The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf (CBTL), owned by Jollibee Foods Corp. (JFC), has reached 130 cafés in Kuwait, marking more than two decades of expansion with local partner Al-Ghunaim Trading Co.
The milestone was reached with the opening of the brand’s 130th café in the country, where the partnership has grown from a single outlet in Salmiya into a nationwide network serving a market of about five million people.
Al-Ghunaim opened Kuwait’s first CBTL café on Dec. 16, 2004. The business now employs more than 1,135 people across its cafés, operations and support functions, highlighting the scale of the partnership after more than 20 years.
The Kuwait operation has continued to expand despite changing consumer preferences, the COVID-19 pandemic and regional uncertainty. CBTL said the next phase of the partnership will focus on further investment in innovation, its people and operational excellence.
Customer recognition has also accompanied the chain’s expansion. In 2025, CBTL Kuwait received the “First Café Award 2025” and was named among the “Top 10 Brands 2025” by Service Hero Kuwait, an independent customer-satisfaction index covering more than 900 brands across 18 industries. The recognition marked the third consecutive year the brand was included among Kuwait’s top-performing brands.
Beyond its café network, Al-Ghunaim has continued community initiatives in Kuwait. In 2026, the company contributed US$1 million to the Kuwait Emergency Response Fund.
The Kuwait milestone is part of JFC’s broader international expansion. CBTL is included in Jollibee’s international portfolio, which spans 33 countries, as the Philippine food-service group continues to build a larger overseas presence.
JFC has also been preparing to separate its international operations into a proposed Jollibee Foods Corporation International platform, with a potential Hong Kong listing, as it seeks to create a dedicated structure for further global expansion.
For CBTL, the Kuwait milestone shows how a long-term franchise partnership can scale a single café into a large national network. The companies said future growth will continue to focus on customer preference, network strength, brand equity and investment in people and operations.
