Brief Company History
Starbucks originally started in 1971 by Jerry Balswin, Gordon Bowker, and Zev Siegl,
with it’s first shop located in Seattle’s historic Pike Place Market. From this location,
Starbucks sold high-quality whole coffee beans, dark-roasted in small batches, the
European way.
The name of Starbucks was chosen in honor of the coffee-loving first mate in Herman
Melville’s Moby Dick, and, because they thought the name evoked the romance of the
high seas and the seafaring tradition of the early coffee traders. The current company
logo, is a twin-tailed siren, from Greek mythology, encircled by the store’s name.
In 1982, Howard Schultz, the now celebrated CEO of Starbucks, joined as director of retail
operations and marketing. Two years later, Mr. Schultz convinced the founders of
Starbucks to test the coffeehouse concepts in their downtown Seattle store, where the first
Starbucks® Cafe Latte was served.
In 1987, Howard Schultz led a group of investors that purchased Starbucks from its’
founders. Since then, Starbucks has become the premier roaster and specialty coffee
retailer in the world. Currently, there are 18,000 stores in 62 countries.
Along with selling high quality coffee beans, Starbucks offers a variety of specialty coffee
drinks, teas, hot chocolate, merchandise and a limited menu selection of food items. Their
stores offer a clean, relaxing atmosphere with free wifi for customers.
Starbucks headquarters at Starbucks
Center in Seattle, Washington
Type
Public
Traded as
NASDAQ: SBUX
NASDAQ-100 Component
S&P 100 Component
S&P 500 Component
Industry
Coffee shop
Founded
March 31, 1971; 47 years ago
Pike Place Market, Elliott
Bay, Seattle, Washington,
U.S.
Founders
Jerry Baldwin
Zev Siegl
Gordon Bowker
Headquarters
2401 Utah Avenue South,
Seattle, Washington
,
U.S.
Number of
locations
28,218[2] (2018)
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Myron E. Ullman
(Chairman)
Mellody Hobson
(Vice Chairman)
Kevin Johnson
(President and CEO)
Howard Schultz
(Chairman Emeritus)
Products
Coffee beverages
smoothies
tea
baked goods
sandwiches
Revenue
US$22.387 billion[3] (2017)
Operating
income
US$4.135 billion[3] (2017)
Net income
US$2.885 billion[3] (2017)
Total assets
US$14.366 billion[3] (2017)
Total equity
US$5.450 billion[3] (2017)
Number of
employees
238,000[4] (2017)
Subsidiaries
Starbucks Coffee Company
Ethos Water
Evolution Fresh
Hear Music
La Boulange Bakery
Seattle’s Best Coffee
Teavana
Torrefazione Italia
Geographic Area
In 2018, there were 29,324 Starbucks stores around the world.
Seattle-based coffee chain Starbucks has seen expansion on a large scale in recent years,
more than doubling over the last decade to more than 29 thousand in 2018. As of October
2017, the United States, with 14,606 locations, had the largest number of Starbucks
stores in the world by far. The country with the second largest number of Starbucks
stores, China, had just 3,521 locations. Several coun 3tries also had more than one
thousand Starbucks stores at this time. Surprisingly, the city with the largest number of
Starbucks stores worldwide was found in none of the aforementioned countries. Seoul,
in South Korea, had 284 locations as of May 2014.
It seems that, for Starbucks, financial success has gone hand-in-hand with global
expansion. In 2018, the chain recorded its highest ever annual revenue of 24.72 billion
U.S. dollars, up from a mere four billion in 2003. Despite Starbucks’ success, U.S.
consumers often cite other leading beverage chains as their favorite brand, some of which
include Krispy Kreme, Tropical Smoothie Cafe and Caribou Coffee. Nevertheless,
Starbucks still remains the largest coffee chain in the world.
The coffee and snack shop industry in the U.S. grows year-on–year, with revenues
forecasted to exceed 32 billion U.S. dollars in 2016. Within this industry, coffee shops held
a 39.8 percent market share in 2016. In terms of brands, Starbucks was the clear market
leader.
Products and Services
1. Vanilla Latte
The Starbucks Vanilla Latte can be one of the best Starbucks
drinks to order to keep health goals in check, all while
satisfying the desire for a crafted coffee!
How to Healthify: Healthifying the Starbucks Vanilla Latte can
be achieved by simply swapping to sugar-free vanilla syrup!
2. Iced White Chocolate Mocha
The “white chocolate delight” may be one of the best Starbucks
cold drinks based on flavor. However, the Iced White
Chocolate Mocha contains two different sweetening methods,
including the white chocolate mocha sauce and vanilla syrup,
contributing to 49 grams of sugar per 16 ounces.
How to Healthify: Not only can you ask for a lesser addition
of the white chocolate mocha sauce, but swap to a sugar-free vanilla syrup to reduce total
sugar content.
3. Pumpkin Spice Latte
The PSL (Pumpkin Spice Latte) is one of the most popular Starbucks drinks. And made
with real pumpkin, cinnamon, ginger, and clove, what is not to like? (Besides the 50
grams of sugar…)
How to Healthify: Limit the pumpkin spice sauce filled with sugar and ask for more of
the pumpkin pie spice in its place. But since considered a limited edition holiday drink,
you can still enjoy the PSL in its traditional, unmodified form by downsizing the volume
and relishing on the fall flavors in moderation.
4. Cinnamon Roll Frappuccino® Blended Coffee
One of the best Starbucks cold drinks is described as
“Cinnamon dolce syrup blended together with coffee, white
chocolate mocha sauce and vanilla bean, topped with
whipped cream and a cinnamon dolce sprinkle. Sweet and
spicy … that’s how we roll.” But should you be “rolling” with
the blended coffee drink? Containing a whopping 85 grams of
sugar per 16-ounces, you may want to think twice about the
cinnamon spice.
How to Healthify: Even switching to a non-fat milk and dismissing whipped cream still
contributes to a high sugar content of 82 grams. Limit the added sugar by switching to
their offered sugar-free cinnamon dolce syrup, reducing syrup pumps, or switching to
this Iced Skinny Cinnamon Dolce Latte, supplying only 10 grams of sugar!
5. Java Chip Frappuccino®
Mocha sauce and Frappuccino® chips are blended with coffee,
milk, and ice to bring you endless java joy in Starbucks Java Chip
Frappuccino® Blended Coffee! But while it may be joyful in the
moment, keep those java chips flowing and weight can easily pack
on.
How to Healthify: Order up a Java Chip Light Frappuccino®
