Summary of 20 Asian Cafe and Tea Drink Chains (2026 Edition) — A List and Analysis of Major Brands in China, South Korea, and Asia

When talking about cafe chains in Japan, the conversation tends to center on sit-down chains like Starbucks, Doutor, Komeda, Tully's, and Saint Marc.
There is also a general impression that the price range is in the mid-tier, around 400 to 600 yen per cup of coffee.

However, once you cross the border, the cafe and tea drink business models are much more diverse.
In China, low-priced coffee chains with tens of thousands of stores are expanding at around 9.9 yuan (approx. 230 yen) per cup; in South Korea, low-price models at 1,500 won (approx. 180 yen) are popping up everywhere; and in Southeast Asia, cafe chains that have grown rapidly with VC funding are entering a stage where they are eyeing profitability and IPOs.

On the other hand, the presence of tea-based chains is also significant.
There are chains like CHAGEE that are turning Chinese tea into a premium brand, and brands like MIXUE that are building one of the world's largest store networks with overwhelming low prices.

Come to think of it, it was also Asian brands that sparked the tapioca milk tea boom in Japan.

For someone like me who wants to open a cafe someday, studying Asian cafes seems to offer many new insights. I have also encountered many attractive cafes while actually visiting various parts of Asia.

So, this time, I will take a rough overview of 20 major cafe/tea drink chains in Asia.
Information in Japan is still thin, so there were some chains I learned about for the first time.
This is not a strict ranking, but rather a personal map-like article for me to look at Asian cafes as GAFUCAFE in the future.

1. Overall Overview: 20-Company Map

First, let's take a rough overview of major Asian cafe and tea drink chains.
The number of stores and price ranges are estimates based on public information, reports, and official websites, and vary by country, store, and time.
The goal here is not a strict ranking, but rather to grasp 'which countries have what price ranges and what types of business players.'

You don't need to memorize everything.
The scale of the Chinese players is huge.
South Korea has a thick layer of low-priced coffee.
Taiwan has strong combinations with bakeries and space-oriented concepts.
Southeast Asia has oil major-affiliated and VC-type chains.
Just looking at these points reveals the breadth of the Asian cafe business model.

This time, I have covered 20 companies from China, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia.

China: Luckin, Cotti, Nowwa, Manner, CHAGEE, HEYTEA, Nayuki, MIXUE, Guming
South Korea: Mega MGC, Compose, Paik’s, A Twosome Place, Ediya
Taiwan: 85°C Bakery Cafe and Louisa Coffee
Thailand: Café Amazon and Inthanin
Vietnam: Highlands Coffee
Indonesia: Kopi Kenangan

Rather than covering famous brands, I prioritized selecting players that show the differences in Asian cafe business models.

Looking at this table, there are three things to keep in mind first.

The first is that the scale of the Chinese players is outstanding.
Luckin, Cotti, Nowwa, MIXUE, Guming, and CHAGEE are on a different scale than Japanese cafe chains in terms of store count alone. In particular, Luckin and MIXUE are on a scale that is closer to daily beverage infrastructure than a cafe chain.

The second is that the 'winning strategy' differs by country.
China has app ordering, price competition, new tea drinks, and huge franchises.
South Korea has the coexistence of low-priced coffee and sit-down cafe culture.
Taiwan has convenience store coffee and spatial value.
Southeast Asia has oil major-affiliated, local brands, and VC-type chains.
Even with the same cafe concept, they are evolving in completely different ways in each country.

The third is that the star of the cafe is no longer just coffee.
Looking at CHAGEE, Guming, HEYTEA, and Nayuki, the business model is built to include tea, fruit, milk, aroma, and even bakeries.
It seems that a cafe is no longer a 'place to drink coffee' but a 'business model that designs the drinking experience.'

With these three points in mind, let's look at them by country.

2. China: The Coffee War and Tea War are Running in Parallel

I think China is the market where the experimentation of cafe and tea drink business models is most advanced in Asia. Low-priced coffee, premium Chinese tea, new tea drinks*, low-priced tea, app ordering, and huge franchises are all running simultaneously.

The first thing that surprises you when looking at the Chinese market is that coffee and tea are intensifying along separate axes of competition.

