South Korea’s top 10 coffee franchises expand outlet networks by 41.3% — but sales are a separate story

South Korea’s coffee franchise sector has seen marked expansion, led by budget coffee brands. The number of franchised outlets belonging to the 10 largest brands by outlet count rose by 41.3% between 2021 and 2024. However, growth in these brands’ networks did not translate into sales growth at individual outlets at the same pace. The figures highlight the need to distinguish between a brand’s scale and its outlet-level performance.

Top 10 brands add 4,583 outlets in three years

According to a Yonhap News report carried by EToday and other outlets on 24 September 2026, Park Sung-hoon, a People Power Party MP on the National Assembly’s National Policy Committee, analysed data submitted by the Korea Fair Trade Commission. The analysis showed that the combined number of franchised outlets at the 10 largest coffee franchise brands by outlet count rose from 11,109 in 2021 to 15,692 in 2024. That represents an increase of 4,583 outlets, or 41.3%.

These figures show how much the major coffee brands’ franchise networks expanded over the period. They do not, however, cover every coffee shop in South Korea. As the analysis is limited to the top 10 brands by franchised outlet count, it should not be read as a measure of growth in all cafés or in coffee consumption.

It is also important to distinguish the reporting date from the period covered by the statistics. The comparison concerns changes between 2021 and 2024. It does not show outlet numbers as of 2026 or new openings this year. Although recently reported, the figures describe franchise expansion during an earlier period.

For those involved in franchising, changes at individual brands matter as much as the overall increase. A rise in the combined total does not mean that every brand’s outlet count moved in the same direction. Indeed, the data show both the expansion of budget coffee brands and changes in the rankings by franchised outlet count.

Mega MGC Coffee and Compose Coffee expand and move up the rankings

Mega MGC Coffee added 1,732 franchised outlets over the period, bringing its total to 3,325 — an increase of 108.7%. Compose Coffee added 1,364 outlets to reach 2,649, up 106.1%. Both brands had more than twice as many franchised outlets in 2024 as in 2021.

The Venti also expanded its network. Its franchised outlet count rose by 474 to 1,230, an increase of 62.7%. All three brands grew faster than the combined top-10 rate of 41.3%, explaining why the reporting highlighted the expansion of budget coffee chains.

Mega MGC Coffee took first place by franchised outlet count, followed by Compose Coffee. Ediya Coffee, which had ranked first with 3,005 outlets in 2021, fell to third with 2,562 in 2024. Changes in outlet numbers therefore also reshaped the relative size of the leading brands.

These rankings are based solely on franchised outlet numbers. They cannot, on their own, indicate customer satisfaction, individual outlets’ operating profits or investment payback periods. Establishing that a brand has a large network is different from assessing whether it performs well in a particular trading area; each requires different evidence.

Nor is the difference between outlet counts at two points in time the same as the total number of shops opened in between. The supplied data do not separately identify openings and closures during the period. It is therefore more accurate to describe the increase as a net change in the network rather than as the number of new businesses launched.

Outlet numbers rise 108.7%, while average sales increase 10.7%

Average annual sales per franchised outlet at Mega MGC Coffee rose from KRW 202.5 million in 2021 to KRW 224.1 million in 2024, an increase of 10.7%. Set against the 108.7% rise in franchised outlet numbers over the same period, this reveals a substantial gap between network expansion and growth in average sales per outlet.

The key caution is that the two indicators measure different things. Outlet numbers show the size of a brand’s network, while average annual franchise sales indicate the average level of sales at outlet level. Network growth should not be interpreted as sales growth for individual franchisees.

An increase in average annual sales does not mean that franchisees’ incomes rose by the same amount. Sales are measured before costs are deducted. The supplied figures do not include rent, staffing costs, ingredients or operating profits. They therefore cannot establish whether franchisees’ profitability improved or deteriorated.

The nature of an average also matters. A brand-wide franchise average does not guarantee the performance of any particular shop. Nor can averages for two separate years show how much each existing outlet grew. Results that track the same outlets over time must be distinguished from annual averages across the entire franchise network.

The central finding supported by these figures is clear: Mega MGC Coffee’s franchise network more than doubled over the comparison period, while average annual sales per franchised outlet grew at a much slower rate. The data presented do not provide grounds for assuming that outlet sales at every budget coffee brand followed the same pattern.

Assess both brand scale and outlet conditions before investing

For prospective franchisees, these figures illustrate why brand comparisons require separate questions. The first is how many outlets a brand operates; the second is what sales and costs an individual outlet can reasonably expect. The answer to the first cannot substitute for the answer to the second.

When assessing a brand, start by checking the reference year and scope of its sales figures. Establish whether they represent an average across all franchised outlets or relate to a particular region or period of operation. Even when outlet counts and average sales appear together, as in this report, each measure needs to be read separately.

Assessing a prospective outlet also requires consideration of costs, including lease terms, staffing requirements and spending on ingredients, alongside projected sales. This is not to suggest that the data demonstrate any particular rise or fall in costs. Rather, it is a practical reminder to investigate factors that sales statistics alone cannot reveal.

In discussions involving franchisors and franchisees, it is equally important to distinguish network expansion from outlet operating performance. These statistics show how quickly major brands expanded, but they do not explain the results achieved by every franchisee.

In practice, use outlet-count rankings only as a starting point. Before reviewing a franchise agreement, check the basis of the sales figures and prepare a separate profit-and-loss forecast that reflects the prospective outlet’s costs.