Starbucks is the biggest coffee brand in the world, with 41,304 stores as of June 2026. China’s Luckin Coffee is close behind, with 36,310. In US grocery stores, Folgers is the #1 at-home coffee brand by volume, according to its owner, J.M. Smucker.
This list ranks coffee brands by size and reach, not by taste. Below, you will find the top 10 coffee brands in the world, the biggest coffee chains by store count, the leading grocery store brands, and the companies that own them.
Key Takeaways
- Starbucks is the world’s largest coffee chain, with 41,304 stores as of June 2026.
- Luckin Coffee has grown to 36,310 stores since it was founded in 2017, almost all in China.
- Nestlé owns Nescafé and Nespresso and sells Starbucks coffee in grocery stores.
- Folgers is the #1 at-home coffee brand in the US by volume, according to J.M. Smucker.
- Keurig Dr Pepper became a coffee giant in April 2026 by buying JDE Peet’s for $18 billion.
What Are the Top 10 Coffee Brands in the World?
Here are 10 of the biggest coffee brands, based on store count for café chains and market position for grocery brands:
| Rank | Brand | Type | Owner | Size or Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Starbucks | Café chain and grocery | Starbucks (cafés); Nestlé (grocery) | 41,304 stores |
| 2 | Luckin Coffee | Café chain | Luckin Coffee Inc. | 36,310 stores |
| 3 | Cotti Coffee | Café chain | Cotti Coffee | 18,000+ stores |
| 4 | Dunkin’ | Café chain and grocery | Inspire Brands (cafés); Smucker (grocery) | 14,200+ locations |
| 5 | Tim Hortons | Café chain | Restaurant Brands International | 5,700+ restaurants |
| 6 | Costa Coffee | Café chain | The Coca-Cola Company | About 4,000 locations |
| 7 | Folgers | Grocery coffee | J.M. Smucker | #1 US at-home coffee brand by volume |
| 8 | Nescafé | Instant coffee | Nestlé | Sold since 1938 |
| 9 | Nespresso | Coffee pods and machines | Nestlé | Coffee capsule system since 1986 |
| 10 | Peet’s Coffee | Grocery and cafés | Keurig Dr Pepper | Part of JDE Peet’s, bought in 2026 |
Store counts from company reports and company profiles, 2024 to 2026.
What is the #1 coffee brand in the world? Starbucks is the #1 coffee brand by store count, with 41,304 locations. Luckin Coffee is second worldwide and has more stores than Starbucks in China.
What Are the Biggest Coffee Chains in the World?
Coffee chains are ranked here by total stores, the clearest measure of size.
| Rank | Coffee Chain | Home Country | Stores | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Starbucks | United States | 41,304 | 16,933 in the US |
| 2 | Luckin Coffee | China | 36,310 | 20 in the US |
| 3 | Cotti Coffee | China | 18,000+ | Founded in 2022 |
| 4 | Dunkin’ | United States | 14,200+ | About 10,000 in the US |
| 5 | Tim Hortons | Canada | 5,700+ | About 4,000 in Canada |
| 6 | Costa Coffee | United Kingdom | About 4,000 | Founded in London |
Starbucks as of June 28, 2026; Luckin as of June 30, 2026; Cotti as of April 2026; Tim Hortons as of August 2024.
1. Starbucks
Starbucks was founded in Seattle in 1971 and now has 41,304 stores, about two-thirds run by licensed partners. It is known for espresso drinks, the Frappuccino, which it introduced in 1995, and its Starbucks Rewards loyalty program, launched in 2008. Starbucks positions itself as a premium café brand and charges more than low-price rivals like Luckin. In 2026, it agreed to a joint venture that gives investment firm Boyu Capital up to 60% of its China retail business. Learn more in who owns Starbucks.
2. Luckin Coffee
Luckin Coffee was founded in China in 2017 and grew to 36,310 stores by June 2026. Customers can order only through its app, which keeps service fast and costs low. Luckin positions itself as the low-price, tech-driven alternative to Starbucks, and its stores outnumbered Starbucks in China by 2019. It opened its first two US stores in Manhattan in July 2025.
3. Cotti Coffee
Cotti Coffee was started in 2022 by Lu Zhengyao and Qian Zhiya, the founders of Luckin. It reached more than 18,000 stores in 28 countries by April 2026, including markets in Asia and Europe. Cotti uses the same app-first, low-price model as Luckin.
4. Dunkin’
Dunkin’ began as Open Kettle in Quincy, Massachusetts, in 1948 and took the Dunkin’ Donuts name in 1950. Inspire Brands bought it for $11.3 billion in 2020. Dunkin’ passed 10,000 US locations in 2025 and has more than 14,200 worldwide. It shortened its name to Dunkin’ in 2019 to put more focus on coffee.
5. Tim Hortons
Tim Hortons opened its first store in Hamilton, Ontario, in 1964. It was co-founded by NHL player Tim Horton and Jim Charade and is known for coffee and Timbits, its donut holes. Restaurant Brands International, which also owns Burger King, has owned it since 2014. Tim Hortons has about 4,000 restaurants in Canada and plans to open 80 more there in 2026.
