US coffee and tea industry split between independents and chains
Latest numbers from CHD Expert, a foodservice data and analytics firm, suggest that the US coffee and tea vendors are heavily split between independents and large chains. Coffee and tea is the eighth most popular menu type among restaurants, with over 28,000 establishments serving it, but the market remains split between two opposite types of players. Independent operators, which run one to nine outlets, account for just over 40% of the market. Chains with more than 500 outlets represent slightly more than 50% of the market. In terms of the number of coffee and tea foodservice establishments, California, New York, Massachusetts, Florida and Washington dominate the national map and account for roughly 40% of the overall market.