Sub-Saharan Africa will get its first Starbucks next year, after a deal was struck between the US coffee giant and South African franchise Taste.
In a statement, Starbucks announced “an exclusive licensed partnership with Taste Holdings. The first store will open in Johannesburg in the first half of 2016, with more locations to follow. Starbucks and Taste Holdings will design and build stores serving the entire range of Starbucks food and beverages alongside its advanced digital offer for customers”.
Taste say that they will staff the new cafes predominantly with unemployed young people from local communities, aged between 17-25.
Kris Engskov, president of Starbucks Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) commented: “We are proud to be bringing Starbucks to South Africa next year. Working with Taste, our partner, we’re going to deliver a great Starbucks experience. The coffee market here is vibrant and growing fast – we want to be part of that growth, bringing the passion and energy of this remarkable country into the design of our first store and our first barista team. We can’t wait to get started.”
Global fast food brands are already popular in South Africa, but coffee companies have been slower to enter the market. The US doughnut and coffee giant Krispy Kreme plans to follow Starbucks into the region, and around 31 stores in South Africa over the next five years.
Starbucks is currently up 0.09%, trading at 55 pence per share.
