Starbucks Plans To Win Italy’s Heart With A High End Roastery

A few days ago, we told you that Starbucks was planning to foray into Italy. After ex footballer Antonio Percassi, who is overseeing the launch of Starbucks in Italy, announced the news, many were concerned about how Italians would respond to Starbucks’ outlets. You see, Italians are a bit of a snob when it comes to coffee and many believe Starbucks will have its work cut out for it to convince Italians to head to a Starbucks instead of their local coffee cafe.

Game Face On

Now, Starbucks has announced it game plan for winning Italians’ hearts; the Roastery. Starbucks opened its first Roastery in 2014 in Seattle; a space which invites customers to experience the process for roasting beans. A look inside Starbucks’ Roasteries looks a little like Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory, with coffee waterfalls in glass tubes and the aroma of coffee. Indeed, Howard Shultz said he aimed to create the “create the Willy Wonka of coffee,” in the Roasteries.

So, Shutlz is now relying on the Roastery experience to beckon Italians to Starbucks. The brand will open a Roastery first, followed by regular Starbucks outlets; which is the opposite of what it normally does when entering a location.

“This store will be the culmination of a great dream of mine – 34 years in the making – to return to Milan” with an immersive retail experience, Schultz said in a statement.

There will also be Roastery stores coming to Shanghai in 2017 and Tokyo in 2018.