Tim Hortons
Tim Hortons is the largest fast food corporation in Canada, and it has hundreds of stores in the U.S. and more than three dozen in the Middle East. Businessman Jim Charade and hockey star Tim Horton created this company in Ontario in 1964. Among its major selling points is that all of its coffees are made completely from Arabica beans. In late 2014, Tim Hortons merged with American giant Burger King to form a new entity: Restaurant Brands International. However, the two brands continue to operate independently.
McDonald’s
McDonald’s may have been an unlikely candidate to become a huge player in global coffee. Its success seemed to depend solely on hamburgers, fries, and McNuggets. At some point, though, millions of people started realizing that its coffee was outstanding. As a result, many consumers began heading to McDonald’s on a regular basis just for the caffeine.
McDonald’s became a fast food powerhouse during the 1960s. But it wasn’t until the 1990s that this corporation really started to emphasize its coffee. In 1993, it opened the first McCafe in Australia. McCafes are coffeehouses that are typically located inside McDonald’s restaurants. Today, they can be found all over the world, and you can even purchase McCafe roasts at supermarkets and brew them at home.
Dunkin’ Donuts
When Bill Rosenberg launched the original Dunkin’ Donuts store in Quincy, Mass., in 1950, he surely didn’t foresee coffee-related products bringing in most of the company’s profits. After all, he put the word “donut” and not the word “coffee” in the eatery’s name. Nevertheless, Dunkin’ Donuts now sells a range of coffee drinks that are massively popular. Today, Dunkin’ Brands, which is based in Canton, Mass., manages more than 10,000 stores worldwide, and it also owns the Baskin-Robbins ice cream chain.
Starbucks Coffee Company
The name “Starbucks” has become virtually synonymous with the term “coffee.” These days, the company has more than 20,000 locations in dozens of countries around the world. You can even buy Starbucks coffee at Disneyland and at the Tower of London.
The first Starbucks opened in Seattle in 1971. The company really took off, though, when Howard Schultz, a onetime Starbucks employee, purchased the brand. Schultz began expanding and acquiring rival coffee companies at a rapid rate.
Starbucks now says that its goal as an organization is to inspire “the human spirit.” Even so, most of its loyal customers would probably just settle for a cup of its top-notch coffee.