Starbucks has opened its fourth and fifth coffee shops in Medellín. And Krispy Kreme opened its third shop in Medellín this year. U.S.-based chains continue to expand in Medellín but some expats may not like this.
Since the article was originally published, Starbucks opened a coffee shop in November 2017 in Laureles, one in El Pobaldo in Provenza and one in Envigado in October 2018.
As of October 2018, Starbucks has 30 coffee shops in Colombia: 17 in Bogotá and eight in Medellín and five in Cali. According to a report in the El Colombiano newspaper in 2016, Starbucks planned to have up to 10 coffee shops in Medellín by the end of 2017. But they are behind that schedule.
Note the above photo is the fifth Starbucks in Medellín that is located in the El Tesoro mall.
Update: as of December 1, 2018, Krispy Kreme – which had opened its third store in Medellín in 2017 at the time of this article – has closed all of its stores in Colombia.
Starbucks’ fourth coffee shop in Medellín
Starbucks Opens Fourth and Fifth Coffee Shops
Starbucks opened its fourth coffee shop in Medellín a few months ago. And in late June opened its fifth coffee shop in the city. Starbuck’s fourth coffee shop is located on Avenida Poblado in the One Plaza building. And its fifth is located in El Tesoro mall.
Starbucks opened its first coffee shop in Medellín on September 1, 2016. And in December last year it opened two more shops located in Santafé and Oviedo malls in El Poblado. With two more openings this year, the company now has five coffee shops in Medellín.
Most noteworthy, it took Starbucks less than a year to open five coffee shops in Medellín. So, they are serious about this market. Both of the newest Starbucks in Medellín are smaller than the first Starbucks in Medellín, which is a large stand-alone store.
On November 2, 2017, Starbucks opened its sixth coffee shop in Medellín located in Laureles.
Starbucks first coffee shop in Medellín
The Menu at Starbucks in Medellín
The menu at the newest Starbucks coffee shop located in El Tesoro mall includes Coffee, Espresso, Teas, Hot Chocolate and Frappuccino, just like the other Starbucks in Medellín
Prices at both new shops are the same as found in the original Starbucks in Medellín. Black coffee (tinto) comes in four sizes ranging in prices from 3,900 pesos to 5,100 pesos. And an American Espresso costs 4,600 pesos for a small, 5,100 pesos for a medium and 5,600 pesos for a large.
Hot Chocolate costs 7,400 pesos for a small, 7,900 pesos for a medium and 8,500 pesos for a large. And Caramel Frappuccino costs 9,800 pesos for a small, 10,700 pesos for a medium and 11,400 pesos for a large.
Green tea latte costs 8,800 pesos for a small, 9,300 pesos for a medium and 10,200 pesos for a large.
Starbucks in Latin America
Starbucks is a large company with over 25,000 retail shops located in over 65 countries globally. The company has been in Latin America since 2002, starting out in Mexico and Puerto Rico. Most notably, the company now has nearly 1,100 coffee shops in 15 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Starbucks opened its first store in Mexico 15 years ago. And the company now has over 600 shops in Mexico. Starbucks entered the Colombian market on July 14, 2014 with its first shop in Bogotá. I happened to be in Bogotá two weeks after its first coffee shop in Colombia opened and it still was busy.
The company reportedly plans to have a total of 50 coffee shops in Colombia by 2019. In addition, it expects to have generated up to 1,000 jobs when this goal of 50 stores is completed by 2019.
Starbucks in the Colombian market is a joint venture with Alsea and Grupo Nutresa. Alsea is a restaurant operator in Latin America running several brands including Burger King, Cheesecake Factory, Chili’s, Domino’s Pizza and P.F Chang’s.
Starbucks’ coffee shops in Colombia serve 100 percent locally sourced and roasted coffee for in-store beverages. This is due to the country’s coffee heritage and the company’s 45-year history of sourcing premium arabica coffee from the region.
In Colombia, Starbucks primarily competes with Juan Valdéz with over 200 stores in the country. Juan Valdéz has stores in 16 additional countries including the United States.
