China: 1.4 billion reasons to sell coffee

A country of colossal proportions, huge opportunity and beguiling complexity, traditionally tea-drinking China is now rewriting the coffee business playbook. Tobias Pearce and Isabelle Mani delved into China’s coffee shop miracle to explore the new wave of operators spurring global innovation, how international brands can achieve success – and what Chinese coffee consumers really want

In December 2023, World Coffee Portal broke the story that China had overtaken the US as the largest branded coffee shop market on the planet after growing a whopping 58% in 2023 to reach 49,691 outlets. 

The huge opportunities for coffee businesses among China’s 1.4 billion citizens are undeniable. More than 90% of Chinese consumers surveyed in the report drink hot coffee weekly and 64% consume iced coffee at least once a week. Indicating the role of coffee shops in driving overall coffee consumption, 89% of consumers surveyed visit or order from a coffee shop at least once a week, with a fifth doing so daily.