An unprecedented conversation about race in America from Starbucks partner open forums in six U.S cities and the company's 2015 Annual Meeting of Shareholders:

Continue the conversation  - #RaceTogether 

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Dear partners,

I want to offer my heartfelt thanks to every one of you for your fearless and energetic support of the Race Together initiative.  Our objective from the very start of this effort -- dating back to our first open forum in Seattle last December -- was to stimulate conversation, empathy and compassion toward one another, and then to broaden that dialogue beyond just our Starbucks family to the greater American public by using our scale for good.  

After a historic Annual Shareholders Meeting that focused on diversity and inequality, and an initial push for much-needed national discussion around these difficult topics, it is time for us to take stock of where we are, what we have learned from our efforts so far, and what is next.  

This phase of the effort -- writing "Race Together" (or placing stickers) on cups, which was always just the catalyst for a much broader and longer term conversation -- will be completed as originally planned today, March 22. 

But this initiative is far from over. We have a number of planned Race Together activities in the weeks and months to come: more partner open forums, three more special sections co-produced with USA TODAY over the course of the next year, more open dialogue with police and community leaders in cities across our country, a continued focus on jobs and education for our nation's young people plus our commitment to hire 10,000 opportunity youth over the next three years, expanding our store footprint in urban communities across the country, and new partnerships to foster dialogue and empathy and help bridge the racial and ethnic divides within our society that have existed for so many years.

While there has been criticism of the initiative -- and I know this hasn't been easy for any of you -- let me assure you that we didn’t expect universal praise. The heart of Race Together has always been about humanity: the promise of the American Dream should be available to every person in this country, not just a select few.  We leaned in because we believed that starting this dialogue is what matters most.  We are learning a lot. And will always aim high in our efforts to make a difference on the issues that matter most.  

I want to thank those of you who took time this week to share what you were seeing, hearing, feeling and thinking as we rolled out Race Together across the country.  An issue as tough as racial and ethnic inequality requires risk-taking and tough-minded action. And let me reassure you that our conviction and commitment to the notion of equality and opportunity for all has never been stronger.

Take care of yourselves and each other.  I am proud to be your partner. 

With great respect,   

Howard

What is the role and responsibility of a for-profit, public company?

In its 14th consecutive year of issuing a Global Responsibility Report, Starbucks offers its perspective on what it means to be a corporate citizen in the 21st century and openly shares its progress and challenges.

“I strongly believe that today, more than ever, companies such as Starbucks must use their platforms and resources to create opportunities for their people, as well as for the communities they serve," said Starbucks chairman and chief executive officer Howard Schultz, in the report’s letter to stakeholders,

In Starbucks newly-released 2014 report, the company announces significant milestones against its 2015 goals: approaching 100% ethically sourced coffee; nearing its 25% water conservation goal; and surpassing 500 LEED-certified stores in 19countries around the world.

Starbucks also updates its progress toward hiring 10,000 veterans and military spouses, creating opportunities for young people, and engaging Starbucks customers and partners (employees) in community service.

“By committing to truly aspirational and global goals, listening to our partners and customers, collaborating with innovative leaders, and candidly reporting on our combined efforts, we hope to inspire others to help redefine the role and responsibility of a public company as well,” said John Kelly, Starbucks senior vice president of Global Responsibility and Public Policy.

As Starbucks closes in on its goals for 2015, leaders share progress and challenges as they begin to create new goals for 2020.  Starbucks is also inviting the world to collaborate on its ambitious efforts through Starbucks.com/responsibility, with an emphasis on building a future with farmers, pioneering green retail at a global scale, and creating real pathways to opportunity for young people.

“With our legacy of sustainable practices and a workforce of more than 300,000 people in 21,000 stores in 66 countries, visited by 75 million customers weekly, we have a unique opportunity to listen, learn, innovate, and take meaningful action to use our scale for good,” said Kelly.

Click here for Starbucks 2014 Global Responsibility Report

Starbucks Commitment to 100% Ethically-Sourced Coffee 

For 15 years, Starbucks has worked with Conservation International to create a new way to buy coffee - one that's better for farmers, the planet, and coffee lovers everywhere.

One of the largest coffee roasting plants in the world has achieved its target of being a “100% Landfill Diversion” facility, due to Starbucks partners (employees) who led the effort. The accomplishment, certified by Underwriters Laboratories, means that all of the waste produced on site is either recycled or reused and nothing is sent to landfills. 

More than 400 Starbucks partners work in two buildings in York, Pennsylvania. Each covers about 450,000 square feet – one is the coffee roasting plant, the other is Starbucks largest distribution center. 

“The facility was always proactive about recycling, but I realized that wasn’t good enough when I visited a company that supplied our packaging film in 2009 and saw that they weren’t sending any waste to a landfill,” said Denise Wills, senior sustainability and maintenance coordinator for Starbucks York plant. “We made it our mission to do the same at York.”

Wills created a spreadsheet to track where the waste streams were within the York facility, then systematically worked with vendors to recycle and reuse the waste. She tracked down, to the pound, how much waste was being sent to landfills. Behaviors changed, Wills said, when people were able to see how much was being diverted from different areas of the plant. 

In 2012, York Partners pulled together and formed a recycling committee made up of partners from every department in the facility to accomplish the goal of recycling “every cup, every piece of plastic, every shred of cardboard – everything,” said Haskell Allen, director of Safety, Health and Environment for Starbucks Global Supply Chain. 

The York team realized that finding local vendors who could use the recycled materials was the easier part of the plant-wide effort. The bigger challenge was changing recycling behaviors.

“Every site was doing some type of recycling, that’s nothing new,” Allen said. “What we did was track the waste and engage partners in creating the culture and discipline needed to push for our aggressive recycling goals.”

Starbucks York Roasting Plant received the UL certification for being a 100% Landfill Diversion facility in May of 2014. Since then, Starbucks partners in York have continued to find ways to recycle even the smallest items, such as ear plugs. 

Transforming, Not Trashing

Starbucks® Stores around the world have also found creative ways to transform recyclable paper products.

One example is found at a Starbucks location in Bogota, Colombia’s bustling neighborhood of Chico Norte - home to international embassies, banks, and global businesses. Starbucks senior designer Hannelore Freer created a striking wall-to-ceiling installation, made with used napkins, cups, newspapers and packing boxes sourced from Starbucks stores in Santiago. 

The installation, made up of more than 140 (12in x 24in) large diamond shaped tiles. The lightweight, sustainable tiles provide sound absorption and match the store’s color palette. Each tile is mounted to the wall and ceiling with the help of a strong magnet and rod, lending the installation a light, mobile feel. 

“When we came across this material, I knew we could do something special with it” said Freer. “Each piece is light, airy and seems to float, reminding me of a coffee tree leaf blowing in a light harvest breeze.”

Working with the local Colombian government, Starbucks also helped introduce a recycling program that will increase environmental awareness in El Peñol, Guatapé community. With five new waste collection centers and a multi-tiered educational campaign on the importance of recycling, 1,160 people – from grade school students to educators and parents – and learning how to reduce their environmental impact.

Recycled Stores 

In some cases, entire Starbucks® stores are made from recycled materials. Recognizing that its own supply chain relied on shipping containers to transport coffee and tea, Starbucks wanted to find a way to reconfigure containers near the end of their usable life spans into drive-thru stores. This innovative thinking has led to several 450 square foot stores, each made from four shipping containers, since 2012.

