Highlands Coffee

Overview

Highlands Coffee is a Vietnam-founded coffeehouse chain built around Vietnamese coffee culture and a modern, branded café format. Its menu combines traditional-style filtered coffee and iced milk coffee with espresso drinks, teas, blended beverages and light food. Bánh mì and bakery products complement the drinks offer, although availability varies by market and outlet.

The business occupies a broad-market position rather than a narrowly defined speciality-coffee niche. Recognisable branding, accessible locations and repeatable preparation methods are central to its format. For prospective franchisees, however, the visibility of the chain should not be confused with an unrestricted franchise offer: market availability, operator eligibility and the ownership structure of individual outlets need to be established directly.

History and growth

Vietnamese-American entrepreneur David Thai founded Highlands Coffee in 1999. The business initially sold packaged coffee before opening its first cafés in 2002. That progression connected a consumer coffee brand with physical venues where customers could experience its products, helping establish the foundations of the chain’s subsequent expansion.

Growth coincided with rising urban incomes, expanding shopping centres and increasing demand for branded places to meet, work and socialise. Highlands developed a format that retained familiar Vietnamese flavours while adopting the operational consistency associated with larger international restaurant groups.

A significant development was its relationship with Jollibee Foods Corporation through the SuperFoods business, which also became associated with the Pho 24 restaurant brand. Jollibee’s involvement brought Highlands into a larger foodservice portfolio. The ownership history is more complex than a simple standalone franchise company, so applicants should confirm which entity would be their contractual counterparty.

Global footprint

Jollibee’s reporting placed Highlands Coffee’s network at around 720 outlets across two countries, Vietnam and the Philippines, at the end of 2023. Vietnam accounted for the substantial majority. This dated figure provides a useful scale reference rather than a live store count; subsequent openings and closures will have changed the network.

In Vietnam, Highlands operates across major cities and provincial markets, with sites in shopping centres, office districts and other busy commercial settings. Its Philippine presence demonstrates some transferability outside its home market, but it remains predominantly a Vietnamese business rather than a geographically diversified global coffee chain.

A country-level presence does not establish that franchise territories are available there. Nor does a total network figure reveal how many sites are company-operated, franchised or managed under other arrangements. Those distinctions matter when assessing whether an applicant can join the system.

How the franchise model works

Highlands Coffee is not as transparent about a standard international franchise package as some established global franchisors. Public corporate reporting establishes the scale and ownership context of the business, but does not provide a universally applicable offer for independent operators. It would therefore be misleading to present every Highlands outlet as a franchise or assume that single-store applications are accepted everywhere.

Anyone exploring the opportunity should first establish whether the brand is recruiting franchisees in the intended country. The next questions concern the proposed arrangement: an individual outlet, a multi-unit development agreement or a wider territorial partnership. These structures carry different responsibilities and should not be treated as interchangeable.

Applicants should also seek written details of training, site approval, purchasing obligations, operating standards and ongoing support. A branded café relationship can involve extensive control over menus, equipment, suppliers and presentation. The precise Highlands requirements must come from the relevant operating entity, not generic franchise listings.

Investment and requirements

A current, generally applicable Highlands Coffee franchise fee and total investment range are not publicly disclosed in a sufficiently clear, brand-wide form to quote reliably. Online estimates may relate to a particular period, market or store format, and should not be treated as an official offer. Prospective franchisees should request the franchise disclosure documents, where applicable, and the current contractual and investment information directly from the brand.

The practical cost of a café extends beyond any initial brand fee. Premises deposits, fit-out, coffee and refrigeration equipment, furniture, signage, opening stock, recruitment and working capital can all affect the total. Store size, landlord specifications and local construction costs make comparisons between locations difficult.

The same caution applies to royalties, marketing contributions, minimum liquidity and required operating experience. Without verified Highlands documentation, none should be assigned a standard figure. Applicants should establish which costs are mandatory and which remain dependent on the proposed site.

What franchisees should consider

Location economics are especially important for a café serving a wide everyday audience. High footfall may support sales, but prominent premises can carry expensive rents and demanding lease conditions. The balance between seating, takeaway orders and delivery also influences staffing, layout and equipment needs.

Operationally, a broad drinks menu requires consistent preparation, dependable ingredients and effective peak-time service. Food adds another layer of stock management and waste control. Applicants should ask how the brand supports these activities and whether approved supplies are readily available in their intended market.

Due diligence should distinguish established brand recognition in Vietnam from customer awareness elsewhere. It should also cover territorial protection, development deadlines, renewal conditions and responsibilities for refurbishment. These are matters for examination in the actual agreement, rather than benefits that can be assumed from the chain’s size.

Competitive landscape

In Vietnam, Highlands competes with domestic coffee businesses such as Trung Nguyên Legend as well as international names including Starbucks. Independent cafés and smaller local chains remain important alternatives, often competing through neighbourhood relationships, distinctive spaces or lower prices.

In the wider regional market, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf and McCafé offer useful comparisons, although their ownership structures, formats and customer propositions differ. The relevant competitive set is ultimately local: a shopping-centre Highlands outlet may face a different mix of rivals from a street-front café near offices. For an operator, brand scale alone does not settle questions of demand, pricing or site suitability.

Outlook

Highlands Coffee’s established Vietnamese identity and extensive domestic network provide a substantial platform for continued development. Its experience in the Philippines also offers a reference point for operating beyond Vietnam, without proving that the format will perform equally well in every market.

Future performance will depend on maintaining product consistency while managing occupancy costs, labour, supply chains and competition. For prospective operators, the decisive issue is more immediate: whether a verified franchise opportunity exists in their territory and whether its documented terms suit the proposed business. Highlands is an established café brand, but that should not substitute for confirmed access and current commercial information.