The American coffee company Starbucks and India's Tata Sons finalised multiple joint initiatives to expand their collaboration last week. Some of the initiatives will come into force from the end of this year.
The initiatives include sourcing Indian coffee for the U.S. market, Starbucks said in a statement. The company also plans to expand the availability of Himalayan Mineral Water, which is bottled by Tata Global Beverages, to its stores in Singapore. In addition, Starbucks also plans to sell its popular tea brand, Teavana, in India this year.
The two companies have been running the joint venture, Tata Starbucks, in India since 2012 when it opened its first store. "Starbucks now spans over more than 80 stores across six Indian cities," Howard Schultz, Starbucks Chairman and Chief Executive, said in the statement. "As we continue on our journey with the Tatas, we are delighted to introduce the finest coffee from India to a new audience."
In the U.S., Starbucks will also offer a single-origin coffee from India, which would be sourced from Tata Nullore Estates. This would be the first coffee in India to be roasted in the Starbucks Reserve Roastry and would be made available only at Seattle. In addition, Starbucks said it would increase its coffee-roasting capacity to be supplied at its stores in India.
Tata's coffee roasting and packaging plant in Coorg, Karnataka has been roasting Starbucks India Estates blend and Espresso roast coffee. It would soon expand to include both Sumatra and Kenyan coffees for Starbucks stores across the country, the statement said.
Later during the year, Starbucks coffee will be available on Vistara flights, which is a joint venture between the Tata group and Singapore Airlines.
Schultz and Cyrus Mistry, the Chairman of the Tata Group, also announced they would provide skills training to young people in India over the next five years through the Tata STRIVE programme, which empowers India's youth with skills for employment and entrepreneurship. In the last two years, STRIVE has supported about 43,000 young people. The joint partnership is expected to impact 3,000 disadvantaged youth in India.
