Post date: Sep 12, 2010 11:51:33 AM
Almost everyone is familiar with the popular coffee company
Starbucks, but do you ever wonder when this brand began?
Starbucks is one of the most famous coffee companies in the
world, and here is how they started their journey to
international fame.
And here is how the humble origin of Starbucks began...
Nowadays, Seattle is seen as the coffee mecca of the United
States, and many other popular gourmet coffee brands have
come from this city. Starbucks began in 1971 where the first
Starbucks was opened at the oldest farmer's market in the
United States, the Pike Place Market in Seattle. The name
Starbucks came from a character in Moby Dick, and we are all
more than familiar with their mermaid logo, which they say
hails from a Norse woodcut.
Initially, Starbucks was a local coffee roaster until HowardSchultz became a part of the company in 1982 to develop theirmarketing strategy. Schultz then took a trip to Italy wherehe was inspired by the Italian coffee culture, and hepitched his new ideas to the founders of Starbucks. Afterthat, Starbucks opened their first coffee shop in 1985, andit was called Il Giornale because of their Italianinfluence. Needless to say, it was a definite success fromthe get-go.By the time that 1987 rolled around, Schultz joined with newinvestors to purchase Starbucks and open franchises inChicago and Vancouver. 17 more stores opened within thatyear alone. There were 165 Starbucks coffee shops in 1992,which was when the company became public with stocksavailable through NASDAQ. Starbucks introduced their firstEuropean location in Zürich, Switzerland, in March 2001.
Starbucks is now located in 30 countries worldwide, and they
number at over 9000 cafés.
Starbucks hopes to create a positive outcome in the coffee
world by donating to charities, yet many people have
criticized them because of the amount of waste they create
each year with the millions of paper coffee cups they serve.
The Starbucks Foundation was introduced in 1997 to fund
programs for literacy in Canada and the United States, and
they continue to provide support by giving to coffee
communities, nurturing young leaders, offering access to
clean water, and promoting better education in China. They
have also taken the opportunity to set up the C.O.A.S.T.
fund that offers assistance to rebuild the Gulf Coast after
all of the damage caused by hurricanes Rita and Katrina.
In response to the criticism against Starbucks in the waste
that they create, Starbucks has made moves to reduce the
amount of waste that their cafés generate by recycling. This
is something that is important to Starbucks and their
customers, and they have taken to heart the feedback that
they have received about recycling their paper cups. They
have made the goal by 2015 to have recycling available in
all store locations to collect waste and also serve espresso
drinks in reusable cups for 25% of their beverages sold. This
is quite a lofty goal, and we can only wish Starbucks the
best in their future endeavors...
About the Author:
Mark Ramos is a coffee fanatic and owns The Coffee Bump. For
a great selection in all things coffee and espresso
machines, check out http://www.thecoffeebump.com