The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf has secured the No. 111 spot on the 2026 Franchise Times Top 400, an annual ranking of the largest U.S.-based franchise systems by global systemwide sales. The recognition puts the Jollibee Group-owned brand — which operates more than 1,100 cafés across 27 countries — among the most significant franchise players in the specialty coffee and tea space.
Scale and Footprint
Founded in Southern California in 1963, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf has built a global presence spanning the Americas, the Middle East, the Indian Subcontinent, and Southeast Asia. The brand is best known for its premium coffee and tea offerings and its signature Ice Blended® drinks. Its inclusion on the Franchise Times list underscores the brand's systemwide sales strength in a segment that continues to attract both consumer interest and franchisee capital.
Peter Vavra, director of franchise development, said the recognition reflects the work of franchisees as much as the brand itself. "Being recognized on the Franchise Times Top 400 is a reflection of the strength of our brand, the dedication of our franchisees and the opportunities we see to continue introducing The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf to new communities around the world," he said.
Franchise Model Flexibility
For operators and prospective franchisees evaluating entry into the specialty beverage segment, the brand's development strategy offers multiple real estate formats: traditional inline locations, endcaps, drive-thrus, and kiosks. That kind of format flexibility has become a critical differentiator as coffee franchisors compete for prime sites amid tightening commercial real estate markets. Vavra noted that the company's focus is on equipping franchisees with "the flexibility, resources and support they need to meet those expectations while maintaining the quality and hospitality" that define the brand.
The Franchise Times Top 400 is compiled through a research process that evaluates systems primarily on global systemwide sales — a metric that captures royalty-generating volume across both company-owned and franchised units. The ranking spans foodservice, retail, home services, and personal services, making a top-150 placement particularly meaningful for a specialty coffee concept competing against well-capitalized QSR and fast-casual coffee rivals.
For operators tracking specialty beverage franchise trends or benchmarking against the broader restaurant franchise landscape, the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf's ranking signals that heritage coffee brands with diversified global footprints remain competitive against newer, domestic-first challengers. The brand's continued expansion push — backed by Jollibee Group's international infrastructure — gives it distribution advantages that pure-play U.S. franchise systems typically lack.
Coverage of the franchise coffee segment has been a recurring focus in Food & Beverage Magazine as consumer demand for premium away-from-home beverages shows no signs of slowing.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.