Starbucks had just reached a total of 5,000 stores and was only six years into its expansion to Europe and Asia. Starbucks Mexico aims to double the initiative by donating 360,000 coffee plants to farmers.
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Starbucks and strategic partner Alsea have brought a distinct coffee experience to Mexico and helped expand the country’s specialty coffee market, with the country’s per capita coffee consumption increasing 60% over the past decade.
Together, Starbucks and Alsea have also expanded operations to Argentina, Chile and Colombia.
Starbucks has now reached 500 stores in Mexico, its largest market in Latin America. The 500th store in Mexico City's Antara Shopping Centre pays tribute to Starbucks connection with the country's coffee heritage. Elements of the store design were inspired by coffee farms of Chiapas. For example, varying light and dark wood tones evoke the coffee roasting process.
Despite the growth of specialty coffee in Mexico, coffee farmers face a significant threat from coffee leaf rust (la roya). The plant fungus damages millions of coffee trees, making it harder for farmers to produce high-quality coffee.
In 2014, Starbucks Mexico launched a new coffee tree revitalization program called Todos Sembramos Café (We All Grow Coffee) to combat the disease.
In its first year, the program used 100 percent of the profits from Shade Grown Mexico whole bean coffee sold in Starbucks stores to distribute over 180,000 rust-resistant plants to more than 60 coffee farms in Chiapas.
The program helped farmers gain access to education and training needed to improve the quality of their crops and maintain the stability of their land.
Starbucks Mexico aims to double the initiative by donating 360,000 coffee plants to help renew farms devastated by rust. Starbucks also plans to open a new Farmer Support Center in Mexico to provide on-the-ground aid starting in 2016. ■