Burger King, Dunkin' Donuts and McDonald's have all declared war on Starbucks in the States. With 11,000 branches, Starbucks is still the world's leading coffee brand. And it accounts for $6.1bn of the $8.4bn that Americans spend in coffee shops. But its rivals are after a bigger share, and cup for cup Dunkin's is now the largest player in America. It sells 2.7m cups a day – or close to a billion in a year. One of the fastest-growing areas has been in drive-through coffee stores. The market is more diverse, though, in Britain where consumers rank Caffe Nero as better quality that Starbucks. Whitbread's Costa chain has also held its own against the US giant. The Sunday Times 11/06/06 (Business) page 3.11

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