Starbucks is currently the fourth largest branded coffee shop in Thailand | Photo credit: Maxim Group
US coffee chain Starbucks has reached 500 stores in Thailand with a new drive-thru outlet in Bangkok.
Starbucks, which marked 25 years in Thailand last year, is seeking to reach 800 stores across the southeast Asian country by 2030 and views drive-thru as key to outlet expansion.
The Seattle-based coffee chain entered Thailand in 1998 with a site at the Central Chidlom department store in Bangkok and fully licensed its Thai business to local operator Coffee Concepts Thailand May in 2019.
Starbucks is currently the fourth largest branded coffee shop in Thailand, behind Café Amazon, Inthanin and PunThai Coffee, which operate 4,159, 1,020 and 1,000 stores respectively.
World Coffee Portal’s Project Café East Asia 2024 report shows the total Thai branded coffee shop market now exceeds 8,350 outlets, making it third largest in East Asia behind China and South Korea. The total market is forecast to reach 9,590 outlets by 2029.
Coffee Concepts Thailand is a joint venture between Singaporean Food and beverage company F&N and Hong Kong-based Maxim’s Group, which also licenses Starbucks stores in Hong Kong, Macau, Vietnam, Cambodia, Singapore and Laos.