Outrageous! Fake Starbucks Coffee Delivery from Rental Apartment with Astonishing Sales Volume!

According to a March 14 report by Sichuan Observation, on January 18 the Fucheng District Market Supervision Bureau in Mianyang, Sichuan Province, received a tip-off that someone was selling counterfeit Starbucks coffee out of a residential building. Investigators found that the operation was taking orders on food delivery platforms while posing as a proxy buyer for two official Starbucks stores - the Metropolitan MixC store and the Wanda commercial district store - and supplying customers with drinks that carried the same branding and pricing as genuine Starbucks products but were not made by Starbucks at all.

After building a profile of the operation, officers arrived near the residential building named by the informant and happened to run into a delivery rider surnamed Kong as he was heading out with an order. They approached him for an inspection and found a bag of drinks ready for customers in the box behind his scooter, packed in paper bags printed with the Starbucks logo. Piecing together what they saw on site, the officers concluded that Kong was in fact the person running the counterfeit production point, and from there they located the production site.

The operation was tucked inside a private apartment in the building. Inside, officers found all manner of Starbucks-branded supplies - straws, paper bags, disposable paper cups - and even the syrups used to make the drinks carried the Starbucks logo. Footage recorded on site showed an extremely alarming production environment.

Cleaning cloths had turned grey with grime, powdered drink ingredients sat in unsealed containers, extracted coffee had been neither used nor discarded, and the steam wand used to froth milk still had milk residue caked onto it...

Because Kong could not produce the required credentials, such as a food business permit and a business license, officers seized his production tools and raw materials. He had claimed on delivery platforms that he was buying drinks on customers' behalf from official Starbucks stores, but he was actually making them in a rented apartment and delivering them himself. Officers said the operation had received a total of 729 orders, with a case value exceeding 40,000 yuan.

Starbucks China Responds

Starbucks China issued a statement through its official Weibo account that morning: "We have noted media reports about market supervision departments cracking down on counterfeiting operations that sell fake Starbucks beverages through delivery platforms under the guise of proxy purchasing. Starbucks took an active part in the investigation of this case and assisted the relevant authorities in firmly combating illegal counterfeiting. We also urge consumers to buy brand products through official stores and Starbucks' dedicated delivery channels so that legitimate rights and interests are protected together. Our customer service team reminds customers to order through official platforms and to contact us as soon as possible if they suspect counterfeit products."

Counterfeit Starbucks Supplies Are Easy to Find

At this point some readers may wonder: aren't Starbucks' ingredients and materials supplied exclusively for use inside Starbucks? In theory, yes - but a quick search on platforms like Taobao for Starbucks syrup or Starbucks paper bags turns up plenty of branded products for sale. Buyers of such syrups have left comments like: "The color looks a little different from what I've seen at Starbucks, but the taste is pretty close."

Advice for Consumers

Starbucks has built a dedicated delivery service with extremely wide coverage - nearly every store in every city offers delivery - so consumers have no real need to turn to proxy purchasing. The incident also exposes gaps in the management and vetting processes of major delivery platforms. Law enforcement has said it will hold talks with those platforms, and it reminds consumers to always choose official stores when buying products and services.

Image source: video screenshots from Sichuan Observation, Weibo

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Cases like this are a good reminder that where your coffee actually comes from matters as much as how it tastes. FrontStreet Coffee roasts to order and ships every bag within days of roasting, so there is no ambiguity about what is inside the bag. For anyone building a home or office setup, the FrontStreet Classic Blend is the natural starting point: a medium-dark espresso blend built on the traditional Mamba recipe of Mandheling and Brazil beans, designed for espresso and moka pot alike. It pulls a dense, fine crema even on a non-professional home machine, which is exactly what you want for lattes, cappuccinos, and Dirty, and its mellow, full-bodied character works just as well for cafes as it does at home.

If you are watching costs, the FrontStreet Black Cocoa Blend is a 100% Arabica option with plenty of crema, a rich and mellow cup, and a price that suits cafe owners who need to keep an eye on margins. And for a more distinctive profile, the FrontStreet Strawberry Candy is a fruit-forward espresso blend that layers the natural character of Arabica beans from several regions into a vivid strawberry-gummy sweetness - an easy-drinking choice for anyone who tends to find coffee too bitter, and a good way to differentiate the milk drinks on your menu.