Japanese full-service café chain Komeda’s Coffee is set to enter Thailand, with the brand preparing to open its first directly managed store in the country as it accelerates international expansion and targets a substantially larger overseas network.
The Thailand debut is planned for 2026, with the first outlet expected at Exchange Tower in Bangkok’s Asoke area, according to reports on the company’s expansion plans. The location is in one of Bangkok’s major commercial districts, close to BTS Asok and MRT Sukhumvit.
The Thailand operation will be handled by KOMEDA COFFEE (THAILAND) CO., LTD., a local subsidiary established in June 2026. Unlike some of Komeda’s overseas markets where the company works through franchise and area-franchise partners, the first Thailand restaurant is planned as a directly managed operation.
The entry is part of Komeda Holdings’ wider strategy to increase its presence outside Japan, with ASEAN identified as a key region for future growth. Under its new medium-term management strategy, CONNECT 2030, the group is targeting 180 overseas Komeda’s Coffee stores by the end of the plan period, up from around 80 stores previously targeted. The group also aims to generate ¥1 billion in overseas segment profit.
Komeda’s international expansion already covers markets including Taiwan, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Indonesia, while the group has also been developing its presence in Singapore. The company is using Singapore as an important base for expanding into neighbouring ASEAN markets.
The Thailand launch therefore gives Komeda another strategic foothold in Southeast Asia as the Japanese café operator seeks to move beyond its established domestic network.
Komeda’s business is built around a full-service café format rather than a conventional quick-service coffee model. Customers are served at their tables, with the brand positioning its cafés as comfortable spaces where customers can stay and relax. Its signature products include 8
The company has developed a substantial domestic footprint. According to Komeda Holdings, Komeda’s Coffee had 1,079 stores in Japan as of February 28, 2026, while the wider Komeda group operated a number of additional restaurant and café brands.
Internationally, Komeda has increasingly relied on partnerships and franchising alongside directly operated stores. The company’s expansion model allows it to combine its established brand standards and operating systems with local market knowledge from partners.
The move into Thailand comes as Japanese restaurant and café brands continue to expand across Southeast Asia, where rising urban populations, growing middle-class spending and strong consumer interest in Japanese food and lifestyle concepts have created opportunities for international franchise and restaurant operators.
For Komeda, however, the Thailand launch is about more than adding another country to its store map. The company has made international growth a central part of its next phase, with ASEAN expected to become increasingly important to its overseas development.
With the first Bangkok restaurant planned as a company-operated store, Komeda will have an opportunity to establish its brand and operating model in Thailand before determining the pace and structure of further expansion in the market.
