Starbucks set to open up in South Africa
Starbucks may be one of the world’s most famous – not to mention popular – coffee chains. But not even the Seattle-based giant has penetrated all four corners of the map just yet. They might have a substantial presence in North America, Europe and East Asia, and they might have stores in South America, the Middle East and Australia, but there is one place that they haven’t conquered: Sub-Saharan Africa.
All that could change though, as the company has announced they are going to be opening their first store in South Africa next year.
…continue reading Starbucks set to open up in South Africa
Starbucks to raise the price of a cup of coffee
Just a handful of days removed from J.M. Smucker’s announcement that they would be dropping the price of a cup of coffee, Starbucks has made their move. Unfortunately, despite seeing the cost of a coffee from the likes of Dunkin’ Donuts fall, Starbucks have moved in the opposite direction and hiked up their prices.
As of writing, the drinks that will be impacted by this directive aren’t know, but it is believed that, for the first time in two years, the majority of beverages will see their prices go upwards.
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Frappuccino to fall foul of new San Francisco law
Public health initiatives are a good thing. Whether it be a concerted effort to get people active or by embarking on an advertising campaign to highlight to health risks associated with certain pastimes and products, generally, as a collective group, we’re all the better for them. Sometimes, a little gentle encouragement is enough; at other times we might need a jolt to the system.
In the United Kingdom, for example, there is legislation in place with ensures that health warnings are displayed on cigarette packing, often accompanied by a particularly startling image. Something I think that we can all agree isn’t a bad idea.
…continue reading Frappuccino to fall foul of new San Francisco law
Tata Starbucks to stop using banned ingredients
After some trouble importing a number of popular ingredients and confectionaries, Tata Starbucks has announced that they will only use ingredients that have been improved by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).
Tata Starbucks is a joint venture between Tata Global Beverages and Starbucks, and they are one of the biggest coffee chains in India, though they lag some way behind the popular native brand Café Coffee Day.
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Rwandan coffee gets a ringing endorsement
The Rwandan coffee industry is hoping to export around 26,000 metric tonnes of coffee this year, bringing in around $75 million to the local economy. Hitting these self-imposed targets is always a tough task, but they hope to do so thanks to their relationship with Starbucks, the global coffee giants – a partnership which has recently received a glowing recommendation for the Seattle-based chain.
Starbucks’ Executive Vice President, Craig Russell, was in Kigali recently and spoke highly of Rwanda’s coffee. The salutations were certainly flowing as he spoke to the local press.
…continue reading Rwandan coffee gets a ringing endorsement
Starbucks returns in a big way
You might remember that last year Starbucks stopped buying coffee.
With arabica prices spiralling upwards and threatening to break through the proverbial roof, the coffee giant pulled out of the market all together and left everybody else to squabble over the bean reserves that were going for $2.25 per pound.
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Starbucks shares jump on the back of Q2 results
As the bell rung at the New York Stock Exchange to signal the start of trading, shares in Starbucks began to slowly climb, before racing upwards in a manner that USA Today compared to a “late-day caffeine burst.”
The rise, in the region of 5%, came on the back of the global coffee giant’s publication of their second quarter revenues, which saw the company’s net revenues jump by 18% to $4.6 billion, and total same store-sales improve 7%. Profits are reported to be in the region of 16%.
…continue reading Starbucks shares jump on the back of Q2 results
KFC targets China for coffee sales
The Chinese coffee sector is about to welcome a new, super-sized player in the coming weeks, one that could cause Starbucks and other established coffee chains a real headache or two.
Enter KFC, the company formerly known as Kentucky Fried Chicken.
…continue reading KFC targets China for coffee sales
Starbucks inadvertently causes a commotion
The phrase ‘with great power comes great responsibility’ may primarily be associated with comic books and Spider Man’s origin, but the words attributed to Benjamin Parker should also be taken on board by many a company – especially those whose business it is to serve and employ a wide range of people from vastly different cultural and social backgrounds.
Some customers of Starbucks with an Armenian background have been up in arms recently after taking offence to some newly installed interior artwork. Visible in a number of locations across the United States, a poster depicted a group of women dressed in traditional Armenian attire standing underneath a depiction of the Turkish flag. Safe to say, the reaction wasn’t positive.
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Starbucks introduces high-end coffee subscriptions
“You think about Blue Bottle and Stumptown and Intelligentsia; they’re doing marvellous things around coffee. [But] we’re not perceived to be in the group [and] that’s really not fair,” said Major Cohen, a member of Starbucks’ coffee engagement team.
All we have to do is decide how we want to be in that group: We have the coffee, we have the people, we have the sites. It’s just a matter of what we want to focus our attention on.”
It appears that the globally recognised chain has found what they have been looking for: …continue reading Starbucks introduces high-end coffee subscriptions