Quick Answer: Now on worldwide revenue and brand value, Starbucks is outright number one which does over $36 billion in busniess ever year. But if you consider volume (cups drunk) and global flavour, Nescafé (Nestlé), is the world’s number on brand of coffee, with one in seven cups of coffee consumed worldwide being a Nescafé. Folgers is the market-share leader in ground coffee in the US home. When it comes to quality, there isn’t a/certain brand but a guideline: coffee that is “Specialty Grade” (short version 80+ points on the /SCA scale) and has been roasted within 2-3 weeks.
For the Grocery Shopper: The ‘Best Buy’ Method
You’re in the coffee aisle and there’s a lot to consider. You simply want a good coffee that doesn’t cost too much. The default advice here is to simply buy the most famous brand (say, Folgers or Maxwell House) but sales data and blind-taste tests say that strategy may not exactly be true.
The “Private Label” Secret
The most savviest buy in the grocery channel is usually not a national brand, but rather Private Label (Store Brand), and no one does them better then Costco under their own label:’Kirkland Signature.
Why? In the coffee world it is not uncommon for huge brands, such as Starbucks, to roast coffee for retailers under a white label. This way you can potentially buy top-tier beans at a universal price.
The Strategy:
- Turn the Bag Inside Out: Disregard the logo on the front. Find the fine print on the back that says, “Roasted By.”
- The “Shiny Valve” Test: Don’t buy coffee by the brand; buy it by packaging technology. Find a bag with one-way degassing valve (for example, the small plastic circle near the top). Coffee releases CO2 after roasting. If the coffee is compressed in a vacuum-sealed bag like a brick (pretty standard for Folgers or Lavazza), they let it go stale before packaging so all the gas doesn’t explode the bag while on store shelves. A valve bag enables the fresh coffee to be packed immediately helping preserve the aroma and freshness of top quality.
- Whole Bean VS Ground It doesn’t matter if the number one brand uses a pre-ground coffee. Ground coffee will lose 60% of its aromatics in just 15 mins when exposed to air (surface area). It’s statistically more likely that you’ll enjoy a budget whole bean (say, Eight O’Clock Coffee) that you grind yourself than a luxury pre-ground (Illy, say).
The Business Analyst: Their “Illusion of Choice”
If you are doing research for the top brand in investing or market analysis, don’t be fooled by a page of logos. Most players in the coffee sector operate in an oligopoly market, characterised by little competition.
If Starbucks were the best single, entity its power would come from Consolidation!
The JAB Holding Phenomenon
You could compare Peet’s Coffee, Caribou Coffee, Stumptown, Intelligentsia and Keurig Dr Pepper. These are rivals competing for a top spot in the mind of consumer.
The Reality: They’re all owned by the same dude — JAB Holding Company.
Since 2012, dozens of rival coffee chains and roasting companies have been quietly purchased by this investment firm. If you’re analyzing market share, don’t look at whose name appears on the cup; look at who owns the brand.
The Data Hierarchy:
- Starbucks: Wins both in single-brand sales and bricks (cafés).
- Nestlé (Nescafé/Nespresso): No.1 globally in volume, and penetration of instant coffee. Nestlé also paid $7.15 billion in 2018 for the rights to sell Starbucks brand products in grocery stores — a deal that further muddled the ranks of competitors.
- JAB Holding Company: They’re the dominant power in the conglomerate, including a huge slice of US breakfast and coffee trade through many “competing” brands.
For the Fan & Gifter: The “Freshness” Paradox
You’re interested in purchasing the “best” coffee to impress a friend or indulge yourself. You may feel tempted to pick up a famous “luxury” brand such as Blue Bottle or Stumptown.
So while these are great brands, there is one huge shortcoming in trying to buy them online or off the shelf: Logistics.
The 3-Week Rule
Coffee is a food product, like lettuce or bread. It has a shelf life. The “best” brand in the world is mediocre 30 days after roasting.
The Critical Thinking Shift:
Company Proximity It is not a company that sells #1 coffee.
Is our Wal-Mart coffee just as good?No, but we are buying beans from a local unknown roaster down the street who roasted them yesterday almost every time — better than anything the world-famous Intelligentsia sold that was roasted two months ago and sat in a warehouse.
The Selection Workflow:
- Locate the Date: Bags that have a “Best By” date? … Pass. You need a “Roasted On” date. “Best By” is a manufacturer’s gimmick that gets the stuff to your table with an extended shelf life (usually 12–24 months), but this kind of flavor goes postal at day 7 and is D.O.A. by day 30.
- Buy “Single Origin:” Often found in blends, used to mask defects. A “Single Origin” (like an “Ethiopia Yirgacheffe”) signals the roaster’s confidence in the bean, that it can stand alone.
