Starbucks chairman and chief executive officer, Brian Niccol, shared a message with partners in China earlier today about an important milestone. Starbucks will form a joint venture with Boyu Capital to accelerate growth in one of our most important markets. You can read that message below and find more details in our press release.

To our Partners in China-   

I want to express my appreciation for our partners who have made Starbucks China a success over the past 26 years. Your craft, care and commitment have built a business grounded in coffee, connection and community. With the momentum we have in our business today, and the market opportunity ahead, I am more confident than ever in the growth potential for Starbucks in China.   

Since we began exploring new ways to accelerate our growth, we have received strong interest from many respected potential partners. After a thorough evaluation, we have reached an agreement to form a joint venture with Boyu, a trusted local partner. 

Under the agreement, Boyu and Starbucks will operate a joint venture with Boyu holding up to a 60% interest in Starbucks retail operations in China. Starbucks will retain a 40% interest in the joint venture and, importantly, will continue to own and license the Starbucks brand and intellectual property to the new entity. Starbucks will continue to operate non-retail assets such as the Kunshan Coffee Innovation Park and Yunnan Farmer Support Center. 

This approach allows us to combine the strength of the Starbucks brand, our coffee expertise, the third place, and our unique partner culture with Boyu’s deep knowledge of the China market and local expertise. 

Importantly, Boyu shares our commitment to ensuring a great partner experience so we can in turn deliver world-class customer service.   

Working together, we aim to bring the Starbucks experience to more customers, in more cities across China. We see a path to grow from today’s 8,000 Starbucks coffeehouses to more than 20,000 over time.   

We expect to finalize the joint venture in Q2 FY2026, after completing required regulatory approvals.  We will share more details as we have them during the process.  

We are excited to open a new chapter for Starbucks in China, and to accelerate our growth.

Thank you again for all you have done to make Starbucks in China a success.  I’m excited for the road ahead. 

With appreciation,  

Brian