Yum China raises target for opening mainland coffee shops

The company was expected to operate 1,700 KCoffee cafes across the country by the end of 2025, up from the previous target of 1,500 outlets, according to CEO Joey Wat.

“KCoffee Cafes have been effective in driving incremental traffic, sales and profit,” she said at a briefing on Tuesday evening, according to a copy of the minutes seen by the Post. “Average cups sold at the cafes continued to increase in the quarter, bolstered by our menu innovations and growth in delivery.”

Yum China would need to open 1,000 cafes in 2025 to meet its goal; it managed 700 outlets as of December 2024.

By June, the company ran 1,300 KCoffee cafes after opening 300 new outlets in the second quarter of this year. The KCoffee business uses KFC store space to serve customers coffee.

“We are always exploring ways to broaden our addressable market,” Wat said. “With the strength of our brands and our strategies, we are confident in delivering sustainable, long-term value for our shareholders.”

She spoke after Yum China said its second-quarter net profit rose 1.4 per cent from a year earlier to US$215 million. The company’s diluted earnings per share of US$0.58 beat a consensus estimate of US$0.56 from a Bloomberg survey of analysts.