The respected Guardian newspaper once wrote:"There is a war going on in America, and the battlefield is coffee." Is this really the case? You will be surprised, against really yes! By the way, coffee battles are also unfolding on the fronts of Europe, Asia and other parts of the world. And all because this is how coffee markets in the world work. But let's talk about everything in order. 
The strongest incentives for the development of the coffee industry since the 1950s in developed countries of the world are coffee chains. In many countries, there are no coffee chains — it just happened historically. In such countries, the average citizen does not understand why he needs coffee shops, and even chain ones, except to meet friends from time to time or once try some unique and expensive type of coffee. Most people in these countries will be happy to drink coffee, which can be made very cheaply at home by brewing grain or diluting instant coffee with hot water. In fact, the vast majority of coffee on the market of such countries will be sold through supermarkets. As a result, homemade coffee will cost €0.25-€0.5 per cup. Office coffee is even cheaper, because there coffee is bought in bulk and can be generally free for employees. 
    In the US, Canada, "Old Europe" and China, this is not the case. There, today the tone is set by coffee chains that are unique in each country, selling a cup of coffee for €2-€15. international giants — Starbucks and McDonald's –actively compete with them. In each of these countries, the number of coffee outlets (stalls, kiosks, cafes, restaurants and other public catering establishments) ranges from several thousand to several tens of thousands. And there, the culture of consumption since the 1950s has developed such that making homemade coffee for yourself is somehow not human. Especially in the US. And office coffee in the United States has long been synonymous with abomination, being a sign of the contemptuous attitude of corporations towards their employees.   
  If you've watched the TV series "Friends", you know perfectly well that the main characters constantly met in cafes. For them, it was a place of socialization and delicious coffee, which they drank more than constantly. In one episode of Friends, Chandler and Joey tried to make themselves instant coffee from a bag. It was funny to see that they didn't succeed. In fact, this is much deeper than the sitcom comedy — it is a mirror of the behavior and culture of Americans, many of whom have never made coffee for themselves in their lives. Very strange, but a fact. Therefore, it is not surprising that chain coffee shops in the United States are developing to thousands of outlets, serving millions of visitors across the country every day. To do this, they have a market and culture. In some other countries, for this reason, chain coffee shops do not enter — otherwise they will simply burn out.. 

  The essence of the coffee wars 
    Between 2000 and 2010, the main competition for consumers in the United States unfolded between Mac and Starbucks, which literally fought each other. They did this not so much with the number of new establishments, but with marketing strategies, cheaper prices and the introduction of new products. In December 2008, Mac launched an ad for "Four bucks is dumb" — a pun that is easy to interpret for English-speaking netives: "Using Starbucks is stupid", while at the same time focusing on the higher price of a cup of coffee ( $4) than Mac. 
     Despite Mac's efforts, he lost this war in the United States. And the main competitor of Starbucks since 2010 was the company Dunkin ' Donuts, which in the late 2010s even removed "Donuts" from its name, so as not to be associated only with donuts, moving to the stage of active competition in the food and drink segments. By the way, Dunkin’ Donuts is one of the oldest food chains in the United States, operating since 1950. The number of Dunkin’ points as of 2025 exceeds 14,000 worldwide. Unfortunately, however, it must be admitted that their efforts to defeat Starbucks also failed — because the two-tailed mermaid today has 40,200 outlets worldwide (87 countries), being the largest network. It is so bold that it even allowed itself to move Lavazza in its main historical market — in Italy. We can say that Lavazza generally came up with the format of modern coffee shops, from where they expanded around the world from Italy. And now — Starbucks marketers are actively oppressing the rest of the world, even the "bison" Lavazza. How do they do this if their product doesn't stand up to any quality criticism? It is difficult to give a more accurate answer than "aggressive marketing". 
   As for Canada, there are several competing networks there today, mostly unknown to the ear of people from other countries. In China and Taiwan, Starbucks is already a monopoly that works extensively with Alibaba online. What conclusions can be drawn? That the marketing of large companies still solves everything. But what we really love about the coffee market is the presence of craft coffee shops and specialty coffee, a segment of which is constantly growing all over the world, where quality prevails over quantity. And we also love consumers who are slowly but gradually beginning to understand the true quality of coffee..