ZUS Coffee’s Unconventional Growth: How Malaysia’s Largest Coffee Chain Is Reshaping Entrepreneurship Across Southeast Asia

The meteoric rise of ZUS Coffee from a local Kuala Lumpur startup to Malaysia’s largest coffee chain in just five years has transformed the region’s cafe landscape. But perhaps more striking than its outlet count—now more than twice that of Starbucks—is the way ZUS is reframing what it means to scale, collaborate, and empower entrepreneurs in both Malaysia and the wider Southeast Asian market. This exposé delves into the real-world implications of ZUS’s company-owned model, its international franchising pivot, and the ecosystem effects that ripple beyond direct store ownership, drawing on fresh data, industry interviews, and strategic analysis from the past 72 hours of coverage and longer-term context.

From Local Breakout to Regional Powerhouse: The Anatomy of ZUS Coffee’s Rise

Founders with a tech-first vision: In late 2019, Ian Chua and Venon Tian launched ZUS Coffee not with a traditional store, but with a delivery-first kiosk and proprietary app—a bold move that proved prescient when COVID-19 drove explosive demand for delivery and contactless commerce. The brand’s initial leap-frogging of physical stores allowed it to build digital loyalty and operational agility before rivals could pivot.
Scale as a disruptor: By early 2024, ZUS operated 743 outlets in Malaysia, outstripping Starbucks’s 320. By late 2025, the tally surpassed 900 stores across Southeast Asia, with ambitions to breach the 1,000 mark soon after. This makes ZUS the largest coffee chain in Malaysia and one of the fastest-growing F&B brands in the region (Feature Asia).
Profitability and digital penetration: Unlike many rapid-scaling brands, ZUS’s bottom line has kept pace—net income tripled to RM37 million in 2024, and roughly 70% of sales are driven via its mobile app, reflecting a “digital-first, necessity-not-luxury” ethos.

The Franchise Paradox: When The Biggest Chain Says ‘No’ to Domestic Franchises

Company-owned everywhere in Malaysia: The most surprising fact for many entrepreneurs and investors is that ZUS Coffee does not offer domestic franchising inside Malaysia. All outlets remain corporate-owned and operated, as confirmed on its franchise information site and official FAQ (Franchise Info Malaysia).
Why close the franchise door? This stance is not due to lack of demand—local interest is intense—but rather a strategic decision to maintain operational control, consistent brand standards, and rapid innovation cycles. The trade-off? ZUS forgoes thousands of eager unit-level franchisees, choosing to empower local entrepreneurial activity in indirect, ecosystem-centric ways.
International franchise channel opens: Paradoxically, ZUS is actively pursuing international franchise partnerships, starting with master franchise deals in Pakistan and Morocco slated for H1 2026. For entrepreneurs outside Malaysia (especially in MENA and South Asia), this signals a new frontier for brand-led F&B growth via master franchising (ZUS International Franchise).

Inside the ZUS Ecosystem: Empowerment Without Franchise

Supply-chain and product collaboration: ZUS has become a high-frequency channel not just for coffee, but for local F&B brands and lifestyle startups. Partnerships with Secret Recipe and natural deodorant brand HYGR enable co-branded products and awareness campaigns, creating real-world ripple effects for Malaysian entrepreneurs seeking distribution, validation, and growth (Twimbit).
Digital experimentation at scale: With 70% of sales running through its proprietary app, ZUS offers collaborators instant access to large, engaged customer segments for pilot launches, seasonal SKUs, and data-driven insights. This creates innovation opportunities for tech startups, logistics players, and marketing firms across the region.
Real estate and leasing leverage: ZUS explicitly invites mall owners, property developers, and leasing partners to pitch locations, using its traffic-driving power as a value proposition. For SMEs located near ZUS outlets, this means higher footfall and co-location synergy (ZUS Corporate).
Talent pipeline and entrepreneurial uplift: With over 6,000 employees across 900 stores, ZUS acts as a regional training ground. Many staff are likely to spin off their own brands armed with best practices from a tech-led, data-driven operation.

Comparing Stakeholder Perspectives: What ZUS’s Model Means for Different Audiences

For Malaysian entrepreneurs: The closure of domestic franchising may spark disappointment, but opportunity persists through supply partnerships, brand collaborations, and service provision—areas where ZUS’s scale and digital sophistication create indirect value channels.
For regional competitors and partners: In the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Indonesia, ZUS is accelerating expansion via corporate investment, not franchising—yet. Here, competitors must decide whether to confront ZUS head-on or seek co-location, supply, and tech partnership opportunities.
For aspiring master franchisees in new markets: The explicit opening for master franchise relationships in Pakistan and Morocco suggests a template other emerging market entrepreneurs can follow: build operational capability, propose capital-backed rollout plans, and align with ZUS’s brand DNA.

The Playbook: ZUS’s Innovations in Pricing, Localization, and Tech

Mid-tier price positioning: ZUS carves out a crucial niche between convenience-store coffee (~RM5) and premium chains (>RM11), branding itself as “premium-tasting coffee at an affordable price” and driving mass-market volume (Malay Mail).
Hyper-local menu engineering: In Malaysia, palm sugar drinks; in the Philippines, ube coffee. Each market receives tailored SKUs that increase cultural resonance and viral potential, inviting local supply chain and ingredient partnerships.
App-led operations and personalization: ZUS’s proprietary app is the backbone for ordering, payment, and loyalty, driving personalized offers and compressing queue times. For non-ZUS entrepreneurs, the lesson is clear: digital UX is now central to physical F&B success.
Collateral innovation—beyond coffee: By acting as a testbed and distribution channel for other Malaysian brands, ZUS demonstrates that ecosystem thinking can unlock new consumer experiences without diluting its own brand value.

