Food

Consumers Are Not Avoiding These Coffee Brands in 2024

Aaron Webber

Published: April 17, 2024 10:30 am

We love coffee. Ever since humans discovered how to pour hot water over ground coffee beans we have been obsessed with it, and for good reason. That obsession shows no signs of slowing down. If you feel like there’s a new coffee shop popping up on every street corner every month, you’re not alone. Coffee brands are expanding and growing as the demand for good coffee, unique coffee, and sustainable coffee continues to grow.

We consulted sales data, revenue growth, and other statistics available from companies like Yelp and public disclosures to find 14 of the fastest-growing coffee brands in the world. While it is always difficult to compare public companies to private companies, large corporations to small brands, and stores that offer more than one product besides coffee to coffee-exclusive restaurants, we did our best to show which brands have grown the most going into 2024.

If you’re looking to switch from your bland, mass-produced coffee, you might want to give one of these brands a try to see what all the hype is about.

#14 TNI King Coffee

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Founder Ms. Thao Diep Hoang Le had one goal: to put Vietnamese coffee on the world’s map. Since 2008, King Coffee has been expanding globally, introducing each country to the ethically sourced beans that Vietnam has to offer. Besides sourcing its Robusta line from Buon Ma Thuot, Vietnam’s coffee capital, it also sources beans from Ethiopia, Brazil, Kenya, and Indonesia.

This franchise includes three different models: Luxury, Premium, and Express to cater to any community around the world. This woman-founded and owned company is currently in 61 countries globally.

#13 Beans & Brews Coffeehouse

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Hailing from a state that you wouldn’t imagine producing fabulous coffee, this Utah-based company is changing stereotypes about the once coffee-tabooed region. The Laramie family opened up shop in 1993 in Salt Lake City and has been fighting drowsiness in Utah and now nationwide ever since.

Beans wants its company to lean into community building. It always uses locally roasted beans and finds ways to give back to the communities it serves. Prided on its unique “High Altitude Roasting” process, it claims that the high altitude and thinner air aid in the roasting process of its 100% Arabica beans to produce supremely smooth coffee.

Introducing coffee culture in Utah was a tall order, but by developing its own coffee flavor coding system, Beans helped newcomers easily understand the Java lingo. The “FBA” system designates each drink its own flavor, body, and acidity code so customers can know exactly what they are ordering.

#12 Elliano’s Coffee

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With drive-thru coffee shops located throughout Alabama, Florida, and Georgia, Elliano’s is committed to delivering “Italian Quality at America’s Pace.” Inspired by the specialty coffee industry on a trip to the Pacific Northwest, founders Scott and Pam Stewart saw an opportunity to deliver specialty coffee to their Florida town of Lake City in 2002. Although a double-drive-through plus walk-up window might not seem like an original idea today, drive-thru coffee shops were simply very rare 20 years ago. This was a groundbreaking innovation for Florida in its time.

Elliano’s prides itself on the way it treats its franchise owners. Founder Scott Stewart had previous franchise experience and knew his franchise could be better. Elliano’s claims to treat its franchisees like family.

Its menu offers hot espresso and coffee, iced espresso and coffee, blended drinks, energy drinks, smoothies, milkshakes, tea, and food items. Elliano’s stores currently number over 60 with more to open in the coming years.

#11 Aroma Joe’s

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This East Coast-born coffee company has been family-owned since 2000. The founders are four cousins from Maine who share a passion for coffee, positivity, and a good time. After franchising in 2012, there are now over 110 shops spread throughout Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, and Florida.

Product innovation was something the cousins wanted to bring to their shops from its inception. In 2012, it developed its own line of Energy Drinks called AJ’s Rush. They use this as their base for their AJ Signature flavors.

Its next innovation was launched in 2019 when it revamped its coffee program. Ethical sourcing and sustainability are their new focus! Aroma’s beans are now entirely 100% Rain Forest Certified, and its bean suppliers are annually audited to ensure they meet very strict environmental, social, and economic criteria. You can feel good being a part of AJ Nation knowing that your caffeine habit isn’t supporting exploitation.

