Unity Coffee taps Co-op veteran Jonathan Perry for Special Advisor role as company targets universities
Unity Coffee, a self-service specialist developed by Coffee Nation entrepreneur Scott Martin, has appointed Jonathan Perry as a Special Advisor.
Perry is a The Co-op veteran, having spent 28 years at the UK convenience store retailer. In a LinkedIn post, Martin said: “I watched Jonathan and his team open one great university store after another for Co-op Franchise for the best part of last year and just couldn't stop thinking about it. Eventually I stopped admiring from a distance and got in touch. Turns out the direct approach works.”
He added: “Universities are a critical channel for Unity - it's where we meet the next generation of coffee drinkers first, and where we get to engage, iterate and adapt as we grow. The early results have already been stellar. Thrilled to have JP onboard - welcome to the team!”
Paul Borrett
Paul Borrett recently joined Unity Coffee as its Technology Advisor. Earlier this year, Borrett announced his departure from wagamama, where he served as Director of Technology. Prior to that, he worked at Costa Coffee.
Martin said: “If you’ve ever bought a coffee from a Costa Coffee Professional machine, you’ve used something Paul built. He was the architect behind that digital platform - the M2M infrastructure that today keeps tens of thousands of machines connected, transacting and talking to eachother in real-time.”
He added: “I had the privilege of building that vision alongside him the first time round, and I wasn’t about to let the chance to do it again slip by. After a spell at wagamama, and a very short-lived taste of early retirement, I’ve persuaded him back in. Some technical rockstars just aren’t built for the golf course.”
“Paul joins at exactly the point Unity needs him most. We’re not just building a coffee machine - we’re building the intelligence behind it: equipment that flags its own faults before they happen, one data spine running from bean to cup, a machine that adapts its screen and its pricing to who’s in front of it and an app that turns a first sale into a habit. Paul has actually built infrastructure at that scale before and that’s rare, and it’s exactly what this next phase demands.”
2026 RTIH Innovation Awards
Self-service technology for frontline employees will be a key focus area at our sister title RTIH’s 2026 Innovation Awards.
The awards are now open for entries and celebrate global retail technology innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.
Our winners will be revealed at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards Ceremony, taking place at The HAC in Central London on Wednesday, 4th November.
Check out the 2025 winners here.
RTIH’s 2025 hall of fame entrants were revealed during a sold out event which took place at The HAC on 16th October and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by award winning comedian, actress and writer Tiff Stevenson.
In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “This is the awards’ fifth year as a physical event. We started off with just 30 people at the South Place Hotel not far from here, then moved to London Bridge Hotel, then The Barbican, and last year RIBA’s HQ in the West End.”
“But I’m conscious of the fact that, to quote the legend that is Taylor Swift, You’re only as hot as your last hit, baby. So, this year we’ve moved to our biggest venue yet, and also pulled in our largest number of entries to date and broken attendance records.”
He added: “This year’s submissions have without doubt been our best yet. To quote one of the judges: The examples of innovative developments across both traditional and digital retail spaces were truly remarkable.”
