The Coffee at Dubai Mall, UAE | Photo credit: The Coffee

Brazilian specialty coffee chain The Coffee has made its its Middle East debuts with a store at the Dubai Mall shopping centre, UAE.
 

Curitiba-based The Coffee announced its planned expansion to the Middle East in December 2023 as part of a goal to open 1,500 outlets outside of Brazil by 2028. The small-format store operator will open a second UAE store at the luxury Dubai Hills residential area next month before expanding to Saudi Arabia and Egypt before the end of the year. 
 

Founded in 2018, The Coffee operates more than 200 stores in Brazil and has 43 outlets across eight international markets. The premium coffee chain raised $10m in October 2023 to accelerate its development in Europe, South America and the Middle East. 

The Coffee expects European stores to lead its planned international expansion and already operates 12 and 10 stores in Portugal and France respectively. However, the small-format operator also sees significant opportunities in the Middle East.  
 

World Coffee Portal’s Project Café Middle East 2023 report forecasts the Saudi and Emirati branded coffee shop markets will grow at 8.5% and 4% CAGR respectively to exceed 5,350 and 1,680 outlets by 2027.