Breaking Through 6,000 Stores! Starbucks Creates 'Shanghai Coffee' to Honor the World's First 'Thousand-Store City'

Starbucks Opens 1,000th Store in Shanghai, 6,000th in Mainland China

On September 27th, Starbucks China announced via Weibo that it had opened its 1,000th store at Lippo Plaza on Huaihai Road in Shanghai, which is also the 6,000th store in mainland China. With the opening of this store, Shanghai's Starbucks store count will continue to lead the world, making it the first city globally to surpass 1,000 Starbucks stores.

This exceptionally significant store is also mainland China's 6,000th Starbucks store to be certified as a green store, carrying more of Starbucks' thinking and exploration for the future third space, with comprehensive application of leading sustainable retail and digital operational solutions.

Shanghai-Themed Limited Edition "Shanghai Coffee" Launch

On the occasion of the 6,000th store's unveiling, Starbucks also collaborated with IP SHANGHAI to launch the pioneering city-themed limited-edition beverage "Shanghai Coffee," released citywide on September 28th. Reports say the creative inspiration for "Shanghai Coffee" comes from the Shanghai-style culture that integrates Chinese and Western elements, creating a unique and delightful taste exclusive to Shanghai coffee.

The first sip reveals a thick layer of the original generation's "traffic" malted milk powder that once swept Shanghai, slowly melting in the mouth. The second sip features a butterscotch whipped cream with butter aroma and burnt caramel gliding over the tongue. The third delicate sip showcases finely extracted concentrated coffee, injecting distinctive flavor and soul into this cup of Shanghai coffee.

Store Design: "Returning to Original Intent, Facing the Future"

Sources say the store adopts "Returning to Original Intent, Facing the Future" as its design concept, with a light and bright style that brings customers a refreshed yet familiar and warm spatial experience. On entering, the most eye-catching artwork is created using recycled green aprons as a canvas, displaying Starbucks' iconic mermaid with gracefully extended twin tails.

On closer inspection, rich stories and details unfold one by one, tracing the beautiful moments along Starbucks' journey. The store also features a giant "cup wall" which, under the designer's clever arrangement, resembles a miniature city cup museum. Each city cup is filled with memories, seemingly carrying the footprints of Starbucks' journey.

Shanghai: A Global Coffee Hub

Over the past decade, the number of Starbucks stores in mainland China has grown nearly 10-fold, making the Chinese market the second-largest after the United States. According to the 2022 Shanghai Coffee Culture Week report, Shanghai now has nearly 8,000 coffee shops, ranking first globally among cities. Among these 8,000 stores, Starbucks accounts for 1,000 locations.

Market monitoring data also shows that approximately 20 renowned overseas coffee brands, including Canada's Tim Hortons, Italy's LAVAZZA Coffee, America's Peet's Coffee, and Blue Bottle Coffee, have all chosen Shanghai as their preferred landing location. Starbucks China's first store was in Shanghai, and now Starbucks China, full of its original aspiration, has returned to where it started in Shanghai.

Starbucks' "2025 China Strategic Vision"

At the recent Global Investor Conference, Starbucks proposed its "2025 China Strategic Vision": over the next 3 years, Starbucks will add 3,000 new stores at a rate of one every 9 hours, covering 300 cities in China.

By 2025, Starbucks China's total store count will reach 9,000, with 35,000 new employees and more than 95,000 staff in total. The company aims to double its net revenue and achieve operating profit growth four times the current level. This is a goal that shocks many: 3,000 stores in 3 years, a rather aggressive target.

It is worth noting that today's coffee market competition is extremely fierce. The market currently seems divided into three tiers. The first tier consists of well-known chain coffee brands such as Starbucks, Luckin Coffee, and Manner, representing the "national team" with extensive store layouts nationwide. The second tier is made up of "local teams" formed by regional chain brands. The third tier consists of scattered "individual players" competing independently in streets and alleys.

Market Competition and Pricing Challenges

Luckin Coffee, also in the first tier, has long surpassed 7,000+ stores, already exceeding Starbucks. According to Starbucks' menu, there are currently 84 beverages for sale, including coffee blended with ice cream, among which only 9 are priced under 30 yuan while 75 products exceed 30 yuan, accounting for 89%.

By comparison, other brands are far more affordable. Luckin focuses mainly on the 20 yuan price range, while Manner averages around 20 yuan per cup. The second and third tiers are similar, with coffee launched by tea brands mostly not exceeding 20 yuan.

As the market becomes more accessible, the tea beverage industry, much like coffee, has seen high-end brands such as Nayuki and HeyTea target the sub-20-yuan segment in the first half of this year. They successively lowered prices for their products and stated they would not launch new beverages starting with 3-digit prices.

Future Expansion Strategy

Starbucks' current store layout in first and second-tier cities is already quite complete, with high market saturation. Opening another 3,000 stores means further expansion into lower-tier markets. Whether the consumption power of those lower-tier markets can support Starbucks' pricing, however, remains a question mark.

Starbucks China stated that it hopes to meet consumers' coffee needs across various life scenarios as much as possible over the next 3 years. "By 2025, the current 2,500 'Starbucks Coffee Service' locations covering office buildings, hotels, and other venues will double to 5,000."

"Throughout our journey, Starbucks has cherished the close connections established with every customer and will continuously innovate and upgrade products and experiences to meet and exceed customer expectations, winning more customer support every day," said Cai Delu, CEO of Starbucks China.

Image source: Internet

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

While Shanghai's coffee scene keeps expanding, FrontStreet offers approachable beans for those exploring coffee at home. From Ethiopia, one of Africa's largest coffee producers and the birthplace of coffee, the FrontStreet Sun-Dried Huakui and the FrontStreet Washed Gedeb Cooperative show two classic profiles: the Washed Gedeb Cooperative is a typical Yirgacheffe with jasmine florals, lemon acidity, and berry notes, while the Sun-Dried Huakui uses a traditional natural process whose main flavors are berry, floral, jackfruit, melon, and honey. From Brazil, the FrontStreet Cerrado Red Bourbon and the FrontStreet Queen Estate are everyday single origins from the well-known Cerrado region, with the classic cream, peanut, and cocoa flavors of Brazilian coffee; the Queen Estate sits at a higher altitude and belongs to the rare Yellow Bourbon variety, adding butter, sunflower-seed, macadamia, and almond aromas with a sugarcane-like sweetness. For Panama, the FrontStreet Boquete Washed Geisha is an entry-level Geisha that gives the clear orange-blossom honey character of Geisha at a very approachable price.