Tim Hortons to open flagship store Tuesday with expanded food lineup
Cup chicken, tteokbokki also on offer; Ediya Coffee launches pocket pizza
Food menus seen as key differentiator in saturated cafe market
Coffee chains are moving well beyond coffee and dessert, beefing up their food offerings to capture the meal crowd. From sandwiches and toast to pasta, chicken and tteokbokki, cafes are broadening their menus to serve customers looking for a quick, full meal.
According to the food service industry, Canadian coffee brand Tim Hortons will significantly expand its food lineup when it opens its first domestic flagship store — Tim Hortons Banff Town Seongsu — on Tuesday. The new location moves beyond the chain's traditional coffee-and-donut format to offer a wider range of meal options, including bakery items, pasta and brunch dishes.
The flagship menu centers on Montreal-style bagels baked in a dedicated wood-fired oven installed on-site. Tim Hortons also plans to serve poutine — the Quebec staple of french fries topped with cheese curds and gravy — along with bannock, a folded bread eaten sandwich-style.
Tim Hortons has been consistently expanding its food lineup this year, introducing more than 30 new food items. The push targets what the chain calls "easy meal" demand — customers who want a quick, convenient bite alongside their coffee — and has seen the addition of bakery items, sandwiches, wraps and salads.
Budget coffee brands have also joined the food race. Mega MGC Coffee recently launched six sandwich varieties targeting customers seeking a quick meal. The chain also unveiled two new products expanding its existing cup chicken and cup tteokbokki lines: a crispy honey-soy cup chicken and a mala-flavored tteokbokki.
Ediya Coffee has been rolling out food items in quick succession as well. On Thursday, the chain launched a new food lineup spanning desserts and meal-replacement options. Three items — a ham and cheese scrambled egg brioche, a corn cheese toast and a low-sugar combination pocket pizza — were developed for customers who want a light meal at a cafe. Ediya also introduced two rice cake-based items blending traditional seolgi tteok with pizza and corn cheese flavors.
Twosome Place is similarly strengthening its meal-replacement offerings. In September, the chain released a new pizza bread developed in collaboration with Samyang Foods' Buldak brand, following the Buldak corn cheese panini and Buldak chicken baguette sandwich it had launched in August. According to Twosome Place, total deli menu sales from January through August this year rose 21 percent compared with the same period last year.
Consumer spending on cafe food menus has been on the rise. According to purchase data from market research firm Macromill Embrain, estimated dining expenditure at eight major cafe brands — including Starbucks and Twosome Place — grew 11.4 percent last year compared with the previous year. Spending on side menu items climbed even faster, rising 20.7 percent over the same period.
Meal-replacement bread items showed particularly strong growth. Estimated spending on such products jumped 141 percent last year year-on-year, far outpacing growth in traditional dessert categories such as cake slices, up 19.0 percent, and whole cakes, up 16.2 percent.
The industry's push into food reflects a dual strategy of diversifying revenue and broadening the customer base. With the cafe market approaching saturation, differentiated food menus offer a way to attract new demand — reaching not only coffee drinkers but also customers looking for a convenient meal. Encouraging customers to pair food with a beverage also raises the average spend per visit.
"Customer demand for a quick meal at a cafe, not just coffee, is growing," an industry official said. "Since differentiating a brand on coffee alone is increasingly difficult, we are diversifying our food menus to widen our customer base."
korean@heraldcorp.com