Read more and share your input:

Starbucks 2014 Global Responsibility Report

Starbucks.com/responsibility

There’s an expression that dates back to the 17th century that “March comes in like a lion, and goes out like a lamb.” This time of year, weather can vacillate between balmy spring-like temperatures one day, or late-season snowstorms the next.

To suit both fickle weather and changeable moods, Teavana has launched two new spring teas that are delicious both hot and cold.

“Teas with a floral aspect are great for spring,” said Jason Adams, Teavana teaologist. “It’s a time when everything is in bloom, and the teas are delicious both hot and iced."

Scarlet Jasmine Tea Blend

To create Teavana’s new Scarlet Jasmine Tea Blend, Teavana tealogists combined two longtime favorites – Jasmine Dragon Phoenix Pearls Green Tea with Dragonfruit Devotion™ Herbal Tea. The result is a smooth green tea layered with vibrant tropical fruit and hibiscus.

“The Jasmine Pearls are a hand-picked spring harvest tea – rolled by hand into tightly shaped pearls,” Adams said. “In summer, the tea is layered with fresh jasmine blossoms, and it absorbs the flowers’ oils to create a fragrant tea.”

Dragonfruit Devotion Herbal Tea

Back for its third spring, the flavors of Teavana’s Dragonfruit Devotion Herbal Tea are steeped with a medley of tropical fruit and flowers. It's a caffeine-free tea with the lush fragrance of rose and orange flower blossoms.

“This is a well-balanced tea with flavors of guava, strawberry, lychee, dragon fruit, rose, and hibiscus,” Adams said. “The fruity and berry notes start up front. Then it goes into tropical papaya flavor and finishes with a soft floral bouquet from rose petals and hibiscus flowers.”

About Teavana

Teavana offers new tea enthusiasts and tea connoisseurs alike its "Heaven of Tea" retail experience where passionate and knowledgeable "Teaologists" engage and educate them about the ritual and enjoyment of tea. The company, which was founded in 1997 and joined the Starbucks family of brands in 2012, has a mission to be the most recognized and respected brand in the tea industry by expanding the culture of tea across the world. Visit www.teavana.com.

It’s hard to imagine summer at Starbucks without thinking of a cold Starbucks Frappuccino® blended beverage and the green straw. Take a trip back two decades to the birth of the iconic summer beverage.

In 1993, Starbucks had just a handful of stores in Los Angeles and fewer than 300 across the U.S. and Canada, mostly in concentrated in northern cities. Dina Campion, a 20-year partner (employee) who is now part of Starbucks Digital team, managed the district of Southern California’s 10 stores.

“It was the summer of 1993, and Los Angeles is very hot in the summer,” Campion said. “We noticed there were some smaller coffee shops that did some sort of blended coffee beverage. A couple of store managers and I felt there was a huge opportunity for Starbucks.”

Campion contacted one of her former California store managers, Dan Moore, who had recently moved up to Seattle to work on the operations team at Starbucks headquarters. They got the go-ahead to make their case with a test at a single store in Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley, and Moore got a blender shipped down to the Sherman Oaks store.

“A group of us from Seattle went down to California, and we quickly realized it was something we needed to pursue,” Moore said.  Later, the test moved to the busy store near the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, where they could get quick feedback from an ever-changing mix of customers.

“The Santa Monica manager and her assistant really started getting into it,” Campion said. “Concurrently, Seattle got involved and put some R&D skills behind it.”

By the summer of 1994, Campion’s entire district was serving blended coffee beverages to enthusiastic customers looking for refreshment. Meanwhile Starbucks acquired The Coffee Connection in Boston, along with one of their products called “frappuccino,” a cold, slushy drink made using a soft-serve machine. Starbucks applied the name to its new blended beverage.

Starbucks decided to quickly ramp up a company-wide launch for the following summer. Moore, who now leads marketing and category for Starbucks licensed stores, was on the team tasked with rolling out the blended beverage to the company’s stores.

“We had less than five months to execute our first major new product launch,” Moore said. “I remember sitting on the floor over the weekends with store design and blueprints for all of our more than 500 stores, mapping out blended stations for each one. Then I flew out to all 23 markets and did training in every city.”

The Birth of an Icon

In the summer of 1995, Starbucks brought Frappuccino across all of its stores in the United States and Canada. The only two flavors were Coffee and Mocha, made from ice double-strength brewed Italian Roast coffee brewed in stores. There was not even whipped cream.

“The first week of launch we were tracking sales, and it was something like 200,000 drinks the first week – when we were hoping for 100,000,” Moore said. “The next week it was 400,000 and the next it was 800,000. We had figured it would do well in Southern California – but it sold just as well in Chicago, Vancouver B.C. and Boston. It was huge.”

Frappuccino changed the trajectory of the company by bringing in new customers who were not normally coffee drinkers, and filling its stores in afternoons and during warm weather when coffee business was typically slow. Frappuccino accounted for 11 percent of its summer sales, and helped push Starbucks stock to an all-time high.

“When you think about it, 20 years ago, the business, Starbucks hadn’t launched into a whole host of warm weather markets. We were reliant on the holiday season,” Campion said. “With Frappuccino, we were able to level out the dips in store traffic in the summer.”

Evolution of Frappuccino

After the resounding success of Frappuccino blended beverages, Starbucks chairman and chief executive officer Howard Schultz suggested the idea of a bottled Frappuccino in a meeting with Pepsi executives. By summer of 1996, Starbucks® bottled Frappuccino® chilled coffee drinks were arriving in grocery stores.

“We were so confident of our product that we didn’t even test-market it,” said Schultz in his book, Pour Your Heart Into It. “Pepsi ramped up production as quickly as possible, but even then we could supply only West Coast supermarkets for the summer of 1996. We couldn’t make it fast enough.”

Starbucks continued to innovate with new flavors to meet growing demand. In 1999, Starbucks introduced Caramel Frappuccino® blended beverage with whipped cream and caramel drizzle – served with a green straw and domed lid for the first time.

“At the time, domed lids were radical thinking, so was the idea of adding whipped cream,” Campion said. “But for our customers it represented a momentary break – an escape in their day.”

In 2002, Starbucks launched its first Frappuccino blended beverage without coffee or tea, called Frappuccino® Blended Crème beverage, followed by Frappuccino® Light blended beverage in 2004. By 2008, Frappuccino had a digital presence with its own website, and later joined social media on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. In 2010, Starbucks launched the However-You-Want-It Frappuccino blended beverage to allow customers to customize their options for milk or soy, coffee type, syrups and toppings.

Celebrating 20 Years

Today, Starbucks serves Frappuccino blended beverages in all of its 66 countries and offers more than 36,000 different drink combinations. Around the world there are unique Frappuccino flavors that reflect the diverse palates of global customers, such as Coffee Jelly Frappuccino and Red Bean Green Tea Frappuccino in Asia, Algarrobina Frappuccino with syrup from the Black Carob tree in Peru and the chocolate Brigadeiro Frappuccino in Brazil.

In his book, Schultz underscored the impact Frappuccino has made in Starbucks history. “Its story epitomizes the enterprising spirit we still have at Starbucks. It’s experimental. It’s adventurous. It fires people up and engages their imagination.”

