This new Starbucks cafe in Oran, Algeria has been turning heads since it opened a week ago. Everyone rushed to try the brand’s flagship products and promote them on the networks. Only the facility would not have received accreditation from the parent company.
The news caused a stir on social networks. According to TikToker Oumnia Online’s video, everything pointed to it being the American brand. From the logo to the products sold: “It’s the real Starbucks franchise,” claims the Tiktoker, who showed off several of the brand’s flagship products, such as the “double chocolate Frappuccino” with a “taste like abroad.”
The manager would have received approval from the “director of the brand” to open a cafe.
However, this Starbucks opened in Oran, Algeria would only be a fake. The BBC conducted its investigation by contacting Starbucks headquarters in London as well as officials in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, who denied opening a cafe in Algeria, Le Parisien reports.
However, the man claiming to be the manager of the cafe opened in Oran posted a video on TikTok in which he explained that he had received approval from the parent company to open a Starbucks in Algeria. Selim Haffar states that during a trip to the USA he received permission to open a branded café from the “director of the brand” himself. According to the manager of the Oran Café, the director also shared with him various product recipes and agreed that he would only pay his license once the establishment was profitable.
@selimhaffar3 #starbucksoran #oran #algerie #humour ♬ The Champion – Lux-Inspira
When contacted by FranceInfo, Selim Haffar said he preferred “to avoid any interviews for now for fear of legal proceedings.”
What risks does the Oran brand pose?
The brand responded on September 21 with a tweet on
Hello, thank you very much for getting in touch! Starbucks is not yet open at this location. -KT
— Starbucks Coffee (@Starbucks) September 21, 2023
In any case, this fake Starbucks coffee in Oran is a success. According to Le Parisien, the brand was forced to close three hours before closing time on two consecutive days due to high traffic and inventory depletion, the account Algeria Project said, followed by nearly 50,000 people who later opted to publish content about a “fake “excused brand”.
If the parent company has not yet indicated whether it will take legal action against Oran Café, it risks being prosecuted for “counterfeiting,” “parasitism,” and “unfair competition.” As well as a large fine.