Q&A: Does Peet's Coffee Franchise in the UK?

Alice Tuffery, writer

Published at 20/04/2019, Updated on 04/05/2022 , Reading time: 5 min

Q&A: Does Peet's Coffee Franchise in the UK? — Photo © peets-coffee.jpg

Peet’s Coffee is one of America’s thriving coffee brands – but does it offer franchising opportunities here in the UK? Let’s find out if you can set up your own Peet’s Coffee franchise unit.

Us Brits love a good cup of coffee. Although tea is widely considered our national drink, its caffeine-packed counterpart has grown in popularity over the last few decades. In the UK, we drink a combined total of around 95 million cups per day.

Peet’s Coffee serves a range of tempting speciality beverages, including intense cold brew, mellow pour-over, rich French Press and delicate Chemex. The business takes the time to craft the perfect coffee using lengthy, rewarding processes. But has the cult US coffee chain made its way to our shores yet? And can coffee-lovers get in on the action with a Peet’s Coffee franchise unit?

History of Peet’s Coffee

Peet’s Coffee was founded in 1966 by Alfred Peet, a Dutch-American entrepreneur who would go on to revolutionise the way Americans drink coffee. Peet was an incredibly influential figure in the coffee industry; he taught the three founders of Starbucks how to roast coffee beans and create the perfect drink. Peet and his eponymous coffee chain have been credited with popularising speciality coffee across the US, a trend which shows no signs of slowing down.

Responsible, ethical sourcing of coffee beans is at the heart of the Peet’s Coffee brand. Its Farmer Assistance programme helps workers cultivate crops of high-quality coffee, provide for their families and enrich their communities. The business offers training and financial support to the people who produce its blends to make sure the coffee trade has a prosperous, ethical and mutually rewarding future for both growers and buyers.

Peet’s Coffee also supports the communities around the coffee farmers, with initiatives including Grounds for Health, which aims to improve healthcare services in developing countries.

Today, Peet’s Coffee has more than 200 standalone sites spanning 11 US states. The brand also makes a significant income from its licensed partners, who sell Peet’s expertly roasted products in cafes and shops across the country. In fact, more than 14,000 grocery stores sell Peet’s Coffee products in the US.

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Does Peet’s Coffee franchise?

Sadly, there is no Peet’s Coffee franchise model and the business doesn’t have any locations in the UK at the moment. It also hasn’t announced plans to use the franchise system in its future expansion – but who knows what the future may hold? It’s worth checking back in time if you’re interested in joining the brand.

How to get involved with Peet’s Coffee

Currently, Peet’s Coffee is only offering licensed partnership opportunities, which give you the right to serve Peet’s Coffee products in your school, university, hospital or corporate building. When you enter into this agreement, you buy products or open a Peet’s Coffee concession stand. Although the partnership will not be as financially rewarding as becoming a franchisee, you’ll be able to tailor the size of your shop and its offerings to suit your business.

The coffee market in the UK

We’ve already highlighted just how profitable the coffee shop industry is in the UK. But did you know it’s worth £10 billion? And 16 percent of people visit their local café every single day.

Did you know? The coffee shop sector is worth £10 billion.

The popularity of the coffee shop model has paved the way for mobile businesses to spring up across the country. Coffee vans and even coffee bicycles are increasingly taking advantage of the ‘grab and go’ culture, as consumers buy quick takeaway coffees as they go about their day.

>> Read more:

Similar franchise opportunities

If you were interested in opening a Peet’s Coffee franchise unit, you may want to find out more about some of the alternative investment opportunities on the market today. Whether you’re a coffee connoisseur looking for a specialist franchise, or just want to offer hot drinks as part of a bigger café or shop, we’ve got you covered.

Esquires Coffee and Dunkin’ Donuts are just two of the coffee franchises on offer at the moment. See below to find out more.

Esquires Coffee

Esquires Coffee serves delicious food and drinks, but it’s also a business with high ethical standards, which should attract increasing numbers of consumers as time goes on. This franchise was founded in Canada in 1993 and came to the UK in 2000. Today, the internationally recognised brand has a network of more than 50 cafes in the UK and Ireland, and sees a turnover of just under £9 billion.

Becoming an Esquires Coffee franchisee: When you become part of Esquires Coffee, you join a coffee shop franchise with a conscience. It works hard to preserve its “community ethos” and has been ranked as the UK’s second most ethical coffee company and the UK’s top coffee franchise (Elite Franchise). To learn more and sign up, visit its profile page.
How much you need to invest: Franchisees need to put £225,000 towards property agency fees, store design and fit-out, furniture and equipment.
What you get for your investment: Esquires Coffee provides an excellent training scheme and supports all franchisees in site selection and procurement, store design, lease negotiation and marketing.

Dunkin’ Donuts

You may not have bought a coffee from this US-based business, but you’ll have almost definitely heard of it. If you want to open a kiosk-style coffee shop franchise, perhaps with small amounts of seating, this could be the perfect opportunity for you.

There are over 11,000 Dunkin’ Donuts locations spread across 31 countries, serving more than five million customers every single day. In fact, the franchise sells an average of over 30 cups of coffee every second. It’s also accumulated almost 70 years of experience in the food and drink industry, and is famous among coffee – and doughnut – lovers worldwide.

Becoming a Dunkin’ Donuts franchisee: This doughnut franchise is looking for entrepreneurs who are prepared to open at least 20 outlets within a given period. If you think you’re the person for the job, why not get in touch? You can learn more and sign up on the Dunkin’ Donuts profile page.
How much you need to invest: This is a big brand, so you’ll need to have at least £3 million to invest.
What you get for your investment: It goes without saying that you’ll benefit from high brand recognition and a ready-made customer base. It’s likely that, wherever you set up shop, you’ll find plenty of hungry customers eager to dunk their doughnuts. This franchise also provides its franchisees with world-class tools and resources to make sure all franchise units are profitable.