Starbucks Invests In Italian Bakery Princi

Aiming to increase its upscale offerings, coffee chain giant Starbucks announced last week that it is investing in Princi, the Italian boutique bakery and café, known for its artisan breads.

Starbucks is joining a global investment team that includes Angel Lab and Pekepan Investments. The group is focused on expanding the number of Princi locations worldwide, as well as making Princi the exclusive supplier of food at the new Starbucks Reserve Roastery and Tasting Rooms in New York and Shanghai. The two new stores were announced earlier in the year and will sell Starbucks line of premium, small-lot Reserve coffees. The Shanghai location is slated to open in 2017, and the New York Roastery has a launch date of 2018.

“We have never baked in our stores in 45 years. But all of that will change with the creation of this unique partnership,” said Howard Schultz, Starbucks chairman and CEO, in a press release announcing the deal. “I can think of no better pairing for our most premium coffee experience and am excited by the possibilities we envision in Princi food elevating every daypart — breakfast, lunch and dinner — in Starbucks Roasteries and Reserve Stores.”

In addition to expanding Princi’s locations and making fresh baked goods for Starbucks Roasteries, the parties will collaborate on food for the new Reserve-only stores that Starbucks is rolling out starting in 2017. Starbucks has nearly 24,000 stores worldwide and offers Reserve coffee in nearly 2,000 locations in 30 countries. Starbucks is an old hand when it comes to making investments in food companies. In 2012, the coffee peddler acquired La Boulange Bakery for the pastries in its stores

The new Starbucks stores in Shanghai and New York will be twice as large as existing Starbucks locations and will be stocked with a manual espresso machine and different ways to brew its Reserve coffees. The Shanghai store will be 30,000 square feet and is being called an “interactive, retail environment.”