(Yicai Global) Nov. 17 -- McDonald’s is looking to expand its network of McCafes in China amid the country's growing thirst for coffee.

The fast-food company's coffee brand will invest CNY2.5 billion (USD380.8 million) over the next three years to develop new outlets, upgrade equipment, and train staff to have more than 4,000 coffee areas in McDonald's restaurants by 2023, McDonald’s China announced yesterday.

McCafe will focus on expanding its presence in restaurants located in four first-tier cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, this year. Next year, it will widen its scope to Nanjing, Hangzhou, Fuzhou, Xiamen, Tianjin, Suzhou, and Chengdu.

McCafe's current opening model is to introduce independent counters and professional coffee machines in existing restaurants, said McDonald’s China Chief Executive Zhang Jiayin. “After reaching a certain scale, we will consider testing different expansion models.”

McCafes will not be separated from McDonald’s outlets but as a sub-brand, McCafe will have relatively independent brand positioning, visual image, product portfolio and promotional campaigns, Zhang added.

China has nearly 1,500 McCafe shops and the price of a single cup of coffee is about CNY20 (USD3.10), at least one-third cheaper than a cup of Starbucks, public information shows. McCafe sells about 90 million cups of coffee a year in China after kicking off in 2009.

The plans fit the current rate of expansion. China's mainland had over 3,600 McDonald's restaurants as of last month. The number is growing at a rate of more than 400 new outlets per year.

Meanwhile, Starbucks has more than 4,700 stores in nearly 190 cities in China. In the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2020, the Seattle-headquartered firm opened 259 stores in the Asian country, making up more than 50 percent of its global addition as the company is engaging in a fierce rivalry with takeaway chain Luckin Coffee.

Editor: Emmi Laine