Birthday Cake Frappuccino

To commemorate Frappuccino’s 20th anniversary, Starbucks is offering a limited-time Birthday Cake Frappuccino® blended beverage – a vanilla bean and hazelnut, topped with raspberry-infused whipped cream – at Starbucks stores in the U.S. and Canada from March 26-30.

Fun Facts about Frappuccino

• Top 5 flavors in the United States: Caramel, Mocha, Vanilla Bean, Java Chip, Double Chocolatey Chip
• U.S. social media stats: 10.9 million fans on Facebook, 67,000 followers on Twitter, 219,000 followers on Instagram.
• Starbucks store #8944 in Moreno Valley, California sells more Frappuccino blended beverages than any other store in the United States and Canada.
• Saturday is the busiest day of the week for Frappuccino blended beverage sales.
• The record for the most Frappuccino blended beverages sold on a single day in the United States and Canada occurred on May 10, 2014.
• Japan was the first country outside of the United States and Canada to offer the handcrafted beverage in 1996.

Nearly two years ago, Starbucks senior store design manager Jonathan Alpert and his team learned of a potential new Starbucks site in Los Angeles. It was an unusual location – an empty old gas station on a fenced-off corner of Highland and Willoughby.

“At the very beginning we knew this was something special,” said Alpert. “The building was in such a dilapidated state, but we could see it had potential. We wanted to restore the building in a way that allowed us to serve the community while celebrating its history.”

The curvilinear art deco structure was built in 1935 during the early days of California’s automobile age and the Golden Era of filmmaking in Hollywood. Gilmore Oil, which was then the largest independent oil company on the West Coast, purchased the parcel from film star Wallace Beery and opened one of its “Red Lion” service stations on the site. It operated as a gas station for several decades, later as a Mobil and Texaco station, until it was vacated in the 1990s.

In its heyday, it was a colorful backdrop for movies and commercials, including a scene between Nick Nolte and Eddie Murphy in 48 Hours and a fuel stop with Steve Martin in L.A. Story. It was registered as a Los Angeles Historical Cultural Monument in 1992.

Alpert and his team drove back to Starbucks store design studio in Orange County and went to work, collaborating with the city of Los Angeles and hiring a historical consultant to make sure that its historic integrity was preserved during the restoration process.

The team created a design ideal for a store with both a drive-through for cars and walk-up window with outdoor seating area. They restored the main existing structure – the original “Y” shaped service station—as well as the canopy structure from an added car wash. They preserved and restored existing glass and metal elements wherever possible.

“The most interesting architectural features of the building are its sweeping cantilevered canopies that extend out like arms from either side of the building,” Alpert said. “When we came in, these were falling down. We made them structurally sound and now they look much like they did in their original state, 80 years ago.”

The team also made some updates, adding energy efficient LED rope lights to replicate the old tubes of neon lighting. Non-historic contemporary service bay roll-up doors were replaced with aluminum frame garage doors in the style of the period to form an exterior wall.

“We didn’t try to over-brand the building,” he said. “We tried to keep it true to the original, placing only limited signage.”

While the drive-through evokes the same automotive spirit and speedy service of the classic gas station, designers also created inviting outdoor spaces for customers to stop and stay a while. Green Starbucks patio umbrellas shade an open seating area for up to 24 customers, who can gather around a concrete community table or small patio tables. Because the property was primarily paved historically, Starbucks designers limited extensive plantings, but incorporated native grasses, silver carpet ground cover, and loquat trees.

“Starbucks real estate and design teams are always looking for unique locations that connect us to the past,” he said. “Sometimes we stumble on a gem like this one, and are honored to get the chance to bring it back to life.”

The new Highland & Willoughby store is one of Starbucks newest historic restorations of historic buildings, which include New Orleans Canal Street store and the new Starbucks Reserve Roastery and Tasting Room.

“We have reinvigorated the corner of this community and its art deco past,” he said. “Now it’s electric.”

About Starbucks Design

With more than 18 in-house design studios around the world, Starbucks is driven by its commitment to environmental sustainability, local relevancy, and bringing bold and innovative design to customers.

Lillian Hochstein leaves the bustle of Seattle’s historic Park Place Market behind her and steps outside. She surveys Elliott Bay in the distance, raising her voice to be heard above traffic racing north and south on the double-deck Alaskan Way Viaduct that impedes the view of the waterfront.

The executive director of the Pike Place Market Foundation describes a strikingly different vista to come with a $73 million expansion that will add nearly 50 new stalls for farmers and artists, 12,000-square-feet of retail space, 40 new low-income senior housing units, 300 underground parking spaces and a 30,000-square-foot plaza with a viewing deck.  The new MarketFront is also the first step in the City’s vision to create a dynamic connection between downtown and the waterfront.

“Right now, we have visitors who want to get to the water and don’t go because it’s difficult to figure out how to get there,” Hochstein said. “So they don’t do it. We get 10 million visitors a year and we want more of them to visit the waterfront.”

On Monday, March 23, the Seattle City Council approved a $34 million investment toward expanding the Market. The State of Washington will contribute $6 million, and the rest will come from loans and private donations.

The Market Foundation’s $9 million capital campaign dubbed Pike Up! will provide vital funds for the Pike Place Market expansion with Starbucks becoming the first major company to announce its support, pledging $500,000 toward the effort.

“The Pike Place Market is where it all began for Starbucks, and our customers from around the world visit this iconic store because it is where our values, our spirit for community and connection come from,” said John Kelly, Starbucks senior vice president of Global Responsibility and Public Policy. “The MarketFront project will allow more people to come together in appreciation of everything that Seattle has to offer, and we are proud to be part of the Pike Place Market’s history and future.”

Starbucks support of the Pike Place Market Foundation

Over the years Starbucks partners (employees) have volunteered with the Foundation's charitable causes, and they will lead community service projects during Starbucks Global Month of Service in April.

In addition to service, every year the Starbucks Chorus raises money for the Great Figgy Pudding Caroling Competition fundraiser, which benefits the Pike Place Market Senior Center and Food Bank. To date, the chorus has raised nearly $400,000. Starbucks has also donated approximately three million servings of coffee to the food bank and supports the Pike Place Market Foundation’s annual Sunset Supper event.

Hochstein, who joined the Market Foundation three years ago,  appreciates the strong link between Pike Place Market and Starbucks.

“We grew up together. Starbucks got a lot bigger than we did,” she said with a laugh. “We love the fact that Starbucks is so integrated into Pike Place Market history. When we go out to ask the public to participate, they always ask if Starbucks is involved. We’re inextricably linked in their minds.”

The roots of Pike Place Market reach back to the early 20th century when money from the Klondike gold rush helped pay construction costs. The market hit hard times in the 1960s and came close to being demolished. Voters came to the rescue and passed a “Save the Market” initiative in 1971, seven months after the first Starbucks became a neighborhood hub.

The City of Seattle created the Pike Place Market Preservation and Development Authority in 1973 with a wide-ranging charter encompassing preservation, supporting farmers, incubating small businesses and providing housing and services to low-income people.