Coffee side:
The "9.9 Yuan War" between Luckin and Cotti Coffee became a symbolic movement in the Chinese coffee market from 2023 onwards.
Luckin has expanded to over 33,000 stores by the end of Q1 2026, and Cotti has also grown to over 14,000 stores based on official information.
Cotti was founded by former management who left Luckin after its accounting scandal, and the philosophy behind its business model is surprisingly similar.
Designed for mobile ordering and takeout, it offers prices even lower than low-cost cafe chains in Japan.

Furthermore, Nowwa Coffee is rapidly expanding with a "store-in-store" model, located inside convenience stores, internet cafes, and gas stations. Unlike the independent store models of Luckin and Cotti, it is characterized by its low-cost deployment using corners of existing stores.

Meanwhile, small-scale, urban-focused specialty-leaning chains like Manner Coffee are also expanding. Manner employs a strategy of deploying small, 5–10 square meter stores at high density in urban areas, making it a very common sight on the streets of Shanghai. Its price range of 15–25 yuan targets a tier above the battlefield of the 9.9 yuan war.
Seesaw Coffee, once a representative of Chinese specialty cafes, has seen reports of store closures and financial instability in recent years.
In the Chinese cafe market, simply creating a high-sensitivity brand is not enough to survive; the industry has entered a stage where price competition, store opening efficiency, product development, and operations are all being tested.

Tea side:
CHAGEE is a premium tea brand based on Chinese tea that expanded rapidly between 2024 and 2025. As of the end of 2025, it operates 7,453 stores and has expanded into Southeast Asia, the US, and South Korea. It has not yet landed in Japan.

HEYTEA and Nayuki are two companies that symbolize the new tea drink boom of "fruit + cheese foam + tea." However, while HEYTEA is currently pushing ahead with franchising and overseas expansion, Nayuki is facing performance adjustments and store optimization following its IPO, leading to divergent situations for the two companies.

MIXUE is in a league of its own, reportedly expanding to over 53,000 stores worldwide as of June 2025, and reaching a scale of approximately 60,000 stores by the end of 2025. In terms of store count, it has become one of the world's largest F&B chains, surpassing McDonald's and Starbucks.
Considering that the top 5 cafe chains in Japan are in the 300 to 2,000 store range, this is an unimaginable scale.

Observations:

• The Chinese market is stratified by price range, such as "low-cost coffee around 9.9 yuan," "premium tea around 15–25 yuan," "low-cost tea around 2–10 yuan," and "specialty/high-sensitivity cafes around 20–50 yuan."

• Many major chains operate on the premise of mobile ordering and membership systems.

• Moves toward overseas expansion have accelerated since around 2025, beginning to spread to North America, South Korea, and other regions, centered on Southeast Asia.

Recommended GAFUCAFE China-related articles:

• What is the Chinese "9.9 Yuan Coffee War"? | Luckin vs Cotti

• Unraveling the structure of CHAGEE's rapid expansion in "Premium Chinese Tea"

• [Shanghai Cafe Inspection 0] What to see in Shanghai, the world's most competitive cafe city

3. South Korea: The Three Kingdoms of Low-Cost Chains

While South Korea has a strong cafe culture based on space, it is interesting that low-cost coffee chains are expanding rapidly. A culture of sitting and spending time exists alongside chains for cheap, daily consumption.

The cafe industry in South Korea cannot be understood without first entering from a cultural context.

In South Korea, the culture of "studying at a cafe" or "working at a cafe" is strong, and users who stay for long periods, such as the so-called "cagon-jok"*, are noticeable.
South Korea is one of the leading coffee-consuming countries in Asia, with an annual per capita coffee consumption of 416 cups in 2024 (the global average is about 150 cups). It is said that the majority of this consumption occurs through in-store or takeout purchases at cafes.
After lunch, there is a culture of moving to a cafe to drink coffee rather than staying at the restaurant where lunch was eaten (looking at this alone, it seems like an ideal country for cafe owners).
The number of coffee shops in the country reached 100,729 as of the end of 2022, making the high density of cafes clear.