6. Costa Coffee
Costa Coffee was founded in London in 1971 by brothers Sergio and Bruno Costa. Besides its cafés, it runs Costa Express self-serve coffee machines. Coca-Cola bought Costa for $4.9 billion in a deal completed in January 2019. In 2025 and 2026, news reports said Coca-Cola was exploring a sale.
What about McCafé? McDonald’s McCafé sells coffee in McDonald’s restaurants, but it is a menu line inside McDonald’s rather than a separate chain. See who McDonald’s targets in our guide to McDonald’s target market.
What Are the Most Popular Grocery Store Coffee Brands?
These are leading coffee brands in US grocery stores and the companies behind them:
| Brand | Owner | Background |
|---|---|---|
| Folgers | J.M. Smucker | #1 US at-home coffee brand by volume; roots in San Francisco, 1850 |
| Dunkin’ (at home) | J.M. Smucker | Packaged coffee sold under license from Dunkin’ |
| Café Bustelo | J.M. Smucker | One of Smucker’s main coffee brands |
| Maxwell House | Kraft Heinz (North America) | Founded in Nashville in 1892; slogan “Good to the last drop” |
| Starbucks (at home) | Nestlé | Packaged Starbucks coffee sold by Nestlé |
| Nescafé | Nestlé | Instant coffee, sold since 1938 |
| Peet’s Coffee | Keurig Dr Pepper | Founded by Alfred Peet in Berkeley, California, in 1966 |
| Lavazza | Lavazza Group | Family-owned, founded in Turin, Italy, in 1895 |
J.M. Smucker calls itself the leader in at-home coffee, with “3 of the top 8 coffee brands” in the US, based on Circana data in its 2026 investor presentation.
What is the #1 selling coffee in America? Folgers is the #1 at-home coffee brand in the US by total volume, according to Circana data shared by Smucker for the year ended December 2025.
Who Owns the Biggest Coffee Brands?
A handful of companies own many of the world’s best-known coffee brands:
| Parent Company | Coffee Brands |
|---|---|
| Nestlé | Nescafé, Nespresso, Starbucks (grocery) |
| Keurig Dr Pepper | Keurig, Peet’s, Jacobs, L’OR, Douwe Egberts, Tassimo |
| J.M. Smucker | Folgers, Dunkin’ (grocery), Café Bustelo |
| Kraft Heinz | Maxwell House (North America) |
| The Coca-Cola Company | Costa Coffee, Georgia Coffee |
| Restaurant Brands International | Tim Hortons |
| Inspire Brands | Dunkin’ (restaurants) |
| Lavazza Group | Lavazza, Carte Noire |
The biggest change came on April 1, 2026, when Keurig Dr Pepper completed its $18 billion purchase of JDE Peet’s, the company behind Jacobs, L’OR, Douwe Egberts, and Peet’s, as reported by law firm Cleary Gottlieb. Keurig Dr Pepper plans to split into two companies, one for soft drinks and one for coffee. Read more in who owns Dr Pepper.
How Are Coffee Prices Affecting These Brands?
Coffee beans have become much more expensive. Arabica coffee futures hit a record high in February 2025 and were back above $4.30 a pound in October 2025, according to Trading Economics. Drought in Brazil, the world’s top coffee producer, was a major reason.
Higher bean costs squeeze every brand on this list. Premium brands like Starbucks rely on loyalty and market positioning to keep customers paying more, while Luckin and Cotti compete on low prices.
Bottom Line
Starbucks is still the world’s biggest coffee brand, but the biggest growth story is in China, where Luckin and Cotti have opened more than 54,000 stores combined. For me, the most surprising part of this list is how few companies own the brands. Whether you buy Starbucks beans at the grocery store, Folgers, or Peet’s, your coffee likely comes from Nestlé, Smucker, or Keurig Dr Pepper. For another ranked list of global brands, see our guide to the top shoe brands in the world.
Frequently Asked Questions
Finland drinks the most coffee per person, at about 12 kilograms a year, according to commodities firm StoneX. Americans drink about 4.4 kilograms per person a year, which ranks the United States 25th on a per-person basis.
Not by store count or revenue. Starbucks has 41,304 stores worldwide, while Luckin has 36,310. Starbucks earned $9.3 billion in its June 2026 quarter, while Luckin earned about $2.4 billion in its June 2026 quarter. Luckin does have more stores than Starbucks in China.
Nestlé sells Starbucks-branded coffee in grocery stores under a deal signed in 2018, when it paid Starbucks $7.15 billion for the rights. Starbucks still owns the brand and runs its own cafés.
Folgers has some of the oldest roots, tracing back to a coffee company founded in San Francisco in 1850. Maxwell House followed in Nashville in 1892. Folgers is now owned by J.M. Smucker, and Maxwell House by Kraft Heinz in North America.
Starbucks has the most coffee shops in the US, with 16,933 stores as of June 2026. Dunkin’ is second, with about 10,000 US locations after passing that mark in 2025. Luckin had only 20 US stores in mid-2026, and Tim Hortons is far smaller in the US than in Canada.
