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Top 10 Coffee Chain Brands in the World 2017

Published by MBA Skool Team in Top Brands category Last Updated: June 25, 2017Read time:

Coffee chain brands across the world have not only become places for a good coffee, but have become places where people spend quality time. Top Coffee chains attract people or friends who want to hangout, place where freelancers or entrepreneurs want to work or people who simply want to relax. From variants of coffees, to snacks to providing free wifi, the largest coffee chain companies focus on giving the best ambience and serve the best caffeine based beverages to its customers. The top coffee chain brands in the world include Starbucks, Costa Coffee, Tim Hortons, Lavazza, Mc Café etc. Here is the list of the top 10 coffee chain brands in the world 2017.

Quick Glance

Top Coffee Chain Brands 2017 are:

1st place: Starbucks

2nd place: Costa Coffee

3rd place: Tim hortons

4th place: Lavazza

5th place: Mc Café

6th place: Gloria Jeans

7th place: Caribou Coffee

8th place: Dunkin Donuts

9th place: Coffee Beanery

10th place: Tully's Coffee

For more details about rankings and parameters, read on.


10. Tully’s Coffee

Tully’s coffee is a private entity based out Seattle, USA in 1992.


Image: company website

Tully’s Coffee chain brand has expanded in to 17 states in western part of USA, and has become one of the most prominent coffee chain places. Tully’s coffee started its operations with own stores and then expanded with franchise model in continents outside North America.

South Korea and Japan tweaked the menu and sells iconic recipes of Tully’s and a variety of ice creams, baked goods, coffee related supplies. They believed in their products strongly and operated on customer loyalty and opened their stores right next to coffee shops like Starbucks and gave a run for their money with distinct offerings. Their expansion strategy was to pull the crowds to next door of an established shop so that their customer acquisition costs would come down. On the flip side because of this strategy, it remained as the brand which is colloquially called, “that place right next Starbucks”. For fourteen years after inception they haven’t seen net profits because of the continuous expansion that took place. That very next year, in 2007 they went against initial plans of floating an IPO but decided against that due to volatile market, which in hindsight was a great step considering the subprime crisis of 2008. They cleared off debt by selling their coffee bean business in North America to Green Mountain Coffee Roasters in 2009, post which they expanded with 100 stores on South Korea.We can call Tom O’Keefe a wizard who established a brand in 18 years with global presence and more importantly a positive net profit. The revenue of this company is 0.24 US billion dollars making it as the tenth largest coffee chain in the world in terms of revenue.

Revenues in billions: $0.242

9. Coffee Beanery

Coffee Beanery coffee chain was found in the year 1976 and has become a popular joint ever since.


Image: flickr.com/photos/hollywoodbranded/

The founders of this coffee chain are JoAnne & Julius, and the headquarter of this company is located in Flushing, United States. The Chief executive officer and the president of this company is JoAnne Shaw, along with vice president Kevin Shaw. The products that are produced by this company are coffee, smoothies and Tea. The net income of this is 24,295 US million dollars. The parent company of this is Shaw coffee company. The main service this company offers is franchising. This company earns a lot of its income by selling the coffee franchise to lot many other franchisees. This sells many products like coffee machines, branded coffee mugs, salads, specialty drinks, espresso, tea, coffee etc. The revenue of this company is 0.41 US billion dollars. This is the ninth largest coffee chain in the world. Its brand is mostly build with values and traditions. It has 100 locations only in US. It is present in twenty countries internationally. This franchise is known for its good corporate cult environment it provides to its customers. Its Michigan facility is 45000 square foot which provides a large space for its coffee beans to be roasted, grounded, powdered and packaged. The core values of the company are imbibed into each and every employee working there giving them a positive motivation to work. Thus indirectly making the company achieve higher growth and higher profits.

Revenues in billions: $0.41

8. Dunkin Donuts

This was founded in the year 1950. This has a history of about sixty seven years.


Image: flickr.com/photos/jeepersmedia/

This was founded in Quincy, United States, and the headquarter of Dunkin Donuts is located is Canton, United States. Dunkin Donuts is not a public listed company, and has a strong presence all over the world with its franchises available globally. The founder of this company is William Rosenberg. This is a subsidiary of famous brand called the Dunkin Brands. This is mainly into food and beverages industry. This chain is present worldwide. The total number of locations where it is present is 11000. The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of this company is Nigel Travis. The various products that are being produced by this company are sandwiches,beverages that are both hot and cold, Iced beverages, Baked goods, Frozen Beverages and also soft drinks. The parent of this is Dunkin Brands. The total revenue of this Dunkin Donuts apart from the total brand is 0.83 US billion dollars. It has about twelve hundred restaurants which are spread around thirty six countries. Initially the competitor for this company are Mister Donuts. Later this Mister Donuts was acquired by Allied Lyons. This Allied Lyons were later given a chance to change the name of their  donuts to Dunkin Donuts and were sold under this brand from that time. Thus it started acquiring its competitors by expanding its chain. This is the eighth largest coffee chains in the world.

