The Brazilian café chain “The Coffee” is preparing to enter the Middle East region through Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, as it is scheduled to launch its first branch in Dubai in 2024, and then it will launch its operations in both the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Arab Republic of Egypt.
In a sign of the increase in coffee consumption and the great potential for growth in the coffee market, The Coffee will begin opening two branches in Dubai, before moving to the rest of the region.
TheCoffee CEO Carlos Vertonani described Dubai as a “strategic” market due to rising coffee consumption and “expansion potential.”
The Coffee will also open its first branches in Saudi Arabia and Egypt within the first six months of next year, as the brand adopts its presence in the Middle East to focus on small format stores that mostly serve mobile commerce.
Founded in 2018, The Coffee currently has 200 branches in Brazil, in addition to 23 branches in Colombia, Peru, Chile, Spain, Portugal and France.
The Coffee completed a $7.5 million investment round in January 2023, and raised an additional $10 million in October 2023 to facilitate its entry into the Middle East and expand its presence across South America and Europe.
The small-format coffee chain aims to open 1,500 stores outside Brazil by 2028, with an additional 12 stores opening before the end of this year, and a total of 35 stores planned to open in the first six months of 2024.