Starbucks long ago raised the bar for what customers are willing to pay for a cup of coffee. Now, the java company is looking to create an even more upscale brand.
CEO Howard Schultz says the company will create a new line of stores called Starbucks Reserve-only, CNNMoney reports. These locations will offer premium, small lot reserve coffee in more of a café environment than existing Starbucks stores.
“We recognize our customers expect and desire a higher level of product and we want to give it to them,” Schultz told reporters on a press call.
The new Reserve-only stores will be about twice as large as current Starbucks stores. The cafés will be in hundreds of locations, and they’ll start popping up next year.
The Starbucks Reserve-only brand is part of a broader company strategy to improve and expand its food offerings.
Starbucks also announced Thursday that it has invested in Princi, an Italian bakery with just five stores in Milan and London. The company plans to open a chain of Princi bakeries around the world.
The deal with Princi is the latest effort by Starbucks (SBUX) to crack the food sales market. Starbucks’ food sales are growing faster than its coffee sales, but it has stumbled in attempts to fully capitalize on the trend. For example, Starbucks last year closed a chain of 23 La Boulange bakeries, which it had bought for a reported $100 million in 2012.
CNNMoney has the full story.
