A recent report by Momentum Works shows that Southeast Asia’s modern tea and coffee market expanded to 9.9 billion USD in 2025, marking a 52% increase from 6.5 billion USD in 2021.

The study highlights a shift in the industry, with beverage chains increasingly adopting industrial-scale operating models rather than competing primarily through products or brand recognition alone.

Over the four-year period since 2021, the regional modern tea and beverage market has grown rapidly, with 11 brands surpassing the 1,000-outlet milestone. Notably, eight of these brands originated within Southeast Asia.

In the coffee segment, Indonesia remains the region’s largest modern coffee chain market, with its market value exceeding 1 billion USD in 2025.

According to the report, strong growth reflects both rapid network expansion and consumers’ rising willingness to spend on branded coffee. Competitive advantage, however, is increasingly defined by operational capacity.

Weihan Chen, head of market research at Momentum Works, noted that success now hinges less on having the best beverages or the largest store network, and more on building robust operational systems spanning supply chains, store management processes and digital infrastructure.

As of February 2026, Southeast Asia counted seven coffee chains operating more than 1,000 outlets each. Regional giants Café Amazon and Starbucks run more than 4,400 and over 2,000 stores respectively across the region.

Vietnam is represented by two brands, namely Milano Coffee and Highlands Coffee. Highlands Coffee, controlled by Jollibee Foods Corporation, operated approximately 928 outlets by the end of 2025, mainly in Vietnam.

Meanwhile, Milano Coffee states on its official website that it has developed a nationwide network of more than 2,500 stores and points of sale, largely based on a franchise agency model./.