Starbucks Opens Reserve Bar Flagship Store to Celebrate 20 Years in Thailand
Starbucks today celebrates 20 years of delivering the Starbucks Experience to customers throughout Thailand with the recently opened Central World store– its largest store in Bangkok.
Store features company’s first four-tap Starbucks® DRAFT system in Asia; small-lot Starbucks Reserve™ coffees
CentralWorld store is largest retail location in Thailand
Bangkok, THAILAND (June 11, 2018) – Starbucks today celebrates 20 years of delivering the Starbucks Experience to customers throughout Thailand with the recently opened Central World store– its largest store in Bangkok. Located on the first floor of CentralWorld, the store features a Starbucks Reserve Bar and, for the first time in Asia, Starbucks® DRAFT beverages infused with nitrogen.
Starbucks CentralWorld is Thailand’s largest Reserve Bar store composed of Starbucks traditional coffee bar as well as the Starbucks Reserve Bar, which invites customers to deepen their coffee knowledge. Featuring the Black Eagle espresso machine for unique, espresso-forward beverages and various brewing methods such as the Siphon, Chemex, and Pour Over, customers can taste Starbucks Reserve, small-lot coffees for a premium coffee experience specially-crafted by Starbucks Coffee Master partners (employees) whose passion and knowledge of coffee is highlighted by their black aprons.
First-in-Asia Beverage Innovation
Starbucks® DRAFT makes its Asia debut in the store on a four-tap system delivering Starbucks Cold Brew and nitrogen-infused Starbucks Cold Brew, tea and milk. This latest beverage innovation draws in customers with its velvety texture cascades from the taps causing a sensory experience to both taste and see. The Starbucks® DRAFT counter, found on the first floor of the store, highlights select nitro beverages including Nitro Cold Brew, Nitro Peach Tea, Nitro Green Tea Latte, Nitro Caramel Macchiato and Nitro Flat White.
“From the success of Starbucks Nitro Cold Brew coffee, we continue to search for beverage innovation elevate the customer experience. Today, we are pleased to launch Starbucks® DRAFT, an innovative cold beverage offering a rich, creamy texture for each beverage.” says Nednapa Srisamai, managing director of Starbucks Coffee (Thailand) Ltd. “This is a new cold beverage experience not to be missed.”
This beverage innovation is the first-of-its-kind in Starbucks across Asia further elevating the cold beverage experience. Starbucks® DRAFTis also available today at one location in the U.S.
Coffee Forward Design and Thai-Relevant Art
As customers enter the space for the first time, their eyes will be drawn to the high, gold ceiling inspired by the natural terraces where coffee is grown, paying homage to the landscapes of coffee-growing terrain. The ceiling begins the coffee journey for customers by inviting them to come in from the outside and move towards the central Starbucks Reserve bar where the aroma of coffee can be enjoyed all around.
The 760 metre store has more than 230 seats and two large rooms is designed to host community events or small gatherings surrounded by locally-relevant art installations throughout the store. Local artists Rukkit Kuanhawate created a feature piece highlighting the various coffee growing regions through regional wildlife including, the Sumatran Tiger, Kenyan Elephant and Guatemalan Quetzal bird. Similarly, Irin (Ann) Ariyatanap and her team handpainted murals using drawings of coffee botanicals and Thai floral motifs alongside imagery of the Starbucks Reserve coffee silos found exclusively at the Reserve Roasteries.
Continuing on the coffee journey, customers are delighted upon entering the store with wooden coffee scoops engraved with messages and colorful motifs describing the various parts of the coffee tree. Similarly, the walls of both meeting rooms serve as tribute to the bean-to-cup story through natural hemp woven art, hand painted ceramics and a floor-to-ceiling wood carving.
Investing in the Thai Community
Starbucks has been a fabric of Thai communities since opening its doors in 1998. As a coffee growing market, Starbucks began investing in the local supply chain more than 15 years ago, sourcing coffee from Northern Thailand to develop the local Muan Jai™ Blend with five-percent of sales from Muan Jai™ Blend going to the farmers in Northern Thailand and their communities. Starbucks first community store in Asia, in Langsuan, Thailand, is another example of how Starbucks gives back to the local community. Ten Baht of every beverage purchased goes back to the local coffee farmers. To date, Starbuck has donated over THB 5 million to the NGO partner, Integrated Tribal Development Program (ITDP), who has worked to improve the lives of these farmers for many decades.
“The success of Starbucks social impact programs in Thailand is due to our partners who embody Starbucks Mission and Values as well as our customers for their loyalty and support,” said, Nednapa. “We remain committed to giving back to the local community as we grow.”
Today, Starbucks Thailand operates 336 stores and more than 4,000 partners proudly deliver the Starbucks Experience to Thai customers – one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time.