#10 Ziggi’s Coffee

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Founded in 2004 and based out of Colorado, Ziggi’s wants to do something simple: “serve a convenient and superior cup of coffee with service customers can rely on.” Sounds noble enough. Ziggi’s does some zany things like giving free coffee if you have a Z on your license plate, popularizing peanut-butter blended drinks, and even adding Italian Sodas to their offerings.

Ziggi’s is partnered with CharlieJoe Chai to donate $1 from every cup on Human Trafficking Awareness Day (Jan 11), to support organizations that do the noble work of combating Human Trafficking. Although the donation recipient organizations aren’t individually named on their website, CharlieJoe Chai always donates a portion of their sales to community organizations, and by selling CharlieJoe Chai, Ziggi’s is happy to help that vision move through the world. We’ll take their word for it!

Married founders, Brandon and Camrin Knudsen dropped out of college in their early 20s and opened their first coffee shop in 2004 with little more than student loan debt and a dream. Since then, its 600-square-foot coffee drive-thru stands have spread quickly throughout the country. The founders pride themselves on developing their menu solely on customer feedback and were able to adapt nimbly during the COVID-19 pandemic.

#9 The Human Bean

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This PNW-based company started as a kiosk in Ashland, Oregon in 1998. It was an early adopter of the drive-thru format and remains one of Oregon’s staples as it has expanded.

The Human Bean boasts of a unique chemical-free decaffeination process known as the Swiss Water Process. It allows osmosis and water solubility to kick the caffeine to the curb. Its quality beans come from its in-house “Farm Friendly Direct,” program which pays coffee growers higher than market prices. The overages from this program are given back to the farming community in the form of infrastructure improvements, solar energy, school building, and well digging.

Its menu includes boba drinks, coffee, tea, blended drinks, energy drink blends, a food menu, and a fun “Little Beans,” kid’s menu. It offers a wide array of customization options, including infusions, sauces, and milk alternatives.

#8 Biggby Coffee

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Committed to what it calls, “conscious capitalism,” Biggby believes that “Everyone deserves to feel special!” This franchise is committed to “bringing a name, a place, and a face to every cup of coffee,” it serves. It does this by prioritizing single-origin, farm-direct coffee. They currently have a farm direct relationship with Wana Chipoya and Living Hope International.

Living Hope International is an orphanage as well as a coffee farm outside of Ndola founded by Wana Chipoya. The hand-picked beans from this 47-acre farm are roasted in Lansing, Michigan before traveling to your cup.

Besides lattes, Biggby offers Crème Freeze Smoothies, Red Bull Mocktails, tea, and an impressive food and kid’s menu. The menu offers 109 drinks in total.

#7 Tim Hortons

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This popular Canadian franchise has recently taken the U.S. and the globe by storm! As nothing less than you would expect from a Canadian company, it was founded by retired professional ice hockey players Tim Horton and Ron Joyce in 1964.

Tim Hortons is known for its “double-double” coffee drink, which consists of a coffee with two creams and two sugars. Their coffee blends are made exclusively from 100% Arabica beans. It also has an adorable name for its donut holes: Timbits! Recently, their offerings have gone from just coffee and donuts to include soups, salads, and whole-grain breakfast sandwiches.

It also has a charitable foundation, The Tim Horton Children’s Foundation, which is committed to supporting youth by offering camp experiences and year-round programs. It has also taken steps to reduce its carbon footprint by switching to more sustainable packaging with compostable and recyclable materials and even has implemented a recycling program in all its restaurants.  

 #6 Dunkin’

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Dunkin’: breakfast icon and American staple since 1948. Its founder, William Rosenberg, dropped out of school in the 8th grade and embarked on his culinary journey. His original coffee blend is still used by Dunkin’ today.

Dunkin’ serves about 30 cups globally every second, and over 1.9 billion each year. The American icon keeps chugging along, continuing to adapt to every new generation of coffee drinkers. Its donuts are popular, too! Since its conception, Dunkin’ has introduced over 100 donut flavor varieties.

 In the name of sustainability, Dunkin’ switched to exclusively using paper cups and added plant-based menu items including its Beyond Sausage Sandwich. And if you don’t have time to stop by your local location, you can grab a bag or K-cups next time you are at the grocery store.

