How did starbucks start

Many have heard that the genius president of the Starbucks Empire is Howard Schultz, but in fact, the story did not begin with him, but... with hippies. With three hippie friends from Seattle — the not-so-talented writer Gordon Bowker, who was dismissed from school because of the pacifist slogans of the history teacher Zev Sigle and the English teacher Jerry Baldwin.

In 1971, they opened a small shop selling authentic coffee, tea and spices. As true humanists, they chose the name for the store from the literature: Starbuck was called the chief assistant captain from the novel Moby Dick. And the first logo became booed engraving of the 16th century — naked two-tailed siren. So the creators both supported the maritime theme and stressed that their product is for those who see the essence and think in broader stereotypes and cultural prejudices.

A little later, friends saved money and bought the first equipment — this allowed them to roast coffee beans right on the spot, in the store. A few years later, the company had 5 stores and one coffee factory, several cafes and restaurants took delivery only from Starbucks.

Deified by many, Howard Schulz appeared on the path of Starbucks absolutely by chance, 10 years after the discovery. As a representative of a trading company for the sale of dishes, he wandered into one of the company's stores in Seattle and was almost fanatically imbued with the atmosphere that prevailed there. Throwing his work and settled as a marketer at Starbucks, Schultz began to gush with ideas.

Schultz’s main message was that Starbucks’s philosophy of quality, aesthetics and comfort is worthy of a different format — urban coffee houses. He was inspired by Italian espresso bars, where over a cup of coffee, people chatted with the barista, conducted important negotiations, got to know each other, held romantic dates, had a bite to eat with friends. According to his projects, Starbucks could become an important part of social life and people around the world. But the creators of the company were strongly opposed to such a turn. After several attempts to introduce and expand boundaries, Howard changed tactics and left Starbucks.

New era: landscaping sirens and the Around the World

Baldwin, Bowker, and Sigle did not long rest from the annoying Schultz. After leaving the company, he founded his network of small coffee shops Il Giornale, after the name of the Italian newspaper. In them, he embodied all his ideas about the culture of coffee in a big city and quickly went to a crazy profit. After a year and a half of independent work, in 1987 he was able to redeem the entire network of his favorite Starbucks for a fabulous $4 million and merge brands. And away we go.

In the same year, branded coffee shops inside the stores marched through America. A product catalog was released, the purchasing audience widened, the company's shares appeared on the stock exchanges and began to grow by leaps and bounds. In the first five years of management, Howard increased the company's profits by more than 50 times. By 1992, investors received an income of 5,000 times their initial investment.

The company logo has changed — the siren settled in a green circle and became a little more welcoming. Employees of coffee houses became co-owners of the shares: Schulz could not offer everyone full medical insurance and instead distributed small packages of company securities to employees. He was called an idiot, but the service from this reached a new level. The client seemed to come home to every barista. Fresh baked goods, salads, sweets were added to the menu. And also on sale there was a branded ware with constantly changing design.

Starbucks did not enter the international market for a long time due to the “translation difficulties” and the fear of becoming McDonalds. Howard Schultz was very worried about how the Starbucks brand atmosphere would be transported to other countries with a different culture and attitude to work. But in 1996, the first coffee house outside the US still opened - it was the city of Tokyo. It is very difficult to run in new projects in the capital of Japan because of the huge competition and specific mentality, but all succeeded, franchises dreamed of buying all the major cities of Europe and Asia. Starbucks has become a global brand with 25,000 points, the popularization of coffee culture has reached a peak. The cardboard cup won the planet, the siren became a superstar.

Starbucks facts

Like any talented commercial network, Starbucks has several unique marketing techniques that make it popular.

• Personalization

Your name, written on the glass, personal address to you barista — all this creates a feeling that you are always welcome to see, your tastes will be given special attention and you are very important for this institution.

• The quality of the product

All drinks from the menu are prepared by proprietary technologies from genuine high-quality raw materials and have their own shades of taste. For example, espresso will give a little tart caramel, and mocha — walnut and vanilla. In addition, the drink can be changed to your taste — for example, to make it completely unsweetened, use soy milk or add some special syrup.

• Location

Coffee houses are located only on the streets with high tourist or residential traffic. Initially, they were put solely on the ways where most people go to work every day and return home. Starbucks is always where you want to relax.

• Interior

The design of the rooms is different, but always looks calm, cozy and warm. Practically near each table there will be a different finish, playing music does not distract from conversations and work, the lighting is soft, but quite intensive. The room always smells like coffee. Even the windows and doors are located in a special way, only on the south or west side. This was done so that the bright sun did not shine into the eyes of the customers.

• Communication

All employees communicate with the client in the process of making coffee. It is considered quite normal to be friends with customers, and not just to pretend. Lonely people have become much more comfortable to visit public places and not feel uncomfortable.

Drinking coffee, tea or ordinary water is a matter of taste, but to feel the real atmosphere of the American Starbucks exactly owes everyone.

The company American Butler knows the best gastronomic points of the United States, and also tells you about the culture and life of America at first hand. Read us on the site and in social networks, and if you have questions, suggestions or a desire to visit the states, welcome to the chat window.