Creating a 'dynamic' new public space in Seattle

Ben Franz-Knight is the executive director of the Pike Place Market Preservation and Development Authority. “With the MarketFront, we are reclaiming and completing the last piece of the historic district, and fulfilling a 40-year vision of those who fought to save the Market.  The removal of the Viaduct gives us the unique opportunity to complete an important chapter in the market’s past, and create a new one, with dynamic public space and a pedestrian connection to the waterfront.”

Franz-Knight said that attempts to get the current project off the ground date back to the ‘70s, but “because of the costs to build over the BNSF train tunnel below the site, it has never penciled out.”  The pending removal of the elevated Alaskan Way Viaduct, however, created an opening to finally make the expansion a reality.  

The first phase of construction could begin as early as May and is expected to last about 18 months. The public is also invited to participate in this transformation and to be a part of Market history. Find out how by visiting  http://pikeup.org.

Starbucks customers want wholesome and convenient food choices for their busy on-the-go lifestyle. Beginning March 31, they'll have two new options - Thai-Style Peanut Chicken Wrap and Edamame Hummus Wrap – available at participating U.S. company-operated and licensed stores nationwide. 

The two new wraps are a medley of ingredients comprised of protein, vegetables and fruit offering balanced nutrition in a grab-and-go format with each wrap under 500 calories.

“The addition of the new Thai-Style Peanut Chicken Wrap and the Edamame Hummus wrap is a significant and exciting milestone as we continue to provide customers a complete food experience anytime they visit Starbucks," said Clarice Turner, Starbucks senior vice president of food. "Dreaming up all types of amazing food for our customers is what we love to do. It’s also a tremendous opportunity that we’ll continue to expand on in the months ahead.”

New Edamame Hummus Wrap –  a crunchy, fresh spinach, zucchini, and bell peppers layered in a creamy herb spread. The wrap is cut into pinwheels so it is portable and easy to eat while on-the-go. The Edamame Hummus Wrap is paired with a creamy roasted tomato sauce and sesame flax crackers.

New Thai-Style Peanut Chicken Wrap – a globally-inspired wrap with layers of grilled chicken, veggies, ginger cream cheese and chile lime spread with a medley of Thai-inspired flavors in every bite. 

Actor and director Ben Affleck testified before the U.S. Senate last week, citing Starbucks as an example of how a private company can bring economic development to some of the world's poorest regions.  

This is the fourth time Affleck has testified on Capitol Hill discussing U.S. foreign aid in Congo where an organization he founded, the Eastern Congo Initiative (ECI), is trying to rebuild the country’s coffee industry. This time, Affleck spoke alongside Microsoft founder Bill Gates, whose Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has set a goal of helping to end African dependence on food imports within 15 years.

“Thanks for having me follow the greatest and most important philanthropist in the history of the world. I’m sure I’m going to come off great,” Affleck he told the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations & Related Programs.

The nearly two-hour hearing began with a brief history of the Congo, one of the leading exporters of coffee in the 1970’s. After decades of armed conflict, coffee production there today is less than 10 percent of what it once was and there have been an estimated 5 million deaths due to violence, disease and starvation. Nearly 3 million people from the region remain displaced today.

“Those statistics tell you nothing about Congo’s future or about the extraordinary and resilient people working every day to rebuild their nation,” said Affleck. “The Congolese people refuse to be defined by their country’s past.

Affleck became actively involved in philanthropy related to the central African country almost a decade ago, after he read The New York Times coverage of human rights abuses in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He made several trips to the region to meet with those familiar with economic issues in the country, and later reported on the humanitarian crisis there for ABC News Nightline. Affleck produced documentaries on the crisis before co-founding ECI in 2010.

In 2014, ECI began supporting more than 4,000 coffee farmers to increase the quality and quantity of their production. With help from Starbucks, ECI trained coffee growers to maximize farmers’ profits.

“Starbucks has purchased 40 tons of coffee representing millions of cups of coffee,” said Affleck. “From a relatively modest investment, farmers’ incomes have more than tripled, and farmers can send their children to school, put food on the table and access proper health care.”

The public-private partnership between Starbucks and ECI has “transformed the lives of thousands of families,” Affleck testified. “This isn’t charity or aid in the traditional sense. It’s good business.”

Starbucks is working to make Eastern Congo a reliable source of high quality Arabica coffee, and in the process, linking Congolese farmers to the international marketplace.

“Starbucks and ECI hope that continued development will help raise standards of living and ensure that Congolese communities become permanent, growing participants in the global trading system,” said John Kelly, Starbucks senior vice president of Global Responsibility and Public Policy.

There are plans to work with an additional 10,000 farmers over the next four years to build their coffee business capacity and improve the quality and quantity of their harvest. Find out more about how Starbucks invests in farmers and their communities around the world – sharing agricultural knowledge, research and best practices – in the company’s newly-released 2014 Global Responsibility Report. 

Cold Pressed HPP Juice and Traditional Greek Yogurt Smoothie Launches in 4,300 Starbucks Locations with Fresh Approach to $2.2 Billion Smoothie Market

SEATTLE & WHITE PLAINS, March 31, 2015 – Evolution Fresh, a market leader in cold-pressed, High Pressure Processed (HPP) juice, and Dannon, the leading maker of yogurt in the US, today debut handcrafted Evolution Fresh™ Smoothies in 4,300 Starbucks® stores in the Pacific Northwest, Northern California and in select Starbucks locations within grocery stores nationwide. These smoothies will transform the $2.2 billion smoothie category,[1] delivering delicious nourishment on-the-go with three flavors of smoothies made with traditional, proprietary Greek nonfat yogurt and super-premium cold-pressed fruit and vegetable juice. Later this spring, innovations in the $7 billion yogurt category[2] will follow with additional Evolution Fresh Greek Yogurt Products, Inspired by Dannon, including new fruit and Greek yogurt parfaits arriving in Starbucks locations nationwide this May, and fruit on the bottom Greek yogurts that hit grocery shelves nationwide this summer.

“Our customers are looking for foods with fewer ingredients that are minimally processed and taste great,” said Jeff Hansberry, president, Evolution Fresh. “That’s why it is so important for Dannon and Evolution Fresh to each bring what we do best. Customers will appreciate the simple ingredient list, creamy, proprietary high-quality Greek nonfat yogurt combined with fruit prepared to highlight the taste nature intended.”

“Our collaboration with Starbucks promises to make a significant contribution to Dannon’s mission to bring health through food to as many people as possible,” said Jeffrey Rothman, vice president of Marketing & Innovation for Dannon. “Combining the unique capabilities of both companies, we have crafted simple, delicious fruit and Greek yogurt products that are more accessible than ever before. This new range of Greek yogurt products has no artificial flavors, artificial sweeteners or preservatives, simple as that. And, because they will be available at both grocery stores and thousands of Starbucks retail locations, this partnership breaks new ground, making it even easier for Americans to enjoy yogurt-based products wherever and whenever they want.”

Handcrafted Evolution Fresh™ Smoothies

After a successful pilot test in 2014, Evolution Fresh is expanding its presence in the $2.2 billion smoothie category with the launch of Evolution Fresh™ Smoothies, which are made with a proprietary, Greek nonfat yogurt created with Dannon and super-premium cold-pressed HPP juice made from powerhouse ingredients such as kale, spinach, carrot, strawberries and mango. The smoothies are available to order in three varieties:

• Sweet Greens: A delicious vegetable-forward smoothie made from an assortment of green vegetables balanced with mango and banana, plus Greek nonfat yogurt. Greens have never been so approachable!
• Strawberry: A unique take on the classic strawberry smoothie enhanced with apple and banana plus Greek nonfat yogurt.
• Mango Carrot: A sweet, approachable mango smoothie with a twist of carrot, plus Greek nonfat yogurt.