Revenues in billions: $0.829

7. Caribou Coffee

Caribou Coffee was founded in the month of December 1992, and has grown to become a popular coffee chain brand.


Image: flickr.com/photos/mastermaq/

The founder of this company is John Puckett, and it is founded in Edina, United States. Caribou Coffee is mainly known for its coffee and also espresso, and it serves a variety of other snacks and beverages, and provides a comfortable & relaxing ambience to its customers. The Chief executive officer of this company is Michael J. Tattersfield. The head quarter of this company is located in Minneapolis, United States. The parent organizations for this company are JAB holding company and JAB Beech Inclusive. This coffee chain is famous for its own blend of tea, coffee. It is a company based in Minnesota. This also makes many types of bakery goods and also sandwiches. This has its franchise located in 203 locations in ten countries. This company has more than 203 own coffee houses. These are present in 18 states worldwide. This coffee house initially aimed at the workers working in the downtown. It used to have a schedule of five day a week as per the schedule of the workers. Later the coffee store has been started at Minnesota when there was no proper financial aid to start another business as thought by the founder. As every other company this company also has a good quality coffee that was done by grounding the finest coffee beans of high quality. This company gives perks to the customers in order to attract them to the store once again. This gives rewards in the form of earning points. When a customer registers to this he will be getting a medium drink as a perk. The revenue of this company is 0.93 US billion dollars making them the seventh largest coffee coffee chains in the world.

Revenues in billions: $0.933

6. Gloria Jeans Coffee

This coffee chain was founded in 1979 in USA and introduced in 1996 in Australia, 2001 in Bangladesh, 2004 in India.


Image: flickr.com/photos/avlxyz/

The founder of this chain is Ed and Gloria Jean Kvetko, and the headquarters are located in Castle Hill, Australia. This is not a worldwide present chain but is present in almost all the places as the number of countries it serves presently is close to 40. This is present in more than 1000 locations around the world. It produces almost all the hot and cold beverages. The owner of this group is Retail Food Group. This is not a public listed company. This is the subsidiary of this group. Initially it is a small store for coffee and gifts in US. Now it has almost one hundred and ten locations in US itself. In the year 2013, Gloria jeans was purchased by a public listed company called the Yellow Pages. Later it was bought by an Australian Group called the Retail Food Group. The specialty of Gloria Jeans is that it sells its own coffee capsules called the Caffitaly. This caffitaly capsules are also available in the market call the Woolworth markets. The coffee taste here is entirely different from the lot many coffee stores present making it race among the top ten chains in the world. It gives the feeling of coming back and visit again for all the customers. The revenue of this company is 0.97 US Billion dollars. This stands as the sixth largest coffee chains in the world in terms of revenue.

Revenues in billions: $0.974

5. McCafé

This subsidiary of popular food chain brand McDonald’s was founded in 1993, in Melbourne, Australia.


Image: pixabay

The headquarters of this company was located in Oak Brook,United States, and this is a subsidiary of McDonald’s. The product that this coffee store produces is multiple variants of Coffee, along with other beverages which are given by almost all leading coffee chain brands. The founder of McDonald’s corporation is Ray Kroc. Ann Brown is another founder of this restaurant. This serves worldwide. The chairman and CEO of this corporation is Ann brown. It solely concentrates on the production of coffee with no other beverages. So this is one of the best known coffee place in the world. This is not a public listed company. The revenue of this specific sector in this sector of coffee is 1.05 billion dollars. This is one of the best revenues since the company sells only coffee with no other beverages and earns a huge sum of revenue. This is the fifth largest coffee chains in the world in terms of revenue. They are more concerned about the food quality they provide. They use apples of pink lady and Gala. They use ingredients like hundred percent beef patties to which has no added preservatives. They treat customers as their kings. Mc Donalds is the largest fast food chain in the world. This has helped them launch Mc Café under the name of Mc Donalds. After that it has started expanding its chain of operations year after year from one city to the other.

Revenues in billions: $1.049

4. Lavazza

This Company was founded in the year 2000, and it is a public listed company.


