{"id":52011,"date":"2026-06-15T14:36:34","date_gmt":"2026-06-15T18:36:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thefranchiseking.com\/?p=52011"},"modified":"2026-06-17T14:28:44","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T18:28:44","slug":"are-there-too-many-coffee-franchises","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thefranchiseking.com\/are-there-too-many-coffee-franchises","title":{"rendered":"Are There Too Many Coffee Franchises?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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I just spent the last 5 minutes online searching for “coffee franchises<\/em>.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I found close to 50<\/strong> of them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

50 DIFFERENT coffee franchise opportunities you can own in the US.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seems like a lot, right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let’s find out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Coffee franchises<\/strong> can be profitable. But the math has to work. Competition is fierce. And it’s only getting tougher. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With nearly 50 coffee franchise concepts<\/a> available in the U.S., the market is crowded. Add Starbucks to the mix, and your customer pool shrinks fast. Royalties eat into your revenue. So do loans, payroll, and rent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That being said, multi-unit franchise ownership changes the picture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For instance, 3 locations doing $800,000 each has the potential to generate $150,000\u2013$175,000 a year in take-home income. But that takes 6\u20137 years to build. You need capital. You need energy. And you need a location where the demographics support the demand. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, coffee franchises reward owners who do their homework. Check the competition. Run conservative numbers. And make sure the opportunity makes sense before you sign<\/a> anything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some Coffee Franchise Math<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Before I go through some of the numbers, I need to say something.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’m not trying to be negative here. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But I do believe in reality. You should too. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That said, sometimes, a little basic math can<\/em> uncover the reality of something.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Specifically, opportunities in coffee franchise ownership. And my feelings about there being way too many of them. Maybe you’ll agree. Maybe you won’t. Let’s dig in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For starters, let’s say you’ve looked at several different coffee franchises<\/a>, have done your due diligence, and landed on one. The initial cost? $285,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And in addition to coffee, you serve muffins and other inexpensive snacks ($5-$7 each<\/em>). Cool. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

5 months later, (after getting a decent location and building out your store<\/em>), you open for business. Congratulations!<\/strong> How exciting!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And you, with the help of franchise headquarters, had a terrific grand opening, and are pleased with the numbers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6 Months Later…<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Your coffee shop is becoming organized the way you want it, you’ve been able to retain a couple of good employees<\/a>, and there’s some decent local buzz about your franchise business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Numbers-wise, you’re serving around 75 people a day-who are spending $7.00 each. That’s $525 a day X 6 days a week. Let’s call it $3,000 a week in sales. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you do those kind of numbers all year, your total revenue will be $156,000. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With that in mind, the first year (at least<\/em>) is the toughest in a startup business…franchise businesses included. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And while you haven’t broken even just yet, you’re almost paying all your bills. Meaning, you had to dip into your cash reserves to meet a payroll a few times, but you’re not totally<\/em> losing sleep about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But, before I continue, do this. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Double the numbers I just used…maybe you think I’m being way too conservative. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But know this. You’re still not breaking even. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let’s fast-forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Owning a Coffee Franchise: 2 Years Later…<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You’ve been doing what you’re supposed to do as a franchisee. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You’ve followed the suggestions from headquarters on how to increase revenue and tighten up your expenses. In two years time, you’ve increased how much each customer is spending with you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are your numbers in year two:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

You’re serving 110 people a day at $9.00 each. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That translates into $990 a day X 6 days. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That’s $6,000 in weekly sales. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That means you’re doing $312,000 annually. ($6k X 52<\/em> weeks<\/em>) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Income-wise, after paying your monthly loan costs, inventory, payroll, utilities and several other business expenses, you’re starting to make a profit<\/a>. Say, $9,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the year<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That kinda sucks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let’s continue. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coffee Franchises in Year 5<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

So, you’ve been a coffee franchise owner for 5<\/strong> years now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The hours are long…but it’s your <\/em>business<\/a>. That counts for something, right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Numbers-wise, you feel you’ve just about peaked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wait. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did I mention that there are now 3 different coffee franchises located within 3 miles of your location?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That, and other factors, may be contributing to your 5-year revenue numbers. Which are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

135 customers a day, spending about $11.00 each.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That’s $1485 daily, or $8900 a week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That means your doing $462,000 a year (I always figure conservative numbers. If you’re doing more, great!<\/em>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And you’re now taking home about $45,000 a year after all of your expenses-including the 5.5% royalty on your revenue that’s automatically deducted by franchise headquarters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The “S” Word in the Coffee Franchising Sector<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One more thing-and it’s ugly. It’s the “S<\/em>” word. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this case, I’m talking about Starbucks (not a franchise<\/a><\/em>). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If that’s the case, if there’s a Starbucks coffee shop near you, what kind of numbers are they<\/em> doing?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And how much is that store affecting your<\/em> numbers? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because, I’m willing to bet that your local Starbucks location is serving 350-500 customers a day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That means those people are not spending money in your <\/em>coffee franchise business. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coffee Project Valentines GIF<\/a>from Coffee Project GIFs<\/a><\/div>