Evolution Fresh™ Smoothies are made with simple ingredients, including cold-pressed 100 percent real fruit and vegetable juice blended with proprietary Greek nonfat yogurt. Each smoothie is free of artificial sweeteners, preservatives, colors and flavors. The smoothies can be customized by adding fresh kale, protein powder or extra Greek yogurt for an additional boost of protein or nutrients. The suggested retail price for a 16 fl. oz. smoothie is $5.95. Evolution Fresh™ Smoothies are available now at more than 4,300 Starbucks locations including Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Northern California and select Idaho Starbucks stores, as well as select Starbucks stores located inside grocery locations like Target, Albertsons / Safeway and Kroger across the nation. These Starbucks “Licensed Stores” will lead the national launch of the Evolution Fresh™ Smoothies, addressing a customer need for delicious snacks in the afternoon, when grocery store traffic is highest.

More Evolution Fresh Greek Yogurt Products, Inspired by Dannon to Launch This Spring and Summer

The new product portfolio is the result of Evolution Fresh and Dannon’s collaboration to make delicious and simply designed offerings more widely accessible. The two companies worked together for two years to develop a proprietary Greek nonfat yogurt that is not only creamy, but is the perfect canvas for the fruit and vegetables used in these unique products. Without added flavors, artificial sweeteners or preservatives, these products contain easily recognizable ingredients that consumers can feel good about.

With these products, Evolution Fresh and Dannon have been able to meet dual business objectives of increasing health and wellness options while also giving Americans the opportunity to enjoy yogurt, fruit and vegetables more frequently and in new ways. This product portfolio is also breakthrough because it provides greater access than before to specially crafted, mild Greek yogurt paired with delicious fruit and vegetables for millions of consumers through thousands of points of distribution.

New Greek Yogurt Parfaits at Starbucks Cafes

In an effort to provide nourishing options on the go, Evolution Fresh Greek Yogurt Parfaits, Inspired by Dannon will be available in 6,000 Starbucks Stores nationwide in May. The new Greek yogurt parfaits will be crafted from proprietary, creamy, Greek nonfat yogurt, artisan granola and real fruit. Bursting with vibrant ingredients, these Greek yogurt parfaits will be available year-round in Strawberry and Dark Sweet Cherry varieties, and seasonally with Fresh Berries and Honey options. The suggested retail price for one parfait ranges from $3.75 to $4.25.

New Fruit on the Bottom Greek Yogurts in Grocery Stores

This summer customers can look forward to bringing home new fruit on the bottom Greek nonfat yogurts available at grocery stores nationwide. Lovingly made without any added flavors, artificial sweeteners or preservatives, these fruit on the bottom yogurts combine proprietary, creamy, Greek nonfat yogurt with the delicious flavors of real fruit. With breakthrough clear packaging, consumers can easily see the high-quality craftsmanship and recognizable ingredients that go into each spoonful.

The four flavors include: Blueberry, Black Cherry, Raspberry Blackberry and Pineapple Passion Fruit. With the suggested retail price of $1.69, Evolution Fresh Greek yogurts, Inspired by Dannon will begin to roll out in select locations in May and are expected to be on shelves nationwide in July.

Evolution Fresh Products, Inspired by Dannon FACT SHEET

[1] IBISWorld, May 2014 http://www.ibisworld.com/industry/juice-smoothie-bars.html

[2] Danone 2013 http://www.danone.com/en/danone13focus/united-states/

About Evolution Fresh, Inc.

Evolution Fresh offers cold-pressed juices and foods that provide high-quality, wholesome, and delicious nutrition to consumers. Evolution Fresh takes a different approach to crafting its cold-pressed juice – it presses and squeezes vegetables and fruits, bottles the juice cold and uses high pressure processing (HPP) to help protect flavors and nutrients. Evolution Fresh offers an extensive portfolio of bottled juices, available nationally in premium grocery stores, natural food stores, Starbucks retail stores, and in the four company-operated Evolution Fresh retail locations. Acquired by Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) in 2011, Starbucks and Evolution Fresh seek to make incredible nutrition widely accessible. To learn more about Evolution Fresh and our cold-pressed difference, please visit evolutionfresh.com.

About Dannon

Headquartered in White Plains, New York, Dannon makes more than 200 different styles flavors and sizes of cultured refrigerated and frozen dairy food in Minster, OH, Fort Worth, TX, West Jordan, UT, and Portland, OR, to serve the diverse needs of its retail and foodservice customers. Dannon’s mission is to bring health through food to as many people as possible via its wide offering of delicious and wholesome fresh and frozen yogurts. Dannon is a subsidiary of Danone, and Dannon is the top-selling brand of yogurt worldwide, sold under the names Dannon and Danone. For more information, visit dannon.com.

Media Contacts

Evolution Fresh

Erin Schaeffer, +1-206-318-7100

press@starbucks.com

or

Dannon U.S.

Michael J. Neuwirth, +1-914-872-8708

michael.neuwirth@dannon.com

In 2014, Starbucks began testing three Evolution Fresh™ Smoothies in select Starbucks stores. After whirring up thousands of smoothies in San Jose and St. Louis, today, Evolution Fresh will bring a new take on smoothies to the $2.2 billion smoothie category[1] with the launch of Evolution Fresh™ Smoothies which are made from simple, nutritious ingredients with nothing added that nature didn’t put there.

Delivering 20 percent or more of recommended daily combined fruit and vegetable servings, the smoothies are made to order in three flavors including Sweet Greens, Strawberry and Mango Carrot, with the option to add fresh kale upon request.

Available at 4,300 Starbucks stores in the Pacific Northwest, Northern California and select grocery stores nationwide, the Evolution Fresh™ Smoothies continue the innovation and momentum to deliver accessible nutrition since making cold-pressed juice available to the masses in Starbucks stores. Evolution Fresh worked with yogurt leader, Dannon, for nearly two years to craft the perfect creamy canvas that would marry the two primary smoothie ingredients: Greek nonfat yogurt and cold-pressed fruit and vegetable juice made using high pressure processing.

“I couldn’t be more excited about what these smoothies offer the Starbucks customer,” said Jeff Hansberry, president, Evolution Fresh. “We created a nutritious smoothie with our cold-pressed fruit and juice blends, combined with the delicious, creamy Greek yogurt we developed with Dannon. They are free from artificial sweeteners or fillers, just a unique, wholesome, snack or beverage. We’ve been testing in select stores since last year and our partners (employees) have shared extremely positive feedback, which is one of our major indicators of success.” 

“It’s been fun watching our customers get creative. Just like their morning coffee beverages, people are creating their personal favorites with our Evolution Fresh™ Smoothies – adding extra Greek yogurt, kale or a scoop of protein powder. We’ve also seen people grab a package of fresh blueberries or a banana and ask their barista to blend it in,” said Katie Wright, a product manager who has worked on the team developing and testing the smoothies in stores.

