Coffee wars

Coffee wars, sometimes referred to as caffeine wars, involve a variety of sales and marketing tactics by coffeehouse chains and espresso machine manufacturers to increase brand and consumer market share.^[1][2] In North America belligerents in these wars typically include large coffeehouses, such as Starbucks,^[3] Dunkin',^[3] McDonald's,^[4] and Tim Hortons.^[5] According to The Economist, the largest coffee war of the late 2000s was between Starbucks and McDonalds in the United States. The U.S. market has, since the early 2010s, been primarily contested by its two largest players, Starbucks and Dunkin'. Since 2020, competition over the Chinese coffee market has intensified between Starbucks and Luckin Coffee.

Periods of low economic activity and business recessions––which contribute to diminished consumer demand––have been linked to an increase in coffee wars. Major innovations in the coffee industry, particularly the advent of single-serve espresso pods, have lowered the market's barrier to entry. Although store count has been traditionally seen as gauging market share, both firms and analysts have incorporated revenue, balance sheets, organic growth, operating margin, and stock market performance as comparable indicators.^[6][7]