Jollibee-Owned South Korean Chain Compose Coffee Opened in Taiwan. Manila is Next

There were long lines as early as 8 a.m. on the day Compose Coffee opened its first store in Taiwan on tuesday (April 14). According to reports, at peak hours, the store was selling roughly one cup every 20 seconds. Wait times stretched to two hours. By day's end, the location had generated approximately NT$70,000 (about P133,000) in sales—all before the official launch.

For Filipinos, the Taiwan opening offers a preview of what's ahead. Compose Coffee is arriving in the Philippines this year, thanks to Jollibee Foods Corporation.

JFC acquired a 70 percent stake in Compose Coffee in July 2024 for $238 million, making the Philippine food giant the brand's largest shareholder. Earlier this year, JFC's subsidiary Fresh N' Famous Foods, Inc. signed a Master Franchise Agreement to formally bring the brand to the Philippine market.

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Founded in Busan, South Korea in 2014, Compose Coffee has a straightforward promise: quality coffee at prices most people don't have to think twice about. Its menu is built around familiar staples—iced Americanos, flavored lattes—alongside Korean-inspired offerings. In Taiwan, standout items included the red bean injeolmi milkshake and the dalgona latte. The company is reportedly also utilizing an advanced smart roasting system that controls everything from bean selection to roasting profiles across all its locations.

The brand's growth in its home market has been quick. Compose Coffee surpassed 3,000 stores in South Korea in September 2025, adding close to 100 new locations per month. Maeil Business Newspaper named it the best-performing franchise of 2025 after evaluating over 12,000 registered franchises, with Compose Coffee posting an operating margin of 41.3 percent, which is more than double its nearest competitors.

It certainly helps that BTS member V has served as the brand's ambassador since late 2023. After the campaign launched, the brand's mobile app added 2.6 million new users, with 12 million new customers recorded in just 10 days. With the Korean superstar group now fully active again following their mandatory military service, the association continues to generate significant attention internationally.

“Built around great-tasting, quality coffee at accessible prices, Compose Coffee is designed for everyday enjoyment—supported by a simple, efficient store model that can scale across markets,” JFC International CEO Richard Shin said.

Compose Coffee has its work cut out for it when it arrives on our shores. The Philippine coffee market is competitive, with Starbucks currently holding about 53.8 percent of total value share among chain café operators, followed by Dunkin' at 12.1 percent, McDonald's at 5.8 percent, and JFC at 5.6 percent. Compose Coffee's value positioning places it directly in the segment where most everyday coffee drinkers operate, and where competition is already intense.

Jollibee Group Philippines CEO Joseph Tanbuntiong said the launch is part of a broader strategy to scale the group's coffee and tea segment, and that the company plans to leverage its existing operational infrastructure to roll out the brand locally. Specific details on pricing, store locations, and opening dates have not yet been announced.

What the Taiwan numbers do confirm is that consumer interest in the brand is strong outside Korea. Whether that translates to similar lines in Manila remains to be seen. Clearly JFC is betting it will.