Starting today Evolution Fresh™ Smoothies will be available beyond the test markets in Starbucks stores in Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Northern California and select Idaho stores, as well as select grocer locations inside Target, Albertsons/Safeway and Kroger.

The smoothies range between 170-230 calories. Getting daily fruit and vegetable servings has never been so easy. They're the perfect blend of innovation and nutrition, which is the sweet spot not only for customers, but also for the Evolution Fresh brand.

[1] IBISWorld, May 2014 http://www.ibisworld.com/industry/juice-smoothie-bars.html

April is a month when Starbucks invites partners (employees) and customers to join together in community service projects around the world.  As Starbucks fifth annual Global Month of Service begins, chief community officer Blair Taylor shares the following essay on  why service is an important part of Starbucks commitment to encouraging greater understanding and compassion toward the issues impacting young people in our communities.

Opportunity Youth. The name given to young people ages 16-24 who are not in school nor employed. The fact that there are 300 million Opportunity Youth around the world growing up without access to a real future makes this one of the biggest issues of our time.

Let’s think about it.

If this overwhelming number of young people are dropping out of high school, not going to college, and not working, economic growth in countries across the globe will be compromised … well into the future. Businesses, including Starbucks, can’t survive this way. We cannot drive performance sustainably if this group of young people is not engaged. They represent our future workforce as well as our future customers.

In March 2015, Howard Schultz announced Starbucks commitment to hire 10,000 Opportunity Youth over the next three years. We are also repurposing our Starbucks Foundation grants to specifically target this same Opportunity Youth population.  And, we have formed a powerful collaboration with our supply chain called LeadersUp, which focuses on hiring Opportunity Youth as well. These are just a few of the initial steps we are taking to address the challenge of disengaged young people and to connect them with meaningful employment opportunities in our economy. And through benefits like the Starbucks College Achievement Plan, we can now also provide these new partners with an unprecedented opportunity to enroll in college and finish their degree at Arizona State Online for free, whether they choose to build a rewarding career with Starbucks or if their aspirations take them on a different journey. That’s why we’ve also committed to having 25,000 partners graduate through the Starbucks College Achievement Plan by the year 2025.

I must stress that this is not about charity; this is about hiring fantastic, qualified candidates, who through no fault of their own, have not been afforded opportunities to get ahead. Despite their circumstances, they are resilient and motivated to succeed. Now, more than ever before, we need the creativity and fortitude of business coming together with communities to create new pathways to meaningful employment opportunities for young people. This will also help Starbucks achieve our growth aspirations and drive our business forward.

For all of us, the journey begins with empathy

As our Partner Open Forum efforts have revealed over the past months, the way to increase our own understanding of a person from a different background is to listen and directly engage.  Interpersonal exchanges—the kind that foster empathy--are the first step in our journey toward enhanced understanding.  And there may be no greater mechanism for deeply increasing our understanding of others than community service.

Today, April 1, Starbucks begins our fifth annual Global Month of Service (GMOS).  April is a month when we invite partners (employees) and customers to join together in community service projects around the world. This year, to further leverage the investments of the Starbucks Foundation and our hiring of Opportunity Youth, we will intentionally focus our GMOS efforts on collaborations with non-profit organizations that help Opportunity Youth get the skills and training they need to secure jobs. Partners will work with these non-profits to organize career fairs, mock interview and resume review sessions or even restoration projects for local schools or community centers that support youth. For example, tomorrow, over 100 Starbucks partners in Philadelphia will volunteer with City Year and YouthBuild Philadelphia Charter School to share career building skills with over 300 opportunity youth who are looking to explore careers in retail and customer service. Many will also have the opportunity to interview for store positions with Starbucks.    

Our work in Philadelphia is just one of hundreds of community service projects Starbucks partners are leading with non-profit organizations in communities around the world. This year, we expect to reach more than 25,000 Opportunity Youth during Global Month of Service. It’s an important step in Starbucks ongoing commitment to use our scale to encourage greater understanding, empathy and compassion toward one another. And what better way to do so, than by volunteering your time to help a young person connect with opportunities in their community? I hope you will join us. (Click here to participate in a community service project)

Thank you Starbucks partners and customers for coming together this month to pay it forward and do more for our young people and our collective future. 

By Blair Taylor, Starbucks chief community officer

In 2014, Starbucks invested more than $3.7 million in Origin Community Grants to help support the health and stability of coffee farming communities. Here’s how Starbucks began its journey with origin grantee Heifer International.

When Howard Schultz, Starbucks chairman and chief executive officer, traveled to the hills of northern Rwanda in 2009 to the Dukunde Kawa coffee cooperative, he asked a small group of farmers, “What is the one thing we can do to help you?”

One woman, named Immaculate Mukamwiza, raised her hand and said, “I need a cow. If I had a cow, I’d be able to give fresh milk to my family.”

Schultz was moved by her request, and when he came back to Starbucks headquarters in Seattle, he shared this story at company meeting for Starbucks partners (employees). A partner came to the microphone and said that she would like to pay it forward by buying Mukamwiza a cow.

One woman’s act of generosity and kindness sparked a wave of interest among the hundreds of partners gathered at the forum. Jackie Liao, a 16-year Starbucks partner on the Community Investments team, led the effort to make that offer a reality.

“We heard from partners throughout the building asking how they could contribute,” Liao said. “But it’s not just as simple as delivering a cow. You need to ensure the community has access to a water source, feed, medicine and training. We reached out to Heifer International to help make a systemic transformation.”

Marleen New, Senior Director of Global Partnerships and Alliances for Heifer International, describes her first encounter with Starbucks.

“I’m sitting in my office and I get this call,” New said. “We were thrilled. Starbucks is an amazing company and we had a lot of experience working with coffee cooperatives in Central and South America.”

Soon, Starbucks partners began to raise money to donate to Heifer International for the project. They put up posters, held bake sales, and even staged a rock concert – eventually contributing $55,000. Within five months, 30 dairy cows were delivered to Mukamwiza and other farmers in the cooperative.

At the time, Starbucks had just opened a Farmer Support Center in the capital city of Kigali, Rwanda and its agronomy team stayed in touch with the co-op to make sure their needs were being met.

“The offspring from the original gift of 30 cows now totals more than 100,” Liao said. “Something as simple as a cow has so much impact, and can transform a community.”

Strengthening Coffee-Growing Communities through Origin Grants

“Because of the impact we could see at Dukunde Kawa our first project – we returned to Heifer International to have that same impact in a community in Tanzania,” Liao said. “Our new project will take these learnings from Rwanda and apply them on an even bigger scale.”

From that first request , the Starbucks awarded $750,000 to Heifer International to work with 5,000 smallholder coffee farmers in the Mbozi district of Tanzania to introduce dairy cattle, and improve access to clean water, sanitation facilities and renewable energy.

The health and stability of coffee communities impacts farmers and their ability to be productive and raise sustainable crops. Starbucks work with Heifer International is part of an investment of more than $3.7 million in origin community grants in 2014 funded by proceeds from the Ethos Water brand to support infrastructure improvements and agricultural diversification projects. Other grantees include the National Cooperative Business Association, Lutheran World Relief, Mercy Corps, World Neighbors, Seeds for Progress and World Coffee Research.