How to Get to Starbucks
Starbucks now has eight locations in Medellín, listed below:
- El Poblado: Carrera 43A #3 Sur-92
- El Poblado: Carrera 43A #6 Sur-15 local 134 (Oviedo mall)
- El Poblado: Carrera 43A #7 Sur – 170 (Santafé mall)
- El Poblado: Carrera 43A #5a-99, One Plaza
- El Poblado: Calle 10A # 35-54
- El Poblado: Carrera 25A No. 1A Sur 45, local 1001 (El Tesoro mall)
- Laureles: Avenida 74B #39B-6
- Envigado: Carrera 48 # 32B Sur-139, Envigado, 1st floor (Viva Envigado mall)
Website: http://www.starbucks.com.co/
Krispy Kreme’s newest donut shop in Envigado
Krispy Kreme Opens Third Shop
Krispy Kreme opened its third shop in the Medellín metro area early this year. Its first two Krispy Kreme shops are located in El Poblado and its new shop is located in Envigado in the San Lucas Plaza.
Krispy Kreme opened its first shop in Medellín on March 10, 2016. Its first shop is located next to the first Starbucks in Medellín on Avenida Poblado.
Krispy Kreme entered the market in Colombia in2014 with its first shop in Bogotá.
Update: on December 1, 2018, Krispy Kreme closed all its stores in Colombia including three in Medellín. Krispy Kreme operated in Colombia under the company Industria de Restaurantes Casuales, which is part of Grupo Nutresa.
Krispy Kreme had been in the Colombian market for over four years from opening it’s first location in Bogotá in October 2014 until December 1, 2018.
However, this seems to indicate that the strong presence of Dunkin Donuts in Colombia did not allow Krispy Kreme to grow as quickly as planned. The decision to leave the Colombian market is part of a restructuring plan include plans to focus on stronger brands.
Inside the newest Krispy Kreme shop
Krispy Kreme’s Menu
The menu for Krispy Kreme in Colombia can be found online here , but without prices.
The donuts at Krispy Kreme in Medellín cost 28,000 pesos for a dozen glazed donuts or 29,900 pesos for a dozen assorted donuts. For a single donut, the cost is 3,200 pesos for a glazed donut or 3,400 pesos for other donut types and 3,900 for a few premium donuts.
In addition, Krispy Kreme sells a number of beverages. A small coffee costs 3,100 pesos or 3,200 pesos for a large coffee. An espresso costs 3,300 pesos and an espresso double is 4,000 pesos. Cappuccino costs 4,200 pesos for a small or 5,200 pesos for a large. Also, the stores offer a number of fresh juices for 6,900 pesos.
Krispy Kreme has over 1,000 donut shops in 25 countries. In Latin America, Krispy Kreme has shops in Colombia, Dominican Republic, Mexico and Puerto Rico. Krispy Kreme’s biggest competitor in Colombia is Dunkin’ Donuts.
Krispy Kreme donut manufacturing machine at first shop in Medellín
How to Get to Krispy Kreme
Update: Krispy Kreme closed all three of its stored in Medellín on December 1, 2018.
Krispy Kreme had three locations in Medellín until December 1, 2018, listed below:
- El Pobaldo: Carrera: 43A # 3 Sur – 92, Tel: 322 3468565
- El Poblado: Carrera 32 # 2 Sur – 47 Local 101, Tel: 310 2285848
- Envigado: Calle 20 Sur #27 – 55, Tel: 316 4805036
Website: http://www.krispy-kreme.com.co/
Which U.S.-based Chain is Next for Medellín?