Image: pexels

Lavazza is an Indian based company which has a strong presence in south Asia and serves millions of customers in the region. The products that it produces are various varieties of Desserts like pastries, varieties of coffee and tea, Frappuccino beverages and smoothies. The Chief Executive Officer of this company is Pratha Duttagupta. The Managing Director of this company is Ravi Deol. The COO of this company is Brotin Banerjee. The head quarter s of this company is in Okhla, New Delhi. The company is not present worldwide. It operates only in few areas. The areas which it operates are India, Pakistan, Nepal, Middle east, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh etc. The industry is famous for Espresso Bars. The total assets of this company is about one billion US Dollars. The revenue of this company is 2.28 billion US Dollars. This is the world’s fourth largest producer of coffee in the world.  It is an Italian based coffee centre. The training they provide is one of the best  trainings. This has the biggest training centre in Italy. The employees are treated well in Lavazza. They were provided with many benefits like insurance coverage and many more benefits. It treats its employees as a part of their family. The quality is not just a factor for them. It’s a part of their daily process. They follow this process called the avant-garde in a very innovative way . For the people who visit there it acts as a perfect place to relax and have fun. Starting from the iced tea to hot beverages almost all will be provided with the best quality.

Revenues in billions: $2.28

3. Tim Hortons

This was founded on May 17, 1964 and was about 53 years old company.


Image: flickr.com/photos/calgaryreviews/

The company has its headquarter in Oakville, Canada, and this brand has a strong presence worldwide. But this is one of the most famous coffee chains in the areas it serves, and the total number of locations it serves is 4600+. The important areas where it serves is Philippines, United States, United Kingdom, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Canada, Iceland etc. The chairman of this coffee chain is Alex Behring. The Chief Executive Officer of this chain is Daniel Schwartz. The President of this chain is Ellias Diaz Sese. The chain is not present wolrd wide bit the number of employees working in areas present is comparatively high. The employee count is about 100,000. The net income of this chain is 511.7 US Million Dollars. The revenue of this coffee chain is 3 billion US dollars. In terms of revenue, this chain is the third largest coffee chain in the world. The parent company is Restaurant Brands International. This is mainly famous for coffee and doughnuts. This is famous as quickest service restaurants in the world. This is famous for its CSR activities too. This moulds the life skills of more than 19000 students a year. It has coffee partnership with many people living in the rural areas. This partnership helps improve the lives of many small scale farmers by improving the quality of beans produced by improving the environmental factors, social and also economic factors.

Revenues in billions: $3

2. Costa Coffee

Costa Coffee was founded in the year 1971, and it was founded 46 years ago in London.


Image: geograph

The headquarters of this is in Dunstable, England, and the founders of this company are Bruno Costa and Sergio Costa. Costa Coffee serves various products like Coffee, tea, iced teas etc, and it also serves pastries, sandwiches. This coffee is served all over the world. The coffee is being served in 3400+ locations worldwide. The CEO of this industry is Dominic Paul. He is one of the key peoples for the success of this company. This is not a public listed company. The net income as of 2016 is 153 million Euros. The parent company of this industry is Whitebread PLC.  The revenue of this company is 3.77 US billion dollars.  It initially used to caterer the special Italian coffee to many coffee shops. It is the subsidy of Whitebread. The taste of the coffee makes the customers feel like revisiting the shops. The main secret behind their coffee is slow roasting the coffee beans. It is one of the largest coffee chains in UK. In terms of revenue, this Costa Coffee is the second largest chains in the world. It serves different kinds of beverages like Costa Light, Flat White, Ice Cold Costa etc. It provides Loyalty card to all its customers. The customer having this card will have some percent of discount when they revisit the store. This is one of the ways they show gratitude towards their customers.

Revenues in billions: $3.77

1. Starbucks

It was founded in March 31st, 1971 and Seattle in US was its birth place.


Image: pixabay

The headquarters of Starbucks is in 2401 Utah Avenue South, Seattle, US and Jerry Baldwin was the founder of this company, and the other founders are Zev Siegl, Gordon Bowker. This is a public listed company and is present all over the world. It operates with wide variety of coffee chains around the world. The total number of locations it was present is 24,464 locations. The executive Chairman of Starbucks is Howard Schultz. The CEO of this company is Kevin Johnson. Among the wide variety of products it produces, the following are the categories of the products: smoothies, tea, baked goods, coffee beverages, sandwiches. The total number of employees operating: 238,000. The total assets of the company are 12.45 billion US dollars. The Net income of the company is 2.76 billion US dollars. The revenue of this company as of 2016 is 21.30 US million dollars. The revenue of starbucks is so high making it the first largest coffee chain in the world. This uses coffee beans that were bought from Arabia, adding a different flavor to its products. Apart from the coffee, the experience we get in the store is so pleasing. The music that we hear in the store is so pleasing. We get pastries, Tazo teas etc which tingles our taste buds. They treat the customers in a different way making the customer feel to visit the store once again.

Revenues in billions: $21.3


Rank Methodology:

1. The leading coffee chain brands are considered for the ranking

2. For each brand, the latest revenues are taken in USD billion

3. Based on the revenues the companies are evaluated and the final ranks are calculated

This article has been researched & authored by the Content & Research Team which comprises of MBA students, management professionals, and industry experts. It has been reviewed & published by the MBA Skool Team. The content on MBA Skool has been created for educational & academic purpose only.

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