McDonald’s-owned café concept McCafé now has 362 stores in France | Photo credit: Alexander Fox

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McCafé is gaining ground in France and is now the fastest growing and third-largest coffee chain in France, according to new World Coffee Portal data.

Project Café France 2022 reveals the McDonald’s-owned café concept now has 362 stores in France, having added 123 net outlets over the last year.

The coffee chain, which opened its first store in Australia in 1993, now has more stores than domestic chains La Mie Câline and La Croissanterie, which added two stores and permanently closed 34 outlets respectively.

McCafé’s outlet growth now makes it third-largest chain in France’s circa 4,000-outlet branded café market, behind food-focused operators Marie Blachère and Paul. 

With a 9.1% total market share, McCafé is now the market leader in France for coffee-focused chains by outlet count, with a 36.5% focused segment share, ahead of French café chain Columbus Café & Co, which operates 220 outlets and commands a 22.2% share. Columbus Café & Co added 48 outlets over the same period.

The coffee-focused segment represents 24.8% of the total branded coffee shop market in France. The three largest coffee-focused operators, McCafé, Columbus Café & Co and Starbucks, comprise 78.7% of the coffee-focused segment and 19.6% of the total branded coffee shop market.

Project Café France 2022 also indicates increased consumer engagement with McCafé in 2022 compared with 2021, with 25% of 2,000 survey respondents stating they had visited and ordered for the chain this year, compared with 23.4% in the year previous.

McCafé, which opened its first French store in 2004, operates in 54 markets internationally. Like all operators across Europe, World Coffee Portal forecasts that McCafé could face the challenges of  rising inflation and supply chain disruption as a result of the conflict in Ukraine, as well as a potential footfall decline off as the cost-of-living crisis intensifies in Europe.