“As we continue to grow as a company, we have a growing need to access quality coffee,” Liao said. “We want to continue to support farmers and their families to make sure there are incentives and safeguards to help keep them in the coffee business.”

About Starbucks Commitment to Ethical Sourcing

Starbucks is committed to creating a better future with farmers with integrated programs that help ensure a long-term supply of high-quality coffee, social investments that support coffee-growing communities, and investments in research and development. Find details in the newly-released 2014 Global Responsibility Report.

To understand the challenge of describing Indonesia, consider its topography. The country is comprised of 17,000 islands. Volcanoes, more than 300 in total and some still active, dot the landscape. It is a nation of varied communities that speak more than 350 different languages with Ancient Hindu and Buddhist temples as well as Muslim mosques throughout the country. 

Thick bamboo groves abound, as well as rice paddies, homes on stilts, dense jungle and tigers. The scent of cloves and numerous spices fills the air. And the mystery of Indonesia is perhaps best represented by one of its oldest inhabitants – the Komodo dragon, the world’s largest lizard.

This is the backdrop for the most recent Starbucks Origin Experience for partners (employees) in Sumatra – an island in western Indonesia that is the sixth largest in the world with a population that tops 50 million. Through the Origin Experience, partners gain an understanding and appreciation for the passion that goes into each cup of coffee Starbucks sells.

“Unique semi-washed processing isn’t the only thing that sets this origin apart, though that aspect is fascinating. It’s the people and culture that carry the romance of coffee,” said Kelly Goodejohn, Starbucks director of Ethical Sourcing. 

Sumatra is the third largest producer of coffee in the world (following Brazil and Vietnam) of both Arabica and Robusta coffee. Starbucks only sources the highest quality Arabica coffee. Even for it's production size, Goodejohn said coffee farming in Sumatra is reliant on smallholder farms that often grow coffee trees among other crops such as eggplant or cabbage. The effort is worth the end result. Coffee from Indonesia provides the earthy flavors that anchor many of Starbucks blends, and are compelling enough to be sold as single-origin coffees. Sumatra is the source of one of the most popular Starbucks single-origin coffee. 

“Sumatra’s flavor profile cannot be replicated anywhere in the world. The answer to what makes this core coffee so special is simple – the people,” said Dan Jensen, a partner who is sharing a photo essay from coffee cherry to cup.

It all starts with the tree. At the Farmer Training Center in Seribudolok, over 5,000 coffee farmers learn about C.A.F.E. Practices and how to maintain a sustainable farm. These seedlings will turn into baby trees that are given to farmers for free.

Sumatra is unique with two harvesting periods. Farmers pick only the ripest red coffee cherries by hand in the village of Parik Sabungan. Partners picked coffee cherries during the Origin Experience and learned that this is difficult but important job.

Immediately after picking, the semi-washed process begins. Cherries are put into water and the floating cherries are removed as defective. Only the remaining cherries are good enough to move forward. 

The wet cherries then go through a pulper to remove the bean from the cherry. The pulper is cranked by hand and the produced coffee beans are laid out to start drying.

The coffee beans are then delivered to the supplier in Siborong-Borong, where the farmer gets paid. The beans smell earthy, yet still wet to the touch.

The coffee beans are laid to dry on parchment where they are raked to evenly dry. Coffee processed here has produced two former Starbucks Black Apron exclusives – Tapanuli and Sumatra Siborong-Borong. Black Apron exlusives have evolved to what is currently Starbucks Reserve®.

Unique to Sumatra – after going through the dry mill, the green coffee beans are hand-picked to remove any remaining defects. The remaining coffee is bagged and shipped to Starbucks roasting plants.

The true magic is in the cup. The triple-picked coffee is cupped for quality and to look for unique and new flavors.

On April 6, customers may try a complimentary KIND bar during a national sampling event, while supplies last, in participating Starbucks stores

With busy lifestyles on the rise, more people want snacks that are both wholesome and portable. Health experts recommend eating balanced mini meals throughout the day to help curb appetite and to help fuel the body.

“When done right, snacking helps to keep your energy up throughout the day with the added bonus of providing more opportunities to sneak in more nutrients throughout the day. Exercise is one important element to a healthy lifestyle so it’s essential to have energy from balanced meals and snacks to properly fuel your body to work out,” said Keri Glassman, a nationally recognized nutritionist and author of The New You and Improved Diet.

Here are three ways to incorporate smart snacking into the day:

Boost Energy

Most people report feeling tired and sluggish in the afternoon. Look for a snack that has at least 5 grams of fiber and protein. “I recommend a KIND® Nuts & Spices Salted Caramel & Dark Chocolate Nut bar, now available at Starbucks," Glassman said. "This bar has 6 grams of fiber, 5 grams of protein and 5 grams of sugar with no artificial sweeteners or sugar alcohols. Pair the KIND bar with a Starbucks Flat White or an Iced Caffé Latte for an added calcium boost to create a complete snack.”

Sharpen Focus

Pair a Teavana Earl Grey Black Loose-Leaf Tea with a KIND® Fruit & Nut Almond Coconut Chai Cashew bar. "Caffeine has been shown to produce a better ability to focus, improving both speed and accuracy," she said.

Fuel Workouts

The best time to exercise is the late afternoon or early evening, when physical performance is usually best and the risk of injury least, according to Michael Smolenskey, author of The Body Clock Guide to Better Health. “For a light offering that can energize your workout, try an Evolution Fresh Sweet Greens with Lemon Cold Pressed Juice, a great way hydrate. Add a pre-workout snack like Greek yogurt to help you power through a sweat session,” said Glassman.

As part of Starbucks commitment to offer a wide assortment of wholesome and convenient foods, beginning April 6 customers may enjoy two new flavors of KIND bars available in U.S. company operated and participating licensed Starbucks stores: a KIND® Fruit & Nut Almond Coconut Cashew Chai bar and a KIND® Nuts & Spices Salted Caramel & Dark Chocolate Nut bar. KIND® bars are great for eating on the go and are gluten free. 

Keri Glassman is a paid consultant of KIND.

Continuing Its Long-term Commitment to Provide Pathways to Opportunity for Young People, Starbucks Makes a Donation from Each Cup of Teavana® Oprah Chai to Benefit Youth Organizations Including Girls Inc., National CARES Mentoring Movement, Pathways to College and U.S. Dream Academy

With the Purchase of Every Teavana® Oprah Cinnamon Chai Latte, April 9-11 from 2-5 p.m., Customers Receive a Second One for Free to Share with a Friend

Seattle , April 6, 2015 -- Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) today announced that through its partnership with Oprah Winfrey, global media leader and philanthropist, sales of Teavana® Oprah Chai have raised more than $5 million for youth organizations in the U.S. and Canada.

To celebrate this significant milestone and to express thanks, Starbucks is inviting customers to come into participating U.S. and Canada Starbucks stores Thursday, April 9 through Saturday, April 11, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. local time. For every purchase of a Teavana® Oprah Cinnamon Chai Latte, customers will receive a free Teavana® Oprah Cinnamon Chai Latte to share. Starbucks will donate twenty-five cents for both beverages to support youth education. 100 percent of all proceeds made to the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy Foundation from Teavana® Oprah Chai goes to the Foundation, which in turn provides further funding to Girls Inc., National CARES Mentoring Movement, Pathways to College and U.S. Dream Academy. 

