Can You Invest in a Starbucks Franchise?

While franchising has been a reliable source of growth for other coffee concepts, Starbucks simply does not award franchises.

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz told Entrepreneur in 2003, "We believed very early on that people's interaction with the Starbucks experience was going to determine the success of the brand. The culture and values of how we relate to our customers, which is reflected in how the company relates to our [employees], would determine our success. And we thought the best way to have those kinds of universal values was to build around company-owned stores and then to provide stock options to every employee, to give them a financial and psychological stake in the company."

According to Entrepreneur, Starbucks franchises are more common outside of the U.S. and Canada, but North American investors will need to look into other options.

Apply for a Licensed Location

Though Starbucks does not offer franchises, it does allow for licensed stores. This allows owners to “rent the brand… and the company’s likeness,” requiring owners to pay a licensing fee rather than a franchise fee.

According to VettedBiz, opening a licensed location requires an investment of over $1 million. The licensing fee alone is $50,000 – $315,000.

Look Into a Different Coffee Concept Altogether

Licensing is, admittedly, not the easiest approach. So, if it feels too unattainable, hopeful Starbucks franchisees may just consider other coffee concepts. Dunkin’ is notorious in the coffee space, and The Human Bean and BIGGBY® COFFEE are both great community-focused concepts.