Starbucks Raising Its Prices This Week

Get ready for a price hike at the coffee giant Starbucks. Starting this week, the prices of Grande and Venti drinks will increase by 10 to 15 cents for coffee. The price of lattes and mochas will increase by 15 to 20 cents. Even Starbucks coffee beans sold at the grocery store are not safe from the price hike either. The price of packaged Starbucks coffee will increase by a dollar on July 21st. Still, the price increases will vary by the location of the stores.

Starbucks is not alone in this price increase. Dunkin' Donuts has been considering a price increase as well. A drought in Brazil is to blame for the rise in coffee prices. Back in April, the International Coffee Organization warned that the drought in Brazil could affect the price of coffee beans for several years. The price of the most popular variety of beans, arabica, rose by 20 percent in April. Arabica happens to be a favorite coffee of Starbucks, Cafe Nero and Costa Coffee.

A spokesman for the coffee brand, Zack Hutson said about the price hike, "We consider many different factors when we make pricing decisions including competitive dynamics and including changes to our overall cost structure." Hutson said that the store costs included labor, packaging and distribution costs as reasons for changing the company's cost structure.

This announcement comes right after Starbucks unveiled its plan to pay for the college tuition of many of its employees. Starbucks has also opened its first restaurant in California. Starbucks is, no doubt, a busy company.

Image Credit: Jewel Samad via AFP