Xinhua News Agency, Shanghai, September 17th: A cup of coffee shows confidence
Xinhua News Agency reporters Wang Yongqian, Yang Shaogong, Xu Xiaoqing
“We will continue to invest. In Kunshan, not far from here, we are investing in the construction of the Starbucks China Coffee Innovation Industrial Park, which is the most modern roasting plant in the world and will open in September.” More than 3 months ago, Starbucks Global CEO Na Sihan visited the Chinese market for the first time and reiterated Starbucks’ long-term commitment to China in Shanghai and was confident in the company’s future development in China.
In September this year, Starbucks, which was born in Seattle, USA, frequently made “big moves” in China on the other side of the Pacific. Not only is the Starbucks China Coffee Innovation Industrial Park located in Kunshan, Suzhou, in the Yangtze River Delta region about to be unveiled, the Starbucks China Innovation and Technology Center in Shenzhen is also planned to be put into operation in Futian District.
Industry analysts pointed out that the above two major moves indicate that multinational companies continue to be optimistic about the growth space of China’s coffee and related beverage market. The capital increase involved is a “vote of confidence” in the market expansion prospects with real money. Judging from the location of the capital increase, this multinational coffee giant will further take advantage of the innovation advantages and logistics conveniences of the Yangtze River Delta and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area in the future.
Starbucks’ new store in Shanghai Lippo Plaza displays Chinese city-themed mugs (photo taken on September 27, 2022).Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Ying
Wang Jingying, chairman and CEO of Starbucks China, said last month that Starbucks hopes to create a new experience around “coffee and people”, which is a long-term strategy in the Chinese market. She believes that new scientific and technological inspiration and innovative technical solutions will enhance the company’s unique competitive advantages and contribute to the high-quality development of China’s specialty coffee industry and retail industry.
The pursuit of high-quality development and coverage of the entire industry chain have become two key words for foreign investors to increase investment in China’s beverage market in recent years.
In 2020, Italian coffee brand LAVAZZA opened its first store in China and its first store in Asia through cooperation in Shanghai, focusing on promoting Italian food life. American Blue Bottle Coffee, which will officially enter the Chinese mainland market in 2022, has chosen to set up a special roasting factory in Pengpu, Shanghai since its inception to introduce small batches of freshly roasted specialty coffee beans from Yemen, Costa Rica, and Bolivia to Chinese consumers.
Starbucks has further extended the “tentacles” of the industrial chain to the source of coffee bean production. As early as 2012, Starbucks’ “Coffee Growers Support Center” was put into operation in Pu’er, Yunnan, closely connecting local coffee farmers with logistics, roasting, distribution, sales and even store sharing.
When the Starbucks China Coffee Innovation Industrial Park opens, from Pu’er in Yunnan to Shanghai and Kunshan, China’s single market will form a complete closed loop upstream and downstream of the coffee industry chain, and be integrated with mechanized and intelligent large-scale production. This means that more Chinese consumers will drink specialty coffee brewed with fresher Chinese local coffee beans.
In Kunshan, the trade distribution of green coffee beans has begun to take shape. The first phase of the 50,000-square-meter bonded distribution warehouse of the Asia-Pacific Green Coffee Bean Distribution Center has been put into use, with an annual storage capacity of 80,000 tons. The global green coffee bean trade distribution business is fully carried out. Louis Dreyfus, Sucofina, and Famous Well-known green bean merchants such as Doufang have settled in the center, forming trading clusters such as bulk trading of green beans, logistics and distribution, and distribution of finished coffee.
The opening event of the 2nd Shanghai Coffee Culture Week (photo taken on August 4, 2022).Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Fang Zhe
The coffee industry is the core industry of the high-end food industry in Kunshan Development Zone. Relying on the geographical advantages of the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta and the Shanghai-Suzhou co-city effect, Kunshan has successively held a series of activities such as the “International Coffee Roasting Competition”, “China (Kunshan) International Coffee Industry Conference” and “Coffee Culture Festival”, kicking off China’s “Coffee Silicon Valley” name.
In the Kunshan Comprehensive Bonded Zone, the Shanghai Free Trade Zone Coffee Trading Center has been stationed as a whole, and the supporting constant-temperature storage warehouse has been put into use. Coffee spot trading has been launched and venues and supporting services have been provided.
It is understood that following the launch of Starbucks China Coffee Innovation Industrial Park, another major local project, Swire Coca-Cola (Suzhou) Beverage Co., Ltd. will also start construction this month and announce future investment plans in China. Previously, Swire Coca-Cola expanded its production line in Guangdong, setting a new record for its single investment in the mainland.
Zhu Danpeng, a Chinese food industry analyst, believes that the overall economic vitality of the Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta is strong, and consumer demand has increased significantly. Foreign investors in the food and beverage field are willing to carry out heavy asset support, which not only reflects their confidence in the Chinese economy, but also shows that these brands have a strong influence on the economy. The capacity of the entire Chinese market has been further increased and recognized.
In May this year, the “2023 China Urban Coffee Development Report” jointly released by China Business Data Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Cultural Innovation and Youth Development Research Institute, etc. showed that the scale of China’s coffee industry has grown from 165.1 billion yuan in 2021 to 2022. It was 200.7 billion yuan in 2025 and is expected to reach 369.3 billion yuan in 2025. The coffee drinking habits of Chinese consumers are becoming daily and high-quality.
Na Sihan’s previous visit to Shanghai specifically mentioned that although Shanghai has become the city with the largest number of Starbucks stores in the world, there is still room for growth in the average number of coffee cups purchased by Shanghai consumers and even consumers across China. This is also The reasons why Starbucks is firmly optimistic about the Chinese market.
According to the company’s blueprint, by 2025, it will achieve the goal of opening 9,000 Starbucks stores in mainland China, and will also create tens of thousands of new jobs for this purpose.
2023-09-18 02:04:58
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