The restaurant group has highlighted vast opportunities for growth in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, as it seeks to finalise the acquisition of Starbucks’ 128-stores in Brazil from SouthRock
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A Starbucks store at the Nova Iguaçu Shopping mall in Rio de Janeiro | Photo credit: Starbucks
São Paulo-based restaurant group Zamp is reportedly seeking to reach 1,000 Starbucks stores in Brazil once a deal to license the US coffee chain is finalised.
Zamp, which operates licensed Burger King and Popeyes stores across Brazil, entered negotiations to acquire Starbucks’ Brazilian master franchisee, SouthRock, which declared bankruptcy in December 2023.
Mubadala Capital-backed Zamp agreed to buy Starbucks 128-store franchise in the country for R$120m ($22.7m) in June 2024. However, Brazilian authorities are yet to approve the deal while judicial proceedings concerning SouthRock’s debt are ongoing.
According to a Bloomberg report, Zamp will begin its Starbucks expansion plan in 2026 with a focus on Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, where the group has identified robust consumer demand. The restaurant group will also seek to expand Starbucks’ airport presence in Brazil while introducing both sit-in and takeaway focused stores.
Brazil is currently Starbucks’ fourth largest market in Latin America, behind Mexico, where local licensee Alsea is investing heavily to scale its 844-store Starbucks presence. Alsea also operates 165 and 132 sites in Chile and Argentina respectively.
Brazil looks set to become a key growth market for Seattle-based Starbucks as it seeks to open more than 15,000 stores over the next five years to reach 50,000 stores globally.
Brazil is by far the largest coffee consuming country in South America, according to data from the International Coffee Organization (ICO), accounting for 82% of the region’s coffee consumption in 2022/23 – roughly 22.5 million bags of 60kg coffee.