Tactical Pathways for Collaboration and Growth Across Regions

Malaysia opportunity zones: While direct franchising is closed, lucrative opportunities remain in leasing, brand and product collaboration, B2B technology solutions, logistics, and micro-retail partnerships. ZUS invites landlords, product owners, and service providers to pitch data-backed solutions that align with its values of accessibility, innovation, quality, and community.
ASEAN perspectives: In the Philippines (targeting 200 outlets), Singapore (6 new stores), Thailand and Indonesia (new market entries), local businesses can approach ZUS through supply and ingredient deals, real estate partnerships, and tech integrations. Early-stage market entry also creates white space to propose co-branded campaigns and localized menu innovations.
Beyond ASEAN—franchising frontier: In Pakistan and Morocco, ZUS is formalizing master franchise relationships, setting a template for market entry via local partners who bring regulatory know-how, operational expertise, and capital muscle.

Real-World Implications: Why ZUS’s Model Is Reshaping Regional Entrepreneurship

Indirect empowerment: By focusing internally on operational excellence and regionally on partnership models, ZUS creates spillover benefits for thousands of Malaysian and ASEAN entrepreneurs—not as unit franchisees, but as suppliers, collaborators, landlords, tech integrators, and former employees.
Asset-light scaling with tech: ZUS’s rapid outlet rollout and profitability are underpinned by app-centric customer acquisition, efficient staff training, and data-driven innovation. This offers a blueprint for other F&B and QSR players seeking to scale without traditional franchising or heavy capex.
Local flavor, global ambition: The brand’s willingness to localize—whether palm sugar in Malaysia or ube in Manila—enables country-level resonance while maintaining strong central brand DNA. This attracts collaboration offers from both heritage brands and upstart startups.
Policy and ecosystem impact: ZUS executives have called for government incentives to bolster local coffee farming and processing, fueling the broader Malaysian supply ecosystem and stimulating F&B tech adoption.

As ZUS builds its regional and global footprint, it is not just opening stores—it is architecting an ecosystem where technology, local collaboration, and entrepreneurial development coalesce, setting a new benchmark for asset-light innovation and indirect empowerment in the F&B sector.

Strategic Recommendations: For Entrepreneurs, Investors, and Policymakers

Entrepreneurs: For those in Malaysia, focus on becoming suppliers, collaborators, landlords, or tech service providers to ZUS, leveraging its scale, digital infrastructure, and rapid consumer engagement. For those in other ASEAN countries, pitch localization campaigns and supply chain integration.
Investors: Benchmark ZUS’s digital maturity (70% app-driven sales) and mid-tier pricing as outlier performance in F&B. Seek copyable patterns in other daily-necessity categories—fitness, wellness, beauty.
Corporate strategists: Study ZUS’s asset-light scaling, rapid outlet rollout, and high-margin, tech-powered sales. Pursue similar playbooks that unite digital, product innovation, and ecosystem expansion.
Policymakers: Direct incentives toward local coffee farming, digital adoption in SMEs, and F&B brand internationalization. Support data-driven ecosystem initiatives that deepen Malaysia’s food-tech and retail landscape.

The Road Ahead: Opportunities and Strategic Imperatives

Malaysia’s largest coffee chain, but no domestic franchises: ZUS’s choice to retain 100% company ownership inside Malaysia is unconventional, but strategically designed to maximize operational cohesion and digital-driven growth.
International expansion via master franchising: Pakistan and Morocco are the first explicit franchise markets, with ZUS seeking local partners capable of nation-scale rollout and cultural adaptation.
Entrepreneurial empowerment through ecosystem openness: ZUS demonstrates that direct franchising is not the only path to empower local business—leasing, supply, collaboration, tech partnership, and talent development are potent alternate channels.
Strategic next steps: Whether you are a landlord, brand owner, tech provider, or aspiring master franchisee, your entry point is clear—pitch a collaboration, solve an operational challenge, or propose scalable market entry built on ZUS’s core brand expectations.

Conclusion: ZUS Coffee’s Model—A Blueprint for the New Era of F&B Entrepreneurship

ZUS Coffee’s transformation from local startup to regional giant is more than a story of outlet expansion—it is a case study in digital enablement, innovation-driven scaling, and ecosystem-centric empowerment. By rejecting domestic franchising in favor of company-owned growth, ZUS preserves brand unity but spreads opportunity through high-frequency partnerships and indirect channels. As it opens the door to international franchising in emerging markets, ZUS signals a readiness to globalize its playbook, inviting entrepreneurs everywhere to contribute, collaborate, and co-create.
In a world where franchise models are evolving, and technology collapses the boundaries between retail, loyalty, and supply chain, ZUS Coffee stands out as both competitor and partner, a force for disruption and a platform for entrepreneurial growth.
The future of F&B in Malaysia and Southeast Asia will be shaped not only by who owns the outlets, but by who builds the ecosystem. ZUS Coffee, with its digital-first, collaboration-open model, is already writing the next chapter.