efforts of brands who invested in a considered approach to communication and serving were not lost on us, especially on the noisy, crowded festival floor.
Wood Street Coffee - True to their big on-pack message, WSC served us up REALLY GOOD COFFEE…. with genuinely interesting stories behind each blend. The brand identity, expert pour overs and unique flavour profiles made for a refreshing system. Let’s just say the green brand colour really complements one of the El Jaragual Pink Bourbon’s more out-there tasting notes.
Origin - Their new collection pairs Cold Brew Espresso Concentrate with light, plant-based cold foams and bright seasonal ingredients. We can assure you, it’s absolute bliss on the lips. The technology used to pour gave us more time to chat with the Origin crew, learning about the limited edition Black Cedar blend.
Linkbar - We spoke with Paul, the master engineer and pioneer of pipework who explained Origin’s new serving system. Imagine the most efficient boiling/filtered/sparkling water tap at your fave co-working spot… now imagine it dispensing perfect temp hot milk or cold water into cold brew espresso. Simplified digital display. Beautiful taps. An all-round consistently perfect drink.
Origin’s new cold brew pouring at LCF 2026
On the sci-fi end of innovation, XBOT S BARISTA has robot arms that replace a real barista to make your latte complete with art… but still spills your coffee (can’t be good for the electrics that). At £52,000 for one machine, the cost of replacing human service really does not come cheap. Everyone just stood in silence watching it. Weird.
Thinking outside the cup
We’ve always loved how coffee connects people. It’s the starting point to all our creative collaborations as a studio. Last year, after a trip to LA, Californian coffee culture inspired us to create the Coldtop® campaign: imagining how a cool, cream-topped caffeinated drink could land in the UK’s capital.
This year at LCF, beyond the stacks of canned sweet, low sugar, milky coffee, our attentions were drawn to the importance of how things are served. In terms of both product and brand story.
Our two main takeaways?
Talking is good for us all - People don’t just go get coffee for the coffee itself, the human interaction is just as important. Innovation should complement the natural process. Brands can’t lose sight of talking with their audience. If they do, they’re pouring culture down the drain.
Valuable creative activation relies on confidence in your brand - The best stands felt like mini-worlds of connection. This doesn’t always mean polished stages or scripts (although Oatly’s chromatic conveyor menu did steel the show) but it calls for authentic experiences that clearly express a brand’s truth.
At Unfound, we’re working more than ever in the food & bev and hospitality space. If you want to talk about how people consume your brand, need a partner for an intentional identity, or just enjoyed sampling at LCF, say hello@unfound.studio.
As ever, the flat whites are on us.