Scooter’s Coffee reaches 600 stores in US

World Coffee Portal research shows Scooter’s Coffee is one of the fastest growing branded coffee chains in the US | Photo credit: Scooter's Coffee

Scooter’s Coffee has reached 600 stores across the US with a new outlet in Kingsport, Tennessee.
 

The Nebraska-based drive-thru coffee chain is seeking to reach 800 US stores by the end of 2023 and 1,000 outlets by 2025. 

The coffee chain’s latest expansion comes just four months after it reached 500 US stores in December 2022. 

World Coffee Portal research shows Scooter’s Coffee is one of the fastest growing branded coffee chains in the US. 

Currently operating across 29 US states, Scooter’s Coffee increased its store count by 25% in the 12 months ended August 2022 and appears likely to increase year-on-year outlet growth again this year. 

The drive-thru coffee chain is also exploring international opportunities having promoted Patrick Coelho to the position of Head of International in February 2023. In the newly created role Coelho will develop a strategy and timeline ‘to move the Scooter’s Coffee brand beyond [its] domestic border’. 

Coffee chains across the US are scaling drive-thru in an effort to catalyse high consumer demand for speed of service and convenience. 

In May 2022 market leader Starbucks announced it would accelerate its US outlet growth ‘with 90% of new stores being high-returning drive-thru’. The coffee chain expects the format to deliver 4% net new store growth annually across the US by 2025. 

Fellow domestic drive-thru coffee chain Dutch Bros is also seeking to reach 800 stores across the US by the end of the year. The Oregon-based operator opened 133 new stores across the country in 2022 to reach 671 outlets. 

Meanwhile, highlighting the growing opportunities for drive-thru coffee operators in the US, Panera Bread began testing artificial intelligence technology for drive-thru orders in August 2022, Canadian coffee chain Tim Hortons launched two new ‘next generation’ drive-thru store designs in the US last summer and Octane Coffee launched an automated, drive-thru café in Wisconsin in April 2023. 

World Coffee Portal research found US coffee chains achieved a robust $4.5bn sales rebound in 2022, representing sales growth of 10% over the 12 months ended August 2022. Total US branded coffee shop market sales are forecast to reach $55.9bn in 2027. 

With US branded coffee shop outlets exceeding 2019 levels to reach 38,411 stores in 2022, World Coffee Portal forecasts the total market will exceed 41,900 outlets in 2027.