The Shanghai-based quick-service restaurant group has opened 300 new KCOFFEE locations so far in 2025 and is planning to open a further 500 sites by the end of the year
KCOFFEE has reached 1,000 stores in China with a new site in the capital city, Beijing.
First launched as an in-store KFC coffee range in 2015, Shanghai-based quick-service restaurant group Yum China span-off the KCOFFEE brand as a standalone coffee shop concept in 2022.
Yum China has opened 300 new KCOFFEE locations since the end of December 2024, with the coffee chain’s store network comprising stand-alone outlets and ‘side-by-side' concession coffee shops adjacent to KFC stores.
“Our breakthrough model, KCOFFEE, reached the milestone of 1,000 locations. This business model leverages KFC’s store space, resources and membership to attract additional traffic,” said Joey Wat, CEO, Yum China.
The QSR group, which also operates 112 Lavazza coffee shops in China as part of a joint venture with the premium Italian coffee roaster, plans to scale its KCOFFEE café concept to 1,500 locations by the end of 2025 – 200 stores higher than previously forecast.
In its first quarter earnings release, Yum China said overall KCOFFEE sales grew approximately 20% year-on-year in the three months ended 31 March 2025, with cups of coffee sold also increasing 20%.
KCOFFEE’s rapid outlet growth has been supported by a local coffee sourcing programme and an increased marketing push to expand brand affinity with younger consumers.
Yum China said KCOFFEE has strengthened partnerships with coffee-growing partners in China’s Yunnan province, which produces 98% of the country’s coffee output, and currently sources approximately 1,200 metric tonnes of green coffee annually from key regions such as Pu'er, Baoshan, Lincang and Menglian.
KCOFFEE beverages are also sold across KFC’s 11,900 outlets in China, with Yum China reporting that the fast-food chain sold 250 million cups of KCOFFEE in 2024 alone – 30% year-on-year volume growth.