- Check the Altitude: Premium Arabica coffee is grown at high elevations (typically 1,200 meters above sea level and higher). Good brands print the elevation on the bag. If the brand does not disclose where the farm is, or how high it was grown, chances are they’re trying to hide the fact that it’s a commodity-grade bean.
For the Prospective Franchisee: It’s Not About Notoriety
You’re thinking of starting a coffee shop and seeking the best chain to work with. The easy answer, of course, is Dunkin’ (Starbucks doesn’t franchise to people in the US — they’re company-owned).
But the “best” brand for business owner is determined by Unit Economics; not brand popularity.
The Drive-Thru Revolution
The data shows a migration from the “Third Place” (sit-down cafés like Starbucks) to something more akin to “High-Volume Speed.”
The Rising Star: Dutch Bros Coffee.
Dunkin’ is the monster, but Dutch Bros just did it all better and from a kiosk footprint (smaller real estate) using just speed of beverage and customer service vibes without any focus on food at this moment.
The Metric to Watch: AUV (Average Unit Volume)
| Starbucks: | ~$1.8M to $2M a year per store. |
| Dutch Bros: | ~ $2 million per store annually (with much smaller shops and no interior seating). |
Franchisee Conclusion: Don’t just purchase the #1 name (Dunkin’). Search the #1 efficiency model. The better business decision is the brand that needs a smaller amount of square footage (and cheaper rent) but can still make just as much in sales (high volume).
Frequently Asked Questions
- Question 3: Which brand is known as the #1 coffee?
Answer: It really depends on what you count. Starbucks leads the world in revenue, which is more than $36 billion per year. Still, volume-wise, Nescafé (Nestlé) and 1 in 7 cups of coffee consumed around the world are made with that product while Folgers is also the No. - Question: What is the “Private Label Secret” about grocery store coffee?
A: Store brands, particularly Costco’s Kirkland Signature, are often the smartest buy since most major premium brands roast this coffee under white-label arrangements. People can buy the really good beans at generic prices. - Q: I know whole bean coffee is better than pre-ground, why?
Ground coffee can shed 60% of its aromatics within 15 minutes when it meets the air at a higher temperature because of greater surface area. That means more often than not, you’ll get a better cup of coffee by purchasing budget whole beans and grinding them yourself rather than spending on luxury pre-ground coffee. - Question: How do I know if a bag of coffee is fresh?
Answer: The “Roasted On” date, not the “Best By” date, because flavor peaks at 7 days and begins to degrade by day 30. Also look for bags with a one-way degassing valve – vacuum sealed “bricks” mean the coffee was allowed to become stale before it was packed, so gas doesn’t form. - Question: What other coffee chain is worth considering instead of Dunkin’ for aspiring small business owners?
Answer: Dutch Bros Coffee, an ascending challenger that emphasizes high-volume velocity and small real estate footprints. With no living-room-like interior space in their small shacks, Dutch Bros is able to get a full-sized Starbucks’ Average Unit Volume (AUV) (~ $2 million), out of half the square footage.
References
- Starbucks Financial Data:
Corporation: Starbucks (SBUX)
Data Point: Income (IT) Top Income for 2023 was reported at $35.976 billion, further establishing his leading spot in the top income column.
Source: Starbucks Corporation Annual Report (Form 10-K) for the fiscal year ended on Tuesday, Novem. - US Ground Coffee Market Share:
\* Entity: Statista/Folgers (J.M. Smucker)
Data Point: Folgers was the No. 1 selling pour-over in America in 2023, with about $1 billion in sales, and far ahead of rivals like Maxwell House.
Source: Statista, “Sales of the leading ground coffee brands in the United States in 2023,” published 2024. - Nestlé & Starbucks Alliance:
Entity: Nestlé S.A.
Data Point: Nestlé bought the perpetual rights to sell Starbucks Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) globally for $7.15 billion.
Time: Deal was completed in August 2018.
Source: Nestlé Global Press Release, “Nestlé and Starbucks close deal for the perpetual rights to market Starbucks consumer and foodservice products globally,” August 28, 2018. - Dutch Bros AUV Performance:
Entity: Dutch Bros Inc.
Data Point: In 2023, company-operated shops had an AUV (Average Unit Volume) of approximately $2.0 million.
Source: Dutch Bros Inc. Annual Report (Form 10-K) for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 - Coffee Staling Research:
Organization: Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) / Coffee Chemistry
Idea: Oxidation kinetics of ground vs. whole bean coffee, with comments on the fast VOCs loss right after grinding.
The Coffee Freshness Handbook by the SCA and Joseph Rivera’s research papers (Coffee Chemistry).