“Starbucks and Teavana, in partnership with Oprah Winfrey and organizations like Girls Inc., are investing in our future leaders, recognizing that education, training and mentorship are critical assets for youth across the U.S. and Canada,” said Annie Young-Scrivner, president, Teavana. “Customers can join in this meaningful give-back April 9-11, and when they buy one Teavana Oprah Cinnamon Chai Latte they will receive a second one to share; Starbucks will pay the donation for both beverages. This is just one way to say thank you to our customers for their support of Teavana® Oprah Chai. Together we can create pathways for future opportunities for young people, an objective which all three organizations share.”

Every Cup Can Make a Difference in A Young Person’s Life

Oprah Winfrey visited with young women from Girls Inc. to discuss the importance of education. Some of these young women will be featured in a special Teavana® Oprah Chai TV commercial that runs this week on NBC during “The Voice” and OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network.  Girls Inc., National CARES Mentoring Movement, Pathways to College and U.S. Dream Academy depend on fundraising efforts and alliances such as the collaboration between Starbucks and Oprah Winfrey.

“Girls Inc. is honored to be celebrating this one year anniversary with Oprah Winfrey, Starbucks and Teavana as we partner to advance opportunities for thousands of girls,” said Judy Vredenburgh, President and CEO, Girls Inc. “We are committed to inspiring girls to be strong, smart, and bold and promote the ability of all girls to achieve academic success and higher education. We are so thankful for Oprah’s, Starbucks, and Teavana’s leadership in supporting our mission.”

“The generous support of Oprah Winfrey and Starbucks this past year has allowed us to both expand and deepen our in-school mentoring program, The Rising, which seeks to socially, emotionally and academically undergird the lives of thousands of the nation’s most defenseless children served by our volunteer army of mentors.” said Susan L. Taylor, Founder and CEO of the National CARES Mentoring Movement. “This is a shining example of the collaborative, visionary leadership so needed in the world today.” 

"Again and again, Pathways to College uncovers and nurtures potential where others may overlook it,” said Judith Griffin, CEO of Pathways to College.  "The partnership of Oprah Winfrey, Starbucks and Teavana has put us on a trajectory that is changing the prospects of many children far into the future.  Investing in Pathways is investing in America."

“We are grateful to Oprah, Starbucks and Teavana for this incredible opportunity to work together to make change in the communities where we live, work and serve. The financial support we've received has made it possible for us to expand our programs to reach even more young people with mentoring and academic support,” said Wintley Phipps, CEO and Founder, U.S. Dream Academy.   “And the Starbucks and Teavana partners (employees) across the country have provided a special touch to each of our local Dream Academy Learning Centers through their warm reception of this initiative and their outreach to our local staff and students.”

Starbucks and Teavana are more committed than ever to giving back to local communities and serving young people. Starbucks has recently made a commitment to hire 10,000 young people who are not in school or are unemployed over the next 3 years, and Starbucks is also making college education possible for thousands of employees through the Starbucks College Achievement Plan, which has 2,000 partners enrolled in the program, with a goal to graduate 25,000 partners by 2025.  

Distinctive Teavana® Oprah Chai Tea Blend

Teavana® Oprah Chai Tea was personally developed by Oprah Winfrey in close collaboration with Teavana’s leading teaologist Naoko Tsunoda. Oprah's personal passion for tea coupled with Teavana’s expertise in tea, botanical sourcing and blending have resulted in a distinctive bold and “spiced up” infusion. Cinnamon-forward notes are unique to Oprah Chai and balanced with ginger, cardamom, and cloves blended with black tea and rooibos. Customers can enjoy the blend as a handcrafted latte or loose-leaf tea in participating Starbucks stores across the U.S. and Canada. The loose-leaf tea and brewed tea are available in select Teavana stores across the U.S. and Canada. 

Starbucks 

Since 1971, Starbucks Coffee Company has been committed to ethically sourcing and roasting high quality arabica coffee. Today, with stores around the globe, the company is the premier roaster and retailer of specialty coffee in the world. Through our unwavering commitment to excellence and our guiding principles, we bring the unique Starbucks Experience to life for every customer through every cup. To share in the experience, please visit us in our stores or online at Starbucks.com and news.starbucks.com.

Teavana

Teavana offers high quality teas and a unique in-store experience to new tea drinkers and tea connoisseurs alike. Acquired by Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) in 2012, Teavana immerses customers in a full tea experience where they can learn more about the ritual and enjoyment of tea with products available in more than 300 locations including Teavana tea bars, shopping malls, and Starbucks® stores.  Teavana offers premium tea accessories and an array of loose leaf teas, including Teavana Oprah Chai, created in partnership with Ms. Oprah Winfrey. For more information, visit www.teavana.com.

Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy Foundation

The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy Foundation provides funding for the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls – South Africa and is dedicated to helping its graduates attend colleges and universities. In December 2000, during a visit with Nelson Mandela, Oprah Winfrey pledged to build a school for girls in South Africa. In January 2007, the doors opened to the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls – South Africa. Through the Foundation, Oprah has contributed to the empowerment of scores of girls and their families.

Girls Inc.

Girls Inc. inspires all girls to be strong, smart, and bold, providing over 140,000 girls across the U.S. and Canada with life-changing experiences and real solutions to the unique issues girls face. Girls Inc. gives girls the right tools and support to succeed, including trained professionals who mentor and guide them in a safe, girls-only environment, peers who share their drive and aspirations, and research-based programming. At Girls Inc., girls learn to set and achieve goals, boldly confront challenges, resist peer pressure, see college as attainable, and explore nontraditional fields such as STEM. Informed by the experiences of girls and their families, Girls Inc. works with policymakers to advocate on key legislation and initiatives. With Girls Inc. in her corner, every girl can be healthy, educated, and independent.

National CARES Mentoring Movement

The National CARES Mentoring Movement, a community-engagement movement, was created in 2005 in the wake of Hurricane Katrina with the goal of ensuring that our nation’s impoverished children are encircled by caring adults and offered a sure pathway out of poverty. Willing and present to help bring struggling children to promise is a growing army of CARES mentors, recruited, trained and deployed to schools and youth-serving organizations in desperate need of tutors, role models and inspiration. Research shows that mentoring is a low-cost, high-results solution to a deepening crisis, and when done well can redirect even the most challenged youngsters’ lives. Working through 58 local CARES Mentor-Recruitment Affiliates across the nation, National CARES, has recruited more than 125,000 mentors. Presently, three million children are receiving mentoring services in the United States, and there are 15 million children in critical need of greater adult guidance and love. 

Pathways to College

Pathways to College provides motivated teens with the information, guidance and support they need to become the best high school students, college applicants, and college graduates they can be. Pathways has developed a successful strategy that links college access with school improvement.  At each participating high school, up to 100 high-potential students with a broad range of academic accomplishments are identified and paired with committed teachers who work with students after school hours as a structured teaching/learning team. Pathways students are also coached to be intentional, productive school leaders who model success for their peers and demonstrate that a college degree is an achievable goal, thereby positively and demonstrably impacting their school’s climate.  Since establishment as an independent non-profit in 2003, nearly 2,500 students have been enrolled and 100% of graduates have been accepted by at least one college.

U.S. Dream Academy

Established in 1998, U