Tim Hortons, the coffeehouse and quick-service restaurant (QSR) chain owned by Restaurant Brands International, has been growing in the United States over the past two years.

“Kat Glyptis (president of Tim Hortons US) just took over that business a year or two ago,” said Joshua Kobza, chief executive officer of Restaurant Brands International, at the Morgan Stanley Global Consumer & Retail Conference on Dec. 4. “And I think done a really nice job, both on the existing business, but also ramping up some of the new markets. We signed development agreements all over the country. So we have a lot of great new development partners, and we’ve opened a lot of new markets.”

Kobza also believes that delivering “unit economics” to franchise partners and markets, both old and new, will materially grow the aggregate Tim Hortons business in the United States.

“If we can show that we’re delivering those paybacks in the returns on capital to the partners across all of those different geographies consistently unit after unit, I think that’s what will unlock the confidence of those partners and of other partners to grow the brand,” Kobza said. “…it’s probably something that plays out over a number of years.”

Meanwhile, in Canada Tim Hortons continues to achieve major gains.

“…we’re winning in so many categories across brand scores there of all the big QSRs, and we’re extending our lead,” Kobza said. “So when we look at our latest brand tracking across everything from like value for money, brands I associate with, brands I trust, we’re extending the lead that we have in the market. And that reflects itself as well in the same-store sales and same-store traffic. So of the top 10 brands in QSR in Canada this year, we’re No. 1 in sales and traffic.”

Kobza attributed the growth in Canada to its expanding population.

“…over the last couple of years, what’s really changed in Canada is the population growth trajectory,” Kobza said. “The country’s population has grown pretty materially, which means more customers potentially for Tims. And I think that changes the number of units we should have in the country.”

Kobza said RBI’s plan for Tim Hortons has remained pretty consistent since acquiring the brand a decade ago: deliver a version of what Tims does in Canada all around the world.

“We buy the best quality coffee beans anywhere in the world, and I put our coffee up against anybody’s, paired with good, quality food at an affordable price,” he said. “And I think that’s what the competitive landscape has given space for. There are other players out there generally higher priced, and I think that creates a bit of an umbrella that somebody can come in many markets and deliver a more compelling value proposition against with great quality. And there aren’t too many other players that are delivering fresh, high-quality food paired with that coffee. So I think that’s a bit of a unique space in the market that in many places, whether it’s the US or Mexico or the UK, there is a space there that nobody is really occupying, and that’s what we’ve been going after.”