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Coffee shops in Shanghai's catering industry have the highest profit margin.

Published: 2026-07-15 Author: World Gafei

Last Updated: 2026/07/15, Yesterday, the summary report of "30 years of Shanghai Food" released by the Shanghai Food Association showed that the profit margin of the coffee shop was as high as 16.37%, ranking first in the catering industry.

Yu Kai, reporter of the Morning Post

At the end of last month, Starbucks on the mainland raised the retail price of coffee and other drinks by 1-3 yuan, citing rising store rents, logistics and labor costs. But yesterday, the summary report of "30 years of Shanghai Food" released by the Shanghai Food Association showed that the profit margin of the coffee shop was as high as 16.37%, ranking first in the catering industry.

Over-industry average profit margin of 50%

According to the report, in 2010, among China's large-scale catering enterprises, the leisure catering industry, dominated by coffee shops, was second only to dinner restaurants in sales, accounting for 17.2% of the total sales of the catering industry that year. The profit margin of coffee shops is as high as 16.37%, far exceeding the average profit margin of 10.6% of the catering industry.

According to statistics, in just three years from 2006 to 2008, the number of coffee shops in Shanghai increased by 213.6%. Due to high profit margins, 60% of entrepreneurs in the catering industry in Shanghai chose to enter the coffee industry in 2010.

There are more than 12000 coffee shops in Shanghai.

According to data from the Coffee Professional Committee of the Municipal Food Association, cafes in Shanghai first appeared in the British, French and Japanese concessions in the middle of the 20th century. The history of Shanghai Cafe has laid the foundation for the development of Shanghai coffee industry.

According to the data provided by the summary report of "Shanghai Food Thirty years", Starbucks has had 100 stores in Shanghai in the 12 years since 2000. At the same time, well-known foreign chain brands such as COSTA and Flavor have also scrambled to land in Shanghai, making Shencheng the city with the fastest development of coffee industry in China and even in the world.

According to the statistics of the Coffee Professional Committee of the Municipal Food Association, Nestl é's sales of leisure catering channels in Shanghai are almost comparable to those of the whole of North China (including Beijing), and are growing at an annual rate of about 23%. The annual growth rate of the coffee industry in shanghai is about 29%, which is higher than the average growth rate of about 4% in the catering industry. According to incomplete statistics, by 2010, there were no less than 4000 professional cafes in Shanghai, and more than 12000 stores concurrently engaged in coffee, with nearly 100000 employees.

The Coffee Professional Committee of the Municipal Food Association believes that at present, most of the coffee bean processing enterprises in Shanghai are mainly micro-enterprises, and the degree of specialization of coffee roasters is also very low, which directly leads to the irregular coffee bean market in Shanghai and the opaque pricing of coffee beans. With the improvement of people's awareness of coffee, the market share of chain coffee shops may decrease year by year, and consumers' pursuit of coffee quality and culture will gradually replace the original worship of the brand.

In 2010, among Chinese catering enterprises of large size, the profit margin of coffee shops was as high as 16.37%, far exceeding the average profit margin of 10.6% in the catering industry. According to incomplete statistics, by 2010, there were no less than 4000 professional cafes in Shanghai, and more than 12000 stores concurrently engaged in coffee, with nearly 100000 employees.

China Coffee Trading Network: www.gafei.com

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