Separate Coffee Sourcing and Roasting Agreement with Tata Coffee
Ltd will accelerate the discovery of Indian arabica coffees in India and
around the world
Tata Global Beverages Limited andStarbucks Coffee
Company (Nasdaq: SBUX) today announced a joint venture between the
iconic international coffee brand and the 2nd largest branded tea
company in the world. The 50/50 joint venture, named TATA Starbucks
Limited, will own and operate Starbucks cafés which will be branded as
Starbucks Coffee "A Tata Alliance."
The retail stores will be developed in cities across the country,
beginning with stores in Delhi and Mumbai in calendar 2012.
In a separate sourcing and roasting agreement between Starbucks Coffee
Company and Tata Coffee Limited, Tata Coffee Limited will roast coffee
to supply TATA Starbucks Limited, and to export to Starbucks Coffee
Company. This agreement paves the way for consumers in India to enjoy
the premium Starbucks Experience, while further discovering the
unique taste of high-quality Indian arabica coffee worldwide.
TATA Starbucks Limited brings together two companies with a rich
heritage in and passion for coffee, tea and innovative beverages.
Together, the JV will enable an expanded range of beverage offerings for
Indian consumers. As an example, the companies have agreed to jointly
leverage assets and innovation to offer a premium tea product
branded Tata Tazo.
"The joint venture with Starbucks is in line with Tata Global Beverages'
strategy of growing through strategic alliances in addition to organic
and inorganic growth," stated Mr. R K Krishnakumar, Vice Chairman, Tata
Global Beverages. "It opens up exciting business opportunities and new
formats for Tata Global Beverages. Starbucks brings unique retail
expertise as well as a shared sense of business values. We are excited
about the opportunities the alliance presents to innovate in the retail
space and bring new beverage experiences to more consumers in India,
leveraging the global in-home expertise of Tata Global Beverages and the
global out-of-home expertise of Starbucks."
"We're very pleased to have found the best partner for Starbucks in Tata
– a company that shares so many of the same values for conducting
business in a way that earns the trust and respect of our customers and
partners (employees)," said John Culver, president, Starbucks China and
Asia Pacific.