Against this market, low-cost coffee chains have expanded rapidly over the past few years.
Three companies—Mega MGC Coffee, Compose Coffee, and Paik's Coffee—are rapidly increasing their store counts in the ultra-low price range of 1,500 to 2,500 won (approx. 180–300 yen) per cup. Mega has 4,000 stores, Compose has 3,000, and Paik's is at the 1,600-store scale.

The characteristics of the three companies differ slightly.

Mega MGC Coffee is a low-cost coffee chain founded in 2015 that is expanding its franchise network at a particularly rapid pace. Its low entry cost structure makes it easy for individual owners to open stores, which has been the driving force behind its expansion.

Compose Coffee was acquired by the Philippine-based Jollibee Group in 2024, after which it accelerated its store openings, surpassing 3,000 locations in 2025.

Paik's Coffee is distinguished by the personality of its founder, Baek Jong-won.
As a brand launched by a figure well-known throughout South Korea as a culinary researcher and entrepreneur, the fact that 'the founder's face is visible' differentiates it from the other two companies.

Common structure of the business model:

• Small stores of 15 to 50 square meters, focused on takeout

• Providing coffee that can be consumed daily at about one-third the price of Starbucks

• Attracting younger generations and price-conscious consumers

• Putting pressure on mid-range chains like Ediya, while forming a separate layer from premium/dessert cafes like Twosome Place

Observation:

• While a culture of sit-down, stay-in cafes remains deeply rooted in South Korea as a whole, low-cost chains are growing through small, takeout-oriented formats.

• Because the density of independent cafes is high, it appears that chains differentiate themselves through price, speed, and brand, while independent shops differentiate through space, personality, and local character.

• A characteristic of South Korea is the existence of a 'low-cost chain' layer that differs from the structure of the mid-range competition seen in Japan.

4. Taiwan: Unique Evolution in a Mature Market

Rather than a flashy, rapidly expanding market, Taiwan should be viewed as a mature market where cafes, bakeries, convenience store coffee, and spatial value are intricately intertwined.

Despite a population of 24 million, Taiwan has a high density of cafes, and its maturity as a market is remarkable.

85°C Bakery Cafe is a hybrid of a bakery and a cafe; although it originated in Taiwan, it has expanded into China, the U.S., and other regions, with over 1,000 stores worldwide. It can be cited as a precedent for the global expansion of Taiwanese brands.

Louisa Coffee is one of Taiwan's largest local coffee chains, having expanded to a scale of 560 stores in Taiwan as of 2025.
As a domestic brand competing with Starbucks, it has steadily expanded its franchise operations.

What is interesting about the Taiwanese cafe market is the structure of its competitive environment.
In Taiwan, the store networks of 7-Eleven and FamilyMart are strong, and convenience store coffee has become established as a daily option.
Because there is a premise that 'you can drink sufficiently delicious coffee at a convenience store,' cafe chains are forced to compete on 'stay value and space' rather than price.
As a result, the 'takeout-focused low-cost chain' model emerging in China and South Korea does not easily take root in Taiwan, leading to a structure where sit-down, space-oriented models survive.

Observation:

• The Taiwanese market occupies a unique position where the cultures of China, Japan, and Southeast Asia intersect. Both new tea drink formats (like HEYTEA) and Japanese-style cafes are imported and then transformed into a Taiwanese style.

• The structure where the high quality of convenience store coffee is pushing chain cafes to differentiate themselves through 'space and experience' offers insights that are also relevant to Japan.

• The dynamic of local chains competing against foreign capital and convenience store coffee is a common theme when looking at low-cost chains in South Korea and Louisa Coffee in Taiwan.

5. Southeast Asia: From Oil Majors to Emerging Unicorns

In Southeast Asia, the origins of cafe chains vary significantly by country. Many have different backgrounds from Japanese cafe chains, such as oil majors, massive local chains, and VC-backed unicorns.
Therefore, while they should ideally be examined in depth by country, I have grouped them together as Southeast Asia for this overview.

Café Amazon (Thailand) is part of PTT (a Thai oil major). It is one of the largest chains in Southeast Asia, having expanded its store network by attaching locations to gas stations, and now boasts over 5,000 stores.
The idea of utilizing suburban roadside infrastructure has some overlap with Japan's drive-in culture.

