Double double happiness? Canada’s Tim Hortons opens first China cafe, as diplomatic row brews between Ottawa and Beijing
- There were queues outside the new Tim Hortons cafe in Shanghai
- But the brand faces tough competition from other big coffee chains already established in China, like Starbucks and Costa
Tim Hortons has arrived in China, joining the high-stakes battle to sell coffee in a massive country that mostly drinks tea.
The Canadian coffee-and-doughnut chain, run by Burger King-owner Restaurant Brands International Inc, plans to focus on “everyday value” as it muscles up against the ambitious plans of local and foreign players such as Starbucks Corp.
In Canada, the brand is synonymous with down-home style, and the ubiquitous order of a “double double” – coffee with two serves of cream and sugar.
The first Chinese Tim Hortons opened on Tuesday in Shanghai. It is debuting at a tricky time as a diplomatic row brews between China and Canada, over the arrest in Vancouver of Huawei executive Sabrina Meng Wanzhou, and China’s detention of Canadians.
While more consumers may be giving java a shot, the coffee market remains relatively small. Only about a third of Chinese consumers bought hot coffee in 2017, according to a report from Kantar Worldpanel. Tim Hortons has its work cut out for it, said Jennifer Bartashus, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence.