Our Starbucks mission
Our mission affirms our heritage and what has always set us apart – our commitment to source, roast and serve the highest-quality coffee and our role in bringing people together to inspire and nurture the human spirit.
We’re focusing on getting “Back to Starbucks,” back to being a welcoming coffeehouse where people gather over the finest coffee, handcrafted by baristas. Our mission statement reaffirms our heritage and the heart of what Starbucks is, while fulfilling our promise to bring together coffee and community.
Our Starbucks mission is:
To be the premier purveyor of the finest coffee in the world, inspiring and nurturing the human spirit – one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time.
Our mission statement defines what sets Starbucks apart – our identity and our responsibility in the world. Our name, Starbucks Coffee Company, also captures our role. Coffee reflects our commitment to source, roast and serve the highest-quality coffee, and Company captures our role in bringing people together to inspire and nurture the human spirit.
When the barista hands the customer their cup of coffee, it is this moment of connection that doesn’t happen in any other moment in the day, for a lot of people. The humanity of that moment is really powerful. When you stop and think about it, what are we all about? We provide the best coffee in the world, and we do it with the purpose of having these moments of connection with each other. If we keep it very straightforward – coffee, people and humanity – we’re going to be in really good shape.” – Brian Niccol, chairman and ceo
At Starbucks, our mission means honoring the care at every stop in the amazing journey of the coffee bean, from the farms to your cup. It means recognizing the Green Apron partners (employees) at our core – the community and craft they bring to more than 40,000 stores in 88 markets around the world. And it means the potential for kindness and joy in every interaction between a barista and a customer.
Our mission builds on our guiding principles.
In 1990, Starbucks leaders drafted the company’s first mission statement at a time when Starbucks had just 75 espresso bars: “Establish Starbucks as the premier purveyor of the finest coffee in the world while maintaining our uncompromising principles as we grow.”
In 2008, during a transformative gathering of 10,000 store managers in New Orleans, Starbucks unveiled its aspiration to be the community coffeehouse: “We inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup, one neighborhood at a time.”
And in 2023, we added our six promises and values, created alongside hundreds of partners around the world. They guide our actions and the impact we strive to have:
Our Promises
Our Partner Promise — Bridge to a better future
Our Customer Promise — Serve the world’s finest coffee, with a moment of connection
Our Farmer Promise — Ensure the future of coffee for all
Our Community Promise — Contribute positively
Our Environmental Promise — Give more than we take
Our Shareholder Promise — Generate long-term returns
Our Values
Craft
Results
Courage
Belonging
Joy
