Written By Ananya Agarwal (Grade 8)
Coffee – definitely one of the largest growing beverage industries of the world! It is a staple in so many people’s diets and it is breakfast for most. Nowadays we find coffee shops in every residential locality, but the most common one is Starbucks. With their mission to inspire and nurture the human spirit one person, one cup, and one neighbourhood at a time, they have become more than household names. Their coffees are adored all around the world and now account for 57% of the coffee market in the world!
The brand was originally started in 1973 by three college friends Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegel and Gordon Bowker with the help of Alfred Peet, who at that time was the best versed man of coffee in their country. Together they opened the first coffee bean shop and roastery in Seattle, and Alfred provided them with coffee beans and connected them to other coffee brokers until they could provide for themselves.
In the first decade, they opened five more locations in the city but till then they only used to sell coffee beans and products because at that time coffee never existed outside houses and nobody wanted to buy ready made espresso-based drinks. But this changed when the company hired Howard Schultz, who took inspiration from the coffee shops in Milan, where coffee shops were places for people to relax, and later Schultz even bought the company.
Schultz’ new idea was a success and they slowly opened shops across the country. The growth was very rapid and just after three years they opened their 2000th location. Consumers slowly started ditching their kitchens for coffee and Starbucks’ go-to paper cups became everybody’s favourites. The brand has also not failed to keep up with the times. As everyone has become so health conscious today and runs away from fat, Starbucks plans to reduce their whipped cream based drinks and introduce more healthy drinks like cold brew and fruit refreshers.
Even after so many years Starbucks has not lost its authenticity and keeps finding ways to keep everybody interested in the brand and have always been one step ahead in the world of coffee. It is surely because of this company that coffee is such a big industry in the world today.
Featured Image Courtesy – Times of India