Highlands Coffee (Vietnam) is under the Jollibee Group and had expanded to 985 stores by the end of 2025. While focused on Vietnam, it has also expanded into the Philippines.
Vietnam is the world's second-largest coffee producer, and it is a market where coffee is deeply rooted in daily life.

Kopi Kenangan (Indonesia) is a unicorn founded in 2017 that had expanded to 1,324 stores by the end of 2025, and it has also been reported to have achieved its first full-year profit.
Against the backdrop of Indonesia's population size and the demand for affordable 'affordable premium' coffee, it is attracting attention as an emerging coffee chain in Southeast Asia.
The way it combines app-based pickup/delivery and loyalty member funnels is also interesting as a Southeast Asian cafe stand model.

Observations:

• In Southeast Asia, coffee production areas (Vietnam, Indonesia) and consumption areas are contiguous, leading to a strong self-awareness regarding coffee.

• VC-funded chains have a different sense of capital compared to Japanese cafe chains, so their scaling strategies are also different.

• The expansion of Chinese chains (MIXUE, HEYTEA, CHAGEE) into Southeast Asia has already become a major trend, and they have increased their presence even further since around 2025.

6. Cross-Category Observations: 4 Trends

There are commonalities that emerge when looking at the 20 companies as a whole.

① Mobile ordering + membership systems are a prerequisite

In particular, major Chinese chains have noticeable funnels designed for app/mini-program* ordering rather than in-store ordering. Unlike the 'mobile order support' seen at Starbucks in Japan, the business model itself is designed from the ground up for app/mini-program mobile ordering.

② Business model differentiation by price range

Clear low-price bands, such as '9.9 yuan coffee' or '1,500 won coffee,' have been established as business models. I feel that Japan tends to be seen as having a mid-price range of around 400–600 yen, and 'ultra-low-price chains' have not developed as a distinct layer as clearly as they have in China or South Korea. I suspect the influence of convenience store coffee is significant.

③ Acceleration of overseas expansion

From 2025 to 2026, the overseas expansion of Chinese chains has become even more prominent. MIXUE has a major presence in Southeast Asia, HEYTEA and CHAGEE are accelerating their overseas expansion, and Luckin and Cotti have begun testing overseas markets, including Japan.

④ Crossover of Business Models

Nayuki combines tea and bakery, 85°C combines bakery and cafe, Twosome Place combines coffee and dessert, and CHAGEE combines Chinese tea and fragrance, creating combinations that go beyond simple drink sales and advancing business model hybridization. Many of these stores are built on concepts different from the extension of 'coffee and light meals' seen in Japanese cafes.

7. Three Companies I Am Particularly Watching

I would like to list three companies that personally caught my attention after researching them.

① CHAGEE

I recently visited their stores, and they are the ones I am most interested in among these 20 companies.
They are a premium tea business based on Chinese tea. They have a clear brand position of 'selling Chinese tea to the world' and are expanding rapidly. They have not yet entered the Japanese market, but I believe they would have a significant impact if they did.
Personally, I find it refreshing that they are not overly sweet, which differentiates them from the traditional bubble milk tea trend.

② MIXUE

With a scale of approximately 60,000 stores worldwide, they are closer to 'hydration infrastructure' than a cafe chain. Their extreme low-price model of 4 to 10 yuan per cup is also working in Southeast Asia, and since they already have stores in Japan, I would like to go and see them in person to observe how this low-price model is being translated for the Japanese market.

③ Kopi Kenangan

Kopi Kenangan succeeds by combining small stores, affordable prices, pickup/delivery, and point-based membership flows.
In a market that does not seem to be as dependent on the Mini Program* economy as China, how are they combining cafe stands with app-based flows? This seems like a good reference for thinking about app-linked small cafe stands in Japan.
As someone who has been in the IT industry for a long time, I am very interested in designs that assume the use of apps or mini-apps.

8. Conclusion

This time, I covered 20 Asian chains.
Each of these 20 companies has its own characteristics, and they are all chains that I want to look into more deeply. I feel that further in-depth research will lead to new discoveries.

Next time, I would like to start by digging deeper into CHAGEE, sharing the experience I felt when actually visiting their stores, and then explaining why they seem to be the leading candidate among Chinese tea brands.

GAFUCAFE Related Articles