Are Franchise Coffees Overtaking Starbucks?

Starbucks isn’t the unstoppable giant it once was. With four straight quarters of slumping U.S. sales and massive layoffs, the coffee battlefield is wide open.From sleek at-home brews to third-wave specialty cafes and powerhouse franchises, the competition is ferociously fighting for consumers’ loyalty.

New players shake things up with optimized menus, faster service, smarter perks and ever-evolving customer service. With the power of local operators and a distributed system on their side, coffee franchises are stepping up to dominate the game.

At Wefranch, we track data on coffee franchises from franchisee reviews, available territories, Franchise Disclosure Documents (FDDs), startup costs, and financial performance.

Explore the map below to uncover key insights in the coffee franchise world.

Let’s dive into the financials of individual brands.

PJ’s Coffee

Born in New Orleans in 1978, PJ’s has grown to 214+ locations and became an official choice of New Orleans Saints.
PJ’s Coffee of New Orleans Financial Performance

Haraz Coffee

Founded in 2018, Haraz has 137 new locations under development across the U.S. and the Middle East. The chain is focused on Yemeni coffee.
Haraz Coffee House Financial Performance

Tim Hortons

Tim Horton’s is the Canada’s largest quick-service restaurant chain, with 807 locations in the United States, and 4039 more worldwide.
Tim Hortons Financial Performance

Dunkin

With approximately 14,000 locations in 39 countries, 9361 of those in the USA, America does run on Dunkin. Although it’s more selective than ever, Dunkin is still actively expanding and looking for talented QSR operators.
Dunkin Financial Performance

The Rise of Drive-Through

The most recent shift in the industy has been the rise of drive-through format and dedicated concepts, in particular in the Midwest. Here are a few major players:

Caribou

Founded in Minnesota in 1992, Caribou has 750 locations worldwide and 493 in the USA.
Caribou Financial Performance

Biggby

Coming out of Michigan in 1995, Biggby now has 390 locations in 13 states throughout the United States.
Biggby Financial Performance

Human Bean

Since 1998, The Human Bean has built 260+ drive-thru coffee locations in 25 U.S. states.
The Human Bean Financial Performance

7 Brew

Founded in 2017 in Arkansas, 7Brew is a massively popular brand that has built 180 stands across 26 states. The brand even has a fan-created group called “7 Brew Fans” with 311k members.
7Brew Financial Performance

Scooters

Founded in 1998, Scooter’s has built 800 franchises in 29 states, and is currently the second-largest drive-through coffee chain and the fifth-largest coffee chain in the United States.
Scooter’s Financial Performance

Ziggi’s

Founded in 2004, Ziggi’s has grown to 85 stores. The chain is now primarily growing through area development deals. We interviewed the largest franchisee group here.
Ziggis Financial Performance

The list doesn’t stop here, and there are dozens more brands to consider. Dive deeper into the data on coffee franchises here.