Starbucks to Open Its 1st Colombian Cafe
Starbuckssaid today it will open its first cafe in the Colombian city of Bogota in 2014 -- with plans to open more stores in Colombia over the next five years.
The company said in press release that 100% of the drip, espresso, and packaged Colombian coffee that's served and sold in the Colombian store will be roasted in the country. Starbucks has a long history with the South American nation, having purchased coffee from Colombian farms since 1971.
Starbucks also said it's working with the United States Agency for International Development, or USAID, to invest $3 million over the next three years to deliver training and agronomy help to 25,000 Colombian farmers.
"It is an honor for us to bring the Starbucks Experience and Colombia's finest coffee to this important and fast-growing market while collaborating with Colombia and USAID to continue empowering local coffee growers and sharing the value, heritage, and tradition of its coffee with the world," Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz said in a statement.
The new store -- and future stores -- will be operated by Alsea and Grupo Nutresa. Alsea already works with Starbucks in more than 500 stores in Mexico, Argentina, and Chile. Grupo Nutresa's subsidiary, Colcafe, helped Starbucks develop its Starbucks VIA soluble coffee.
The article Starbucks to Open Its 1st Colombian Cafe originally appeared on Fool.com.
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