Industry Split Between the Independents and the Mega-Chains

Chicago-based market research company CHD Expert released a new report on the state of the coffee and tea industry. CHD specializes in data about the commercial foodservice industry. Coffee and tea shops currently number more than 28,000 across the country. The report indicates that over the past five years there has been net growth in these industries of 0.9%. The  commercial foodservice market overall saw growth of 2.6% over the same period. CHDExpert_ChainMapA significant percentage of these establishments (40.7%) are independent operators, with 9 or fewer shops. However, 52.4% of the market is made up of chains with 500 units or more. These chains include Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, Tim Hortons, Caribou Coffee and Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. Dwarfed by these two extremes are the 6.9% owned by chains of 10-500 stores. On the coffee side, 39% of the shops are located only in California, New York, Massachusetts, Florida and Washington. This report follows a January release from IBISWorld showing significant growth over the same period in the ready-to-drink tea market. That report indicated that consumer awareness of the health benefits of tea has played a role in its strength and growth. Source: Press release from CHD Expert