Starbucks Corporation is an American coffee company and coffeehouse chain.
Let’s see what other facts we can learn about it!
1. Starbucks was founded in Seattle, Washington in 1971.
2. As of November 2016, it operates 23,768 locations worldwide, including 13,107 in the United States, 2,204 in China, 1,418 in Canada, 1,160 in Japan and 872 in South Korea.
3. Starbucks is considered the main representative of “second wave coffee”, initially distinguishing itself from other coffee-serving venues in the US by taste, quality, and customer experience while popularizing darkly roasted coffee.
4. Since the 2000s, third wave coffee makers have targeted quality-minded coffee drinkers with hand-made coffee based on lighter roasts, while Starbucks nowadays uses automated espresso machines for efficiency and safety reasons.
4. Starbucks locations serve hot and cold drinks, whole-bean coffee, microground instant coffee known as VIA, espresso, caffe latte, full- and loose-leaf teas including Teavana tea products, Evolution Fresh juices, Frappuccino beverages, La Boulange pastries, and snacks including items such as chips and crackers; some offerings (including their annual fall launch of the Pumpkin Spice Latte) are seasonal or specific to the locality of the store.
5. Many stores sell pre-packaged food items, hot and cold sandwiches, and drinkware including mugs and tumblers; select “Starbucks Evenings” locations offer beer, wine, and appetizers.
6. Starbucks-brand coffee, ice cream, and bottled cold coffee drinks are also sold at grocery stores.
7. Starbucks first became profitable in Seattle in the early 1980s, and despite an initial economic downturn with its expansion into the Midwest and British Columbia in the late 1980s, the company experienced revitalized prosperity with its entry into California in the early 1990s.
8. The first Starbucks location outside North America opened in Tokyo in 1996; overseas properties now constitute almost one-third of its stores. The company opened an average of two new locations daily between 1987 and 2007.
9. On December 1, 2016, Howard Schultz announced he would resign as CEO effective in April 2017 and will be replaced by Kevin Johnson.
10. The first Starbucks opened in Seattle, Washington, on March 31, 1971, by three partners who met while they were students at the University of San Francisco: English teacher Jerry Baldwin, history teacher Zev Siegl, and writer Gordon Bowker.
11. The three were inspired to sell high-quality coffee beans and equipment by coffee roasting entrepreneur Alfred Peet after he taught them his style of roasting beans.
12. The company took the name of the chief mate in the book Moby-Dick: Starbuck, after considering “Cargo House” and “Pequod”.
13. Bowker recalls that Terry Heckler, with whom Bowker owned an advertising agency, thought words beginning with “st” were powerful.
14. The founders brainstormed a list of words beginning with “st”. Someone pulled out an old mining map of the Cascade Range and saw a mining town named “Starbo”, which immediately put Bowker in mind of the character “Starbuck”. Bowker said, “Moby-Dick didn’t have anything to do with Starbucks directly; it was only coincidental that the sound seemed to make sense.”
15. The first Starbucks store was located in Seattle at 2000 Western Avenue from 1971–1976. This cafe was later moved to 1912 Pike Place; never to be relocated again.
16. During this time, the company only sold roasted whole coffee beans and did not yet brew coffee to sell. The only brewed coffee served in the store were free samples. During their first year of operation, they purchased green coffee beans from Peet’s, then began buying directly from growers.
17. Starbucks has added an average of two stores on a daily basis since 1987.
18. Starbucks had 137,000 employees or “partners” as they call them in 2010. This is twice the population of Greenland.
19. Because aroma is so crucial to the Starbucks experience, Schultz laid down the law early on: Nothing can interfere with the smell of their freshly-ground coffee. The stores banned smoking in the late 1980s, years before it became commonplace; employees are asked not to wear perfume or cologne; and under no circumstances is pastrami to be stored anywhere on the premises.
20. The average Starbucks customer visits the store 6 times per month while a loyal 20% of customers go to the stores 16 times per month.
21. The siren of the famous Starbucks logo is intended to represent the seductive power of coffee, with her hair tastefully covering any hint of immodesty. But when Starbucks was still a regional chain in 1970s Seattle, their logo was far more candid: The mermaid had fully-exposed breasts. Some customers commented on it, but it didn’t become scandalous until the company began making deliveries and had to put their signage on trucks. Reluctant to traffic in portable nudity, the logo was revised.
22. Eager to ramp up efficiency in the face of stiffer competition in 2009, Starbucks dispatched executive Scott Heydon for some updated managerial training. To demonstrate how employees can cut down on idle time behind the counter, Heydon instructed managers to assemble a Mr. Potato Head toy and then put him back in his box in under 45 seconds.
23. Like most office buildings, the Central Intelligence Agency in Langley, Va. runs on caffeine. But it doesn’t run like a typical Starbucks: Baristas undergo background checks and aren’t allowed to leave their posts without a CIA escort. Customer names cannot be called out or written on cups due to security concerns.
24. There are over 87,000 possible drink combinations at Starbucks.
25. The Trenta is slightly bigger than your stomach with the capacity to hold 916 milliliters. The stomach on average has a capacity of 900 ml.\
26. When Schultz opened his line of Il Giornale espresso bars in 1985, he mandated employees wear the bowties and crisp white shirts common in Italy. The current dress code has relaxed on the Pee-Wee attire but still insists on a certain kind of conformity. Rings cannot have stones; brightly-colored purple or pink hair is not welcome; untucked shirts can’t expose your midsection when bending over; ear gauges should be less than 10mm.
27. The Starbucks cinnamon chip scone has more calories than a McDonald’s quarter pounder with 480 calories.
28. At $300 million, Starbucks spends more on healthcare insurance for its employees than on coffee beans.
Got anything to add?