Medellín has several U.S.-based chain restaurants and fast food places and some have been expanding in the city for several years. As of July 2017, Here’s a list of these chains with counts of locations currently in the Medellín metro area:
- Burger King – 9
- Domino’s – 11
- Dunkin’ Donuts – 22
- Hard Rock Café – 1
- Hooters – 1
- KFC – 5
- Krispy Kreme – 3 (but all closed on December 1, 2018)
- McDonald’s – 11
- Papa John’s – 3
- Starbucks – 5
- Subway – 54
- Wingzone – 1
That is a total of nearly 130 U.S.-based chain restaurants and fast food locations in Medellín. Yet Bogotá has even more due to being a much bigger city. And Bogotá also has several U.S.-based chain restaurants that aren’t available yet in Medellín, including Chili’s, Pizza Hut, TGI Fridays and P.F. Changs.
I believe that we may see another U.S.-based chain enter the market in Medellín over the next year or two. And this likely will be a U.S.-based chain that is already operating in Bogotá.
The Bottom Line
Many expats in the city I have talked to don’t seem to like seeing U.S.-based chain restaurants and fast food places coming to Medellín and continuing to expand in the city. But keep in mind these chains are bringing many jobs to the city.
Also, many U.S.-based chains are expanding globally, as the U.S. market is pretty saturated. And they are coming to Medellín due to the size of the city and primarily coming for Colombian customers. There are nearly 4 million Colombians in the Medellín metro, which are who these chains are primarily targeting.
There aren’t that many expats in Medellín (perhaps several thousand). In addition, you would have to go to a much smaller town than Medellín to not see these U.S.-based chains.
There are also some good independent coffee shops in Medellín, we have looked at the 6 best coffee shops in El Poblado.
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Editors note: updated on November 3, 2017 to add Starbucks’ sixth coffee shop that opened in Laureles.
Editors note: updated on October 6, 2018 to add Starbucks’ eighth coffee shop in the Medellín metro area located the new Viva Envigado mall.
Editors note: updated on December 4, 2018 with information that Krispy Kreme closed all its stores in Colombia on December 1, 2018.
13 thoughts on “Starbucks and Krispy Kreme Open New Shops in Medellín”
When in Rome do as the Romans do. Support Colombian home grown business. Supporting Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts and Krispy Kreme only suggest you want a Global World dominated by a few Mega Rich Corporations. Have none of you noticed the number of employees home grown Colombian business have working compared to the US National Companies. Colombian business hire more employees per store. Colombian business do not have the financing available like the big National Companies. Understand that the Executives of the US National Companies get to travel the world on private jets, stay in 5 star hotels to visit stores all at your expense. If you have to have a Starbucks stay home, you do not belong here
GAG, just what Colombia needs–more American chain restaurants! Did we really move to a foreign country in order to recreate the lives we had back at home?
I lived in Seattle for many years before leaving the USA fifteen years ago and big bullies like Starbucks play the same greedy game as other big American corporations–they try to drive the local coffee shops out of business. That’s bad for local entrepreneurs in developing countries and bad for the local economies and consumers. Only a fraction of Colombia’s population would be able to pay for a drink at Starbucks.
While living and working in half a dozen countries from East Asia to the Middle East to Latin America, I’ve watched the continual spread of the worst aspects of American culture. Does any Colombian really need to hang out at Dunkin Donuts or Krispy Kreme?
Haven’t we already witnessed how poor quality food from many of these American chains has harmed the health of a large segment of America’s population. Obesity and type-2 diabetes are epidemic. Why should I as an American celebrate causing the same devastation to the local population here in my adopted home of Colombia?
Right on David! I couldn’t agree more!
I noticed the Krispy Kreme on Avenida Poblado was closed today so I searched your site and wow you already have this post updated saying that all the Krispy Kreme stores in Colombia closed on Dec. 1.
I love that you keep your blog site up to date, which makes it so helpful.
Hi Mary, thanks! One of my pet peeves is so much out-of-date information about Medellín and Colombia is found on the Internet. So, we try to keep everything up-to-date on the Medellin Guru site.
But of course more eyes of readers are helpful. So readers, if you see something out-of-date in any article, please leave comments.
Thanks this is an interesting article. I think it is good that these chains are expanding as it provides more options. Plus they employee a lot of Colombians. Also it is good that Starbucks uses only Colombian coffee for their stores here in Colombia, so that is good for the coffee farms.