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The Beginning
Starbucks opens first store in Seattle’s Pike Place Market. -
Howard Schultz
Howard Schultz joins Starbucks as director of retail operations and marketing. Starbucks begins providing coffee to fine restaurants and espresso bars. -
Ciao Italy!
Howard travels to Italy, where he’s impressed with the popularity of espresso bars in Milan. He sees the potential to develop a similar coffeehouse culture in Seattle. -
The intro to Caffe latte
Howard convinces the founders of Starbucks to test the coffeehouse concept in downtown Seattle, where the first Starbucks Caffe Latte is served. This successful experiment is the genesis for a company that Schultz founds in 1985. -
Number of stores
17 Total stores open -
Health Benefits
Offers full health benefits to employees. Total stores: 33 -
Total Stores - 55
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Starbucks expands headquarters in Seattle. Total stores: 84
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Starbuck in the sky
Opens first licensed airport store at Seattle’s Sea-Tac International Airport.Total stores: 116 -
Total stores: 165
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Total stores: 425
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The beginning of Frappes
Begins serving Frappuccino blended beverages. Opens roasting facility in York, Pa.Total stores: 677 -
Bottled Frappes
Begins selling bottled Frappuccino coffee drink through North American Coffee Partnership (Starbucks and Pepsi-Cola North America).Opens stores in: Japan (first store outside of North America) and Singapore.Total stores: 1,015 -
The Starbucks Foundation
Establishes The Starbucks Foundation, benefiting local literacy programs in communities where Starbucks has coffeehouses.Opens stores in: the Philippines. Total stores: 1,412 -
Tazo
Acquires Tazo, a tea company based in Portland, Oregon -
Hear Music
Acquires Hear Music, a San Francisco–based music company. Opens stores in: China, Kuwait, Lebanon and South Korea. Total stores: 2,498 -
New People, new places
Howard Schultz moves from chairman and chief executive officer to chairman and chief global strategist.Orin Smith promoted to president and chief executive officer..
Opens stores in: Australia, Bahrain, Hong Kong, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates.Total stores: 3,501 -
Starbucks Card
Introduces the Starbucks Card, an innovative stored-value card for customers to use and reload.Opens stores in: Austria and Switzerland. Total stores: 4,709 -
Stock Trading
Establishes Starbucks Coffee Trading Company (SCTC) in Lausanne, Switzerland.Opens stores in: Germany, Greece, Indonesia, Mexico Oman, Puerto Rico and Spain.Total stores: 5,886 -
Buying Seattle's best coffee
Acquires Seattle Coffee Company, which includes Seattle’s Best Coffee and Torrefazione Italia coffee brands.Opens new state-of-the-art roasting facilities in Carson Valley, Nev., and Amsterdam, Netherlands.Opens stores in: Chile, Cyprus, Peru and Turkey. Total stores: 7,225 -
Farmer Support
Opens first Starbucks Farmer Support Center in San Jose, Costa Rica.Releases Ray Charles, Genius Loves Company CD through a collaboration between Concord Records and Starbucks Hear Music.Introduces Starbucks Coffee Master Program.Opens stores in: France. Total stores: 8,569 -
New president
Orin Smith retires as Starbucks president and chief executive officer.Jim Donald promoted to president and chief executive officer. Acquires Ethos Water and sets a goal of donating $10 million tosupport clean water projects over the next five years.Opens stores in: Bahamas, Ireland and Jordan. Total stores: 10,241 -
Tree Saving
Launches the industry’s first paper beverage cup containing post- consumer recycled fiber, saving more than 75,000 trees each year.Opens stores in: Brazil and Egypt. Total stores: 12,440 -
Bye Transfat
Eliminates all artificial trans fat and makes 2 percent milk the new standard for espresso beverages in all U.S. stores as part of commitment to health and wellness.Opens stores in: Romania and Russia. Total stores: 15,011 -
Current
Chairman Howard Schultz returns as chief executive officer. Announces a renewed focus on customer experience and innovation. Acquires the Clover brewing system.Launches MyStarbucksIdea.com, Starbucks first online community. -
Current
Becomes the world’s largest buyer of Fair Trade coffee. Food items made without artificial flavors, artificial transfats, artificial dyes and high-fructose corn syrup.Opens second Starbucks Farmer Support Center in Kigali, Rwanda.