#5 Dutch Bros

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Dutch Bros is the 36th fastest-growing company in the U.S. This drive-thru style coffee house has a cult-like following known for its super friendly baristas, seasonally changing menu, and great rewards program. Besides this, they are committed to using only sustainably sourced beans from fair-trade farms in Brazil, Columbia, and El Salvador and are Rainforest Alliance Certified.

Besides their coffee, they have a wide variety of other offerings such as teas, Rebel Energy Drink mixers, smoothies, hot chocolate, boba, bakery items, and even breakfast sandwiches at some of their stores.

The Coffee Maven first opened out of a pushcart in Grant Pass, Oregon in 1992. their charming motto is, “We may sell coffee, but we’re in the relationship business. Whether we’re slinging drinks or serving up smiles, Dutch Bros is all about you!” They give back to the communities they serve through fundraisers, grants, and donations. It is currently working on making meaningful moves to become more sustainable and lessen its carbon footprint. Its website promises more details on that coming soon!  

#4 Caribou Coffee

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Coincidentally but unsurprisingly, I happen to be sipping a cup of their Vanilla Hazelnut Medium Roast right now. Besides being the 31st fastest-growing company in the U.S., it also uses coffee exclusively sourced from Ethiopia and Brazil and was the very first coffee house to serve 100% Rainforest Alliance Certified coffee.

Each bag is small batch roasted in Minneapolis, MN, and besides their 700 physical locations nationwide, you can buy bags at your local Target. It was founded in 1992 in Edina, Minnesota by John and Kim Puckett who wanted to bring the rustic coziness of the Alaskan wilderness to your morning cup.

Caribou Coffee is known for its excellent customer service, excellent quality control, gourmet offerings, clean-label beverages (that means no artificial colors or preservatives), and sustainability. They also use real chocolate chips in their drinks, which is surprisingly, not the standard for most coffee companies. This year they are also running a partnership with the International Women’s Coffee Alliance (IWCA) where 10% of their Amy’s Blend proceeds will be donated to the global nonprofit organization. IWCA equips women globally with the skills needed to thrive in the coffee industry sustainably.

#3 Cinnabon

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We know that just the thought of a Cinnabon is making your mouth water currently, but have you also paired it with their spectacular coffee? Cinnabon is the 25th fastest-growing brand in the U.S. currently, and we think it’s about time they got the recognition they deserve.

When Cinnabon first started inside of a mall, it hired professional chef Jerilyn Brusseau, a.k.a “CinnaMom,” to create the perfect cinnamon roll. She did it. It took her 9 months of testing more than 200 recipes to fine-tune her heavenly creation.

Its Cold Brew Iced coffees are its most popular, with the signature Cinnamon Roll Cold Brew being the best-seller, with the blended “Mocha chillatta,” not far behind. You can even grab a hot coffee or hot chocolate if the mood strikes during those chilly months! You can even grab bags and pods in your local grocery store.

#2 Wawa

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Wawa: What exactly is it? Besides being the 5th fastest-growing company in the U.S. currently, it is a convenience store/gas station that is taking the country by storm. With coffee being its most popular menu item, this is a brand to watch out for.

People love Wawa because it sells exclusively sustainably sourced coffee through the Rainforest Alliance. The Rainforest Alliance is a fair-trade certification that protects coffee farmers globally from exploitation. Besides being Rainforest Alliance Certified, Wawa uses sustainable bamboo stirrers and encourages customers to use refillable mugs.

#1 Scooter’s Coffee

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From the West, Midwest, and South, Scooter’s Coffee is the fastest-growing U.S. coffee brand of 2024. Its fast drive-thru style appeals to early commuters on the go, and the menu is pretty diverse. It recently reached 1,000 locations in the U.S.

Scooter’s first opened in Bellevue, Nebraska, a small town of 44,000 people, in 2000. The coffee shop opened its first franchise in Council Bluffs, Iowa the following year. According to the founder, Scooter’s got its name because he wanted to “help customers scoot in and scoot out!”

Innovative location types including kiosks and coffeehouse drive-thrus make this franchise customizable and ready to pop up in any city or town. Besides its free coffee days, Scooter’s also has themed days such as “Talk Like a Pirate Day,” on which its employees dress up as pirates. It also has an app that allows customers to earn points and free products.