Starbucks Roastery going international

Starbucks Coffee Company is to launch its first international Starbucks Roastery and Reserve Tasting Room in China next year.

It will be along Shanghai’s Nanjing Rd West as part of the HKRI Taikoo Hui project, a premium retail, office and hotel precinct, and draws its inspiration from the first roastery that opened in the company’s hometown of Seattle, Washington, in December 2014. There will be a similar immersive, all-sensory experience, offering customers an understanding of the craft of roasting and brewing Starbucks coffees, including the limited-edition Starbucks Reserve coffees.

“As our first international roastery, we will take even bolder steps to make the Shanghai location our most stunning store, while relevant to the Chinese customer,” says Starbucks chairman/CEO Howard Schultz.

China is the company’s largest international market with more than 2100 stores across 102 cities, including 55 Starbucks Reserve stores. Only at the roastery will customers be able to watch freshly roasted beans arrive, connect with coffee specialists and master roasters and sample small-lot coffees brewed in different styles. There will also be a beverage and food menu.

The HKRI Taikoo Hui complex is a pioneering project combining sustainability and quality, being developed by HKR International and Swire Properties. The roastery retail experience will be in a standalone semi-circle building facing Nanjing Road, known as China’s top commercial street.

“The new Jing’an is focused on developing high-end commercial sectors,” says Shanghai Jing’an mayor Lu Xiaodong. “We aim to establish new developmental goals for a modern cosmopolitan city, and encourage new retail innovations within our district. The government fully supports this pioneering retail experience and initiative from Starbucks.”