--- title: "Columbus Coffee vs Starbucks: Which is more popular by branded search in New Zealand?" description: "Which is more popular in search, Columbus Coffee or Starbucks? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Coffee chains set in New Zealand. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time." canonical: "https://gobrandwave.com/demand/nz/compare/columbus-coffee-vs-starbucks" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # Columbus Coffee vs Starbucks: Which is more popular by branded search in New Zealand? Which is more popular in search, Columbus Coffee or Starbucks? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Coffee chains set in New Zealand. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time. ## Key facts - **Compared**: Columbus Coffee and Starbucks - **Competitive set**: Coffee chains - **Market**: New Zealand - **Month measured**: Aug 2026 - **Columbus Coffee Share of Search**: 23.2% - **Starbucks Share of Search**: 53.8% ## Which is more popular in search, Columbus Coffee or Starbucks? - In August 2026, Starbucks had more branded searches than Columbus Coffee among coffee chains in New Zealand. Starbucks was estimated to have 71.3K branded searches compared to Columbus Coffee’s 30.8K, and held a 53.8% Share of Search versus Columbus Coffee’s 23.2%. - Starbucks was ahead of Columbus Coffee in every measured month of the 11 months ending August 2026. - Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Columbus Coffee’s estimated Share of Search among coffee chains in New Zealand moved from 23.6% to 23.2%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 30.6K to 30.8K. - Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Starbucks’ estimated Share of Search among coffee chains in New Zealand moved from 50.7% to 53.8%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 65.9K to 71.3K. ## How did search popularity change for New Zealand coffee chains in August 2026? - In August 2026, Starbucks gained estimated Share of Search among coffee chains in New Zealand, from 48.4% to 53.8%. - In August 2026, Columbus Coffee lost estimated Share of Search among coffee chains in New Zealand, from 25.2% to 23.2%. ## Month by month | Month | Columbus Coffee estimated searches | Columbus Coffee Share of Search | Columbus Coffee rank | Starbucks estimated searches | Starbucks Share of Search | Starbucks rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Oct 2025 | 30.6K | 23.6% | 2 | 65.9K | 50.7% | 1 | | Nov 2025 | 30.4K | 21.1% | 2 | 80.7K | 56.1% | 1 | | Dec 2025 | 37K | 23.8% | 2 | 80.5K | 51.8% | 1 | | Jan 2026 | 36.8K | 24.6% | 2 | 78.7K | 52.7% | 1 | | Feb 2026 | 36.4K | 26.2% | 2 | 73.7K | 53% | 1 | | Mar 2026 | 37K | 24.9% | 2 | 80.8K | 54.4% | 1 | | Apr 2026 | 30.6K | 23.2% | 2 | 68.4K | 51.7% | 1 | | May 2026 | 30.6K | 25.3% | 2 | 58.2K | 48.2% | 1 | | Jun 2026 | 30.5K | 25.8% | 2 | 58.5K | 49.6% | 1 | | Jul 2026 | 30.4K | 25.2% | 2 | 58.3K | 48.4% | 1 | | Aug 2026 | 30.8K | 23.2% | 2 | 71.3K | 53.8% | 1 | | Sep 2026 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ## How each brand is measured Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using Columbus Coffee’s and Starbucks’ names. When viewed over time, estimated search volumes for these branded terms can be used to understand whether interest in the brands is growing, holding steady, or fading. - **Columbus Coffee**: Measured on the search terms “columbus cafe”, “columbus cafe botany”, “columbus cafe menu”, “columbus cafe near me”, “columbus coffee”, “columbus coffee beans”, “columbus coffee botany”, “columbus coffee cafe”, “columbus coffee menu”, “columbus coffee near me”, “columbus coffee nz”, “columbus coffee online”, “columbus coffee rosebank road”, “columbus coffee sylvia park”, “columbus coffee william pickering”, “columbuscoffee” and “columbuscoffee co nz”, summed into one figure. - **Starbucks**: Measured on the search terms “starbucks”, “starbucks cafe”, “starbucks co nz”, “starbucks company”, “starbucks cups”, “starbucks drinks”, “starbucks gift card”, “starbucks matcha”, “starbucks menu”, “starbucks near me”, “starbucks nespresso pods”, “starbucks nz”, “starbucks online”, “starbucks online ordering”, “starbucks pods”, “starbucks pumpkin spice”, “starbucks tumbler”, “starbucks unicorn frappuccino” and “starbucks westgate”, summed into one figure. - [Columbus Coffee profile](/demand/nz/brands/columbus-coffee) - [Starbucks profile](/demand/nz/brands/starbucks) - [All coffee chains in New Zealand](/demand/nz/categories/nz-coffee-chains): The set both shares are measured inside, 7 brands. ## Methodology - [How is branded search demand measured?](/demand/methodology): Where the figures come from, what they compare, and how they may be reused. ## Frequently asked questions ### Which is more popular in search, Columbus Coffee or Starbucks? In August 2026, Starbucks had more branded searches than Columbus Coffee among coffee chains in New Zealand. Starbucks was estimated to have 71.3K branded searches compared to Columbus Coffee’s 30.8K, and held a 53.8% Share of Search versus Columbus Coffee’s 23.2%. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "Columbus Coffee vs Starbucks: Which is more popular by branded search in New Zealand?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/nz/compare/columbus-coffee-vs-starbucks This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/nz/compare/columbus-coffee-vs-starbucks. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.