Happy Monday Morning! I hope the Coffee is hot and strong and nutty-tasting where you are. If you get your first Monday Morning hit of Java from a take-out joint, on the way to work, I know you’ll be interested in today’s post, which reveals some shocking news about ‘Canada’s favourite Coffee’…
The question of which Coffee is better remains open to debate. But there’s no doubt
that McDonald’s sells more Coffee than Tim Horton’s in Canada
– at least as of the most recent fiscal quarter…
And it’s definitely not a trick of the numbers. The leading take-out Coffee vendor In Canada has far fewer outlets than the runner-up and, so, we have to look further than the raw stats for an answer.
Anyway, here are the raw stats…
Tim Horton’s is iconic and historic and a symbol of Canada world-wide, but it only has 4,613 locations in Canada. McDonald’s, the current leader by sales, has only about 1,400 outlets. But McDonald’s – as of the most recent reported fiscal quarter – is the largest seller of Coffee in the land.
What the heck’s going on?
Tim Horton’s overtook McDonald’s as Canada’s largest food service operator in 2005. But McD’s has been making a concerted effort to go up-scale with its Coffee over the past decade and is even attacking the likes of Starbuck’s and Second Cup in the premium Coffee segment.
Horton’s has been making changes in its Coffee lineup, adding Dark Roast and, recently, premiering Espresso-based drinks, as well. But Tim’s has a long way to go to catch up with McD’s Coffee efforts.
My take…
Tim’s is still the icon and fan fave it ha always been. And it’s in no danger of dying out from neglect by Coffee customers. The chain has, in fact, made big strides in successfully expanding its food menu in recent years, as well.
Some folks will always go to McD’s for a quick Coffee. There’s no denying that. And it may be that they favour McD’s Breakfast Food menu over Tim’s and just pick up a Coffee while they’re there.
One can’t claim that one brand has an operational advantage over the other: both have drive-thrus.
But I still say that Tim’s 4.613 stores trumps McD’s 1,400 hands down as an indicator of overall popularity in the Great White North!
~ Maggie J.