Jordan is % Arabica’s eighth market across the MENA region | Photo credit: Nico Bakista

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Japanese specialty coffee chain Arabica % has debuted in Jordan with a store at the mixed-use Abdali Boulevard site in Amman. 
 

The store is % Arabica’s 45th site in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and its 185th globally. The Abdali Boulevard outlet is also the first to be opened as part of the boutique café group’s franchise partnership with SOHO Middle East. 

The franchise agreement, signed in July 2023, will also see the Dubai-based premium retail group open % Arabica stores across France, Germany, Portugal and Greece. 

 

Read related content: Branded coffee shops become big business in the Middle East 

Jordan is % Arabica’s eighth market across the MENA region, where it operates 17 stores in Kuwait, 16 in the UAE and a further 12 sites across Bahrain, Morocco, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. 
 

World Coffee Portal’s Project Café Middle East 2023 research shows that international operators form a large part of Jordan’s branded coffee shop market, which comprises more than 100 outlets. US coffee chain Starbucks is the market leader with 30 stores, while The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf operates six sites in the country and the UK’s Costa Coffee five outlets. 

The largest domestic operators are Dimitri’s Coffee and donut chain Donuts Factory, which each have eight outlets in Amman, followed by Blue Fig, which has three stores and two coffee carts.