Your weekly round-up of the five biggest stories from across the global coffee industry...
- Caffè Nero announces first major international venture for nearly a decade
- Luckin Coffee on track to become the world’s largest coffee chain by outlet in 2027
- Maxwell House and Tassimo among Kraft Heinz’s $650m coffee brand offload
- Foodtastic moves to challenge the dominance of Canada’s leading coffee chains
- Why the race is on for Dutch Bros
1. Caffè Nero to launch in India via Trent Limited partnership
UK-based Caffè Nero has signed an agreement to launch in India – its first international venture for nearly a decade.
The premium coffee chain currently operates 650 UK stores and a further 350 outlets across 10 international markets, including the US, Turkey and Poland, where it trades as Green Caffè Nero.
The first store of its franchise partnership with Tata Group fashion retailer Trent will open with the latter’s Westside department store in Mumbai.
A launch date has not yet been disclosed, but the potential runway is significant. Trent currently operates more than 1,200 retail sites in India and belongs to the same group that manages one of India’s largest coffee chains.
2. Is Luckin Coffee’s growth strategy sustainable?
Luckin Coffee is firmly on track to become the world’s largest coffee chain by outlets in 2027 after a buoyant third quarter – but how sustainable is its pursuit of rapid growth?
With 38,909 stores, Beijing-based Luckin is currently the second-largest branded coffee chain globally by outlets after Starbucks, which has 41,607 stores across 90 markets.
However, the gap has narrowed sharply, with Luckin adding 2,599 net new stores globally during the third quarter, compared to Starbucks’ 303.
With soaring outlet growth and no fixed ceiling on expansion, what is holding the coffee chain back?
3. Maxwell House and Tassimo among Kraft Heinz’s $650m coffee brand offload
Kraft Heinz wants to prioritise investments in high-growth consumer goods categories.
Coffee is no longer one of them.
The US multinational food and beverage corporation has agreed to sell its coffee business, which includes several well-known coffee brands, to New York-based investment firm One Rock Capital Partners for $650m.
The carve-out comes as Kraft Heinz seeks to return to profitable growth following two successive years of net revenue decline.
4. Foodtastic moves to challenge the dominance of Tim Hortons, McCafé and Starbucks in Canada
QSR franchise group Foodtastic is seeking a greater slice of Canada’s branded coffee shop market after publicly moving to acquire competitor MTY Food Group.
Foodtastic currently operates 1,200 outlets across 25 quick-serve brands in Canada, including 158-store Second Cup Café.
It hopes third time’s the charm in its bid to acquire MTY, after two private bids were rejected.
Could a public $704m move for the 55-brand group rally MTY’s shareholders and create a new Canadian coffee giant?
5. On-track for record openings – but Dutch Bros needs to go faster
Shortly after reaching 1,000 stores in February 2025, Dutch Bros unveiled a goal to more than double its estate and reach 2,029 outlets in 2029.
Despite being poised to deliver a record 185 net new sites this year, by the measure of its own ambition, the drive-thru chain is currently tracking behind target.
With its drive-thru coffee segment lead coming under increased pressure, Dutch Bros is seeking to open 250 new sites in 2027. But will that be enough to fend off rising competition from a faster-growing rival?
