Ukrainian coffee chain Aroma Kava opens its first café in Warsaw

Aroma Kava, Ukraine's largest coffee chain, has officially entered the international market with the opening of its first café in Warsaw, Poland, Forbes Ukraine reported.

"The chain's development in Poland will follow a franchise model. The first franchise partners are Ukrainians who have been living in Poland for some time," said Hennadiy Haidabura, co-investor in Aroma Kava.

Aroma Kava offers various formats for its cafés, ranging from compact setups of 6-9 square meters to larger spaces up to 150 square meters. The first Aroma Kava café in Poland is located at 136, Marszałkowska Street in a space formerly occupied by a Subway restaurant, neighboring a Carrefour supermarket and a Millennium Bank branch.

The Warsaw café is one of the chain's largest formats. According to Aroma Kava representatives, opening a café in Poland costs 30-40% more than opening one in Ukraine.

This is not Aroma Kava's first attempt at international expansion. In 2020, the chain opened a franchise café in central Minsk, Belarus, but it ceased operations following the full-scale war. A second international attempt was made in January 2023, with a franchise café opening in a student district of Sofia, Bulgaria.

Founded in 2013, Aroma Kava operates over 350 locations across 45 Ukrainian cities. Its baristas prepare more than 1 million cups of coffee each month.