Unity Coffee announces addition of former bp pulse and Costa Express exec Wil Corker to team

Unity Coffee, a new self-service offering which launched in the UK last year and was developed by Coffee Nation entrepreneur Scott Martin, has appointed Wil Corker as VP of Platform Engineering.

He was previously at bp pulse, where he served as Certification Manager, and has also worked at Costa Express (Lead Compliance Engineer).

In a LinkedIn post, Martin said: “Delighted to welcome Wil Corker to the Unity Coffee team. Wil was part of the founding dev team at Coffee Nation that built the platform innovations you still see across Costa Coffee Professional today. One of the legends (amongst many others).”

He added: “He joins us to lead platform engineering as we reinvent automated coffee from the ground up. The timing's perfect. Only yesterday, I read Starbucks just went all in on their turnaround, betting big on what they hope consumers actually want now. Protein packed cold foams. Matcha with coconut water. Customisable chai you can dial in yourself. Coffee isn't just coffee anymore. It's about choice, personalisation, and wellbeing that fits your life.”

Martin concluded: “Unity Coffee is building the digital first platform for exactly this shift. Machines that know you, remember what you're after, and deliver it in seconds. Awesome coffee and matcha at fairer prices. We're obsessed with pushing what's possible here, and now, so is Wil. If you want to help build the platform that challenges Big Coffee's grip on this category, come join us. We're hiring.”

2026 RTIH Innovation Awards

Self-service technology will be a key focus area at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards.

The awards will open for entries in April. They 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 Thursday, 15th October.

Check out our 2025 winners here.

Our 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.”

Congratulations to our winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Tiff Stevenson, and all those who attended our 2025 gathering.