---
title: "Can You Invest in a Starbucks Franchise?"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/f34ad366-60e7-4795-9446-618d9cef3131
source: "1851 Franchise"
original_url: https://1851franchise.com/can-you-invest-in-a-starbucks-franchise-2720844
category: "Coffee & tea"
industry: "Restaurants"
segment: "Coffee & tea"
published: 2023-01-17T19:14:00.000Z
modified: 2026-11-01T02:09:44.326Z
image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/66be49d6ed1ed749b8a43fc8535239699476.jpg
---

# Can You Invest in a Starbucks Franchise?

**TL;DR:** Starbucks does not award franchises, instead offering licensed locations with an investment of over $1 million. Investors can consider other coffee concepts like Dunkin', The Human Bean, and Biggby Coffee.

*originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2023-01-17. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/can-you-invest-in-a-starbucks-franchise-2720844).*

## Story

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.

## Entities

- 1851 Franchise (publication)
- Restaurants (sector)
- Entrepreneur (publication)
- Starbucks (company)
- Dunkin' Brands (company)
- The Human Bean (company)
- Biggby Coffee (company)
- Howard Schultz (person)
- licensing (topic)
- investment cost (topic)
- franchise alternative (topic)
- coffee concepts (topic)

---
Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/can-you-invest-in-a-starbucks-franchise-2720844). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/f34ad366-60e7-4795-9446-618d9cef3131).