The coffee chain is seeking to expand into new regions across Malaysia and views suburbs in the north and east of the country as key to its growth
Dawn Liew, CEO, Kopitiam Asia Pacific Sdn Bhd | Photo credit: OldTown White Coffee
Kopitiam Asia Pacific Sdn Bhd, which owns the OldTown White Coffee café chain, has announced it plans to open 50 new outlets across Malaysia this year.
Founded in 2005, OldTown White Coffee currently operates 180 stores across the country, as well as outlets across Singapore, Indonesia and Hong Kong.
The company is targeting growth in Malaysia’s northern and eastern suburban regions as it seeks to provide new customers with ‘a choice of Asian-style products they can rely on’.
“We are going to populate more OldTown outlets in those states that we do not have any presence, such as Perlis, Kedah as well as East Coast states like Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang. This will be the target for us for 2023,” said Dawn Liew, CEO, Kopitiam Asia Pacific Sdn Bhd.
World Coffee Portal research forecasts the Malaysian branded coffee shop market will exceed 2,750 outlets by 2025.
The market is becoming increasingly competitive following a flurry of investment and activity from both domestic and international coffee chains in 2022.
Selangor-based coffee chain ZUS Coffee opened its 100th outlet in July 2022 and now operates 180 stores across the country.
Indonesia’s Kopi Kenangan launched its first international store in Malaysia in October 2022, as part of an initial 10-store international expansion, while Jollibee-managed The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf plans to open 40 new outlets in Malaysia this year, to reach 180.
Meanwhile, Starbucks is targeting 400 stores in the country by the end of its current financial year in June 2023 via franchise partner in Malaysia Berjaya Food.