New multi-sensory retail experience offers customers an immersive:
-
manufacturing and cafe environment including roasting, packaging and
brewing;
- integrated offline and online augmented reality
(AR) digital experience; and
- debut of food freshly baked
onsite by Italian food purveyor, Rocco Princi for the first time ever in
China
China is Starbucks fastest growing market with a store opening every
15 hours, marking immense opportunity across the country which is
unparalleled for any other global consumer brand
The Starbucks Foundation and Starbucks China reaffirms commitment to
the China market announcing a social impact commitment of $20 million
USD (RMB 132 million) over the next five years
SHANGHAI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Starbucks Reserve Roastery in Shanghai, the first fully immersive coffee
experience in Asia, will celebrate its historic opening tomorrow, Dec.
6, culminating in Starbucks Coffee Company's (NASDAQ: SBUX) most
ambitious project ever. When the doors open to the world’s second
Starbucks Roastery, created three years after the inaugural Seattle
Roastery, customers will be greeted by a multi-sensory coffee experience
in an interactive coffee and retail destination like no other.
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New Starbucks Reserve Roastery in Shanghai, China, is the first fully immersive coffee and retail experience in Asia. (Photo: Business Wire)
The Roastery is the epitome of coffee and retail innovation for
Starbucks in China, the company’s fastest growing market with more than
3,000 stores across 136 cities, unprecedented for any global consumer
brand and with immense growth opportunity. Starbucks already has over
600 stores in Shanghai – the largest number of stores in any city where
Starbucks has a presence.
As customers enter the Roastery and step through the front doors of the
2,700 square-meter (30,000 square-foot) building, they’ll be greeted by
the stunning sight of a two-story, copper cask, adorned with more than
1,000 traditional Chinese chops, or stamps, hand-engraved to narrate the
story of Starbucks and coffee. As part of their experience, customers
can visit many attractions including one of three coffee bars offering
multiple brewing methods, explore specially-crafted teas at the 3-D
printed tea bar, enjoy freshly baked Italian artisanal food by Princi,
and marvel at the ceiling made of 10,000 handmade wooden hexagon-shaped
tiles, inspired by the locking of an espresso shot on an espresso
machine.
And, all along the way, customers can point their mobile devices around
the Roastery for even more moments of discovery as they immerse
themselves in the augmented reality (AR) experience. Integrating this
technology into the store, located at 789 Nanjing Road W., in one of the
world’s busiest shopping destinations, makes it one of the most advanced
digital locations for Starbucks in the world.
“The affinity we have built with our partners (employees) and customers
over the past 18 years in China is special and we knew we must bring the
Reserve Roastery, our boldest, most premium store ever, to Shanghai,
China’s bustling metropolitan hub and one of the world’s most dynamic
retail destinations, as well as a gateway to customers from across Asia
and the world,” said Howard Schultz, executive chairman of Starbucks
Coffee Company. “We’ve created a space that both recognizes and
celebrates our 46-year history of coffee leadership and retail
innovation with China’s rich, diverse culture."
A Theater of Coffee with a Chinese Focus
For the first time ever, unique, small-lot Reserve coffee which
Starbucks sources from more than 30 countries around the world,
including coffee from China’s Yunnan Province, will be roasted in China
by eight highly trained Chinese coffee roasters – passing on 46 years of
Starbucks roasting expertise to the first batch of Chinese roasters.
Customers can watch the green beans as they are roasted, then sent
through copper “symphony” pipes (named because of the musical sound the
beans make as they travel through them) directly to silos at the coffee
bars, where customers can enjoy a fresh cup of Reserve coffee, or to the
in-house pack line to be packaged for distribution across Starbucks
Reserve® stores in China.
The three wooden coffee bars, including one that is 27 meters (88 feet
long) – the longest at any Starbucks, are handcrafted by premiere
Chinese artisans and reference the unique roasting curve of individual
coffee beans, executing the Roastery’s design vision of Liz Muller,
senior vice president of creative global design for Starbucks. The bars
serve as the stage where hundreds of baristas will handcraft some of the
rarest, small-lot coffees in the world using one of six brewing methods:
ModBar® Pour Over, Chemex, Coffee Press, Siphon, Espresso and, the
proprietary, Clover-brewed coffee.
The Yunnan Reserve coffee, grown in Pu’er in Yunnan Province, is roasted
and available exclusively at the Roastery in Shanghai. It’s the
culmination of Starbucks ongoing, deep commitment to Chinese growers.
Since 2012, agronomists at the China Starbucks Farmer Support Center
have worked closely with farmers and the government to provide resources
and expertise to improve quality and promote sustainable coffee-growing
practices. Like the Shanghai Roastery, the Yunnan Reserve coffee truly
is made “In China, For China.” The introduction of Yunnan Reserve coffee
also signifies an important step in completing the Starbucks China
supply-chain, delivering premium coffee from bean-to-cup, and now
introducing a rare, exquisite yellow honey processed cup of Yunnan
coffee to a global audience.
A Groundbreaking Digital Experience
The Shanghai Roastery will become the first Starbucks location, and the
first-of-its kind in China, to seamlessly integrate a real-time,
in-store and online customer experience. Roastery customers are invited
to immerse themselves in the first Starbucks augmented reality (AR)
experience - accessible through the custom-designed Roastery digital
web-app platform or on Alibaba’s Taobao app - by simply pointing their
mobile devices at key features around the Roastery to bring to life
information about the Starbucks bean-to-cup story. To help customers
create their personal Roastery discovery journey, the Roastery digital
web-app platform also incorporates a digital menu and will intuitively,
through AR technology, share details of the coffee bars, brewing
methods, as well as other not-to-be-missed unique online and offline
experiences. Each step of the way, customers unlock a virtual badge and
once all badges are earned, they receive a custom Roastery filter to
commemorate the moment and share on social media. The Shanghai Roastery
digital experience is designed by Starbucks and powered by Alibaba
Group’s scene-recognition technology.
This experience also extends to Alibaba’s online marketplace, Tmall,
allowing customers to purchase Shanghai Roastery and Reserve branded
merchandise and whole bean coffee for delivery directly to their homes,
or to register for specially-curated coffee tasting experiences that can
be enjoyed at the Starbucks Roastery in Shanghai.
Princi, Italian Artisan Bakery Comes to Asia
At the Shanghai Roastery, acclaimed baker Rocco Princi combines the
craft of bread baking, exceptional ingredients and the “Spirito di
Milano” to bring his artisanal offerings to Asia for the first time.
Princi, famed for bakeries in Milan and London, joins the premium
Starbucks Reserve® brand as the exclusive food pairing to its rare,
small-lot coffees. Princi is the exclusive food offering in all
Starbucks Roastery locations, including Seattle, Shanghai and upcoming
locations.
“Rocco and his team’s passion for handcrafted food and artisanal baked
goods at Princi mirrors how I feel about our coffee,” said Schultz. “His
attention to detail, meticulous care in selecting the freshest,
high-quality ingredients and the artistry of preparation creates an
Italian food experience that perfectly pairs with our most premium
coffees. I look forward to seeing Princi’s success in Seattle further
extend to our Roastery in Shanghai.”
In Shanghai, a team of more than 30 skilled Chinese bakers and chefs
bring artisan baking to life using exceptional ingredients sourced
specifically for each fresh food offering. Much like Rocco’s European
locations, the Shanghai site is centered around ovens, with more than 80
different menu items – from flaky cornetti to focaccia sandwiches filled
with Parma ham and Italian mozzarella – for breakfast, lunch and dinner,
baked fresh onsite. A Commessa (or culinary concierge) will guide
customers through the breadth of offerings.
A tribute to China’s tea culture
The new Shanghai Roastery features China’s first Starbucks® Teavana Bar,
an entirely modern tea experience specifically designed for Chinese
customers. While demonstrating deep respect for the thousands of years
of Chinese tea tradition, the Starbucks® Teavana Bar reimagines a modern
tea experience for customers who increasingly seek new and different
tastes and experiences. Customers to the tea experience bar can select a
Teavana signature pure tea or blend, served either hot or iced. Using
only the finest tea ingredients in the world, tea
curators handcraft unexpected creations with tea mixology as well as
nitrogen and tea. For those interested in experiencing a whole new
brewing method, the Steampunk brings together science and theater. Watch
tea leaves dance in the water, while steam extracts every nuanced flavor
in one of tea’s most dynamic moments.
Inspired by the traditional clay teapots in China, the tea experience
bar is a light jade color with dark shadows to represent tea stains
formed in a teapot over time. It is also the only tea bar created from
recycled materials using a 3-D printer, measuring 7.5 meters (25 feet)
in length.
Our responsibility and commitment to the
country’s future
Starbucks takes its responsibility to contribute and give back to
communities seriously. Today, the company announced another milestone in
its commitment to China: contributing meaningful and enduring social
impact through poverty alleviation by creating opportunities for groups
facing barriers, strengthening partner-driven and locally-relevant
community engagement, and improving lives of Yunnan coffee farmers and
their families.
The Starbucks Foundation and Starbucks China plan to make charitable
donations totaling approximately $20 million USD (RMB 132 million) over
the next five years to drive social impact in communities across China.
“We firmly believe it is our role and responsibility to use our scale to
give back to the communities as we continue to grow in China, and with
the people of China,” said Belinda Wong, chief executive officer of
Starbucks China. “Our commitment, together with our Roastery opening,
epitomizes how Starbucks is doubling-down on the unprecedented
opportunities we see in the future for Starbucks and China.”
The Starbucks Foundation’s charitable donation is part of its ongoing
global commitment to giving back.
“The Starbucks Foundation was established 20 years ago to strengthen
communities around the world. We are proud to have supported communities
across China for many years and look forward to deepening our commitment
in the years to come,” said Vivek Varma, president of The Starbucks
Foundation.
Starbucks entered China in 1999 and these series of commitments reaffirm
the strategic role of the China market and highlight Starbucks ongoing
aspiration to elevate its partners, customers, suppliers and neighbors
to create an environment where everyone can thrive. The Starbucks
Roastery is another firm demonstration of Starbucks confidence and
optimism in its long-term growth in China.
About Starbucks Coffee Company
Since 1971, Starbucks Coffee Company has been committed to ethically
sourcing and roasting high-quality arabica coffee. Today, with more than
27,000 stores around the globe, Starbucks is the premier roaster and
retailer of specialty coffee in the world. Through our unwavering
commitment to excellence and our guiding principles, we bring the unique
Starbucks Experience to life for every customer through every cup. To
share in the experience, please visit our stores or online at news.starbucks.com
and Starbucks.com.
About The Starbucks Foundation
Established in 1997, The Starbucks Foundation has strengthened
communities around the world by advancing youth leadership and community
engagement. The Starbucks Foundation is a U.S. 501 (c)(3) charitable
organization under U.S. law, and receives funding primarily from
Starbucks Corporation and private donations.

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Source: Starbucks Coffee Company