(Yicai) May 13 -- The number of coffee shops in Shanghai is expected to exceed 10,000 this year, according to a recent report.

Shanghai had 9,553 coffee shops at the end of last year, an increase of 1,023 on 2022, according to the report released during the World Coffee Culture Festival that kicked off in Shanghai’s Jing’an district on May 9.

China’s coffee industry was worth CNY265.4 billion (USD36.7 billion) last year and is expected to grow to CNY313.3 billion this year, with a three-year compound annual growth rate of over 17 percent, the report said.

Takeaway coffee in Shanghai accounted for more than 20 percent of China’s total last year, making the city the country’s leading coffee consumer, according to the report. Women and people aged between 20 and 30 years old were the main consumers in Shanghai last year.

Given the current situation, it is inevitable that the ranks of Shanghai’s cafes will top 10,000 this year, said Zhu Danpeng, vice president of the Guangdong Food Safety Promotion Alliance. Zhu also predicted that the Chinese coffee market will continue to grow next year. 

Tea is the traditional beverage in China, but with increasing urbanization and globalization coffee drinking and cafe culture has gained significant traction among Chinese consumers in recent years.

International brands such as Starbucks, Peet’s Coffee, Tim Hortons, Trung Nguyen Legend, and Blue Bottle Coffee, have all based their China headquarters in Shanghai, and many of them are exploring new expansion channels in the country.

For example, Tims China, the operator of Tim Hortons cafes in the country, opened eight partner stores in Shanghai, as well as Jiaxing and Hangzhou in neighboring Zhejiang province. Kcoffee, part of Kentucky Fried Chicken, has opened 100 stand-alone cafes in more than 80 Chinese cities.

Editor: Futura Costaglione