STARBUCKS OPENS FIRST US PRINCI STORE IN SEATTLE– The coffee giant has made an investment in high-end Italian bakery and pizzeria Princi that allows it to develop and operate all new Princi locations outside of Italy, including in the US, and to offer Princi baked goods in Starbucks’ new specialty coffee stores. “This will be the first time in our 45-year history that we will actually be baking in a store,” Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz said. “The Roasteries in New York and Shanghai, and others that will be announced in coming months, will have a fully-integrated bakery operation in the facility, not unlike what we’re doing in terms of roasting”. Terms of the deal were not disclosed actually. Princi will become the exclusive food purveyor operating within Starbucks’ upcoming showcase roastery locations, starting in Shanghai and New York.
STARBUCKS TO OFFER GOODS FROM ITALY’S HIGH-END PRINCI BAKERY- Separately, Princi will provide food for new Starbucks cafes that serve only premium small-lot reserve coffee. That new cafe concept is slated to debut in 2017. Indeed, Starbucks has been trying to overcome its reputation as a mass coffee brand. The American company wants indeed better compete with the likes of Stumptown and Intelligentsia by introducing single-origin coffees in supermarkets. This strategy has the aim to improve its food offerings while opening a massive coffee shop in Seattle where coffee is roasted. That’s why the Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz said that customers are increasingly seeking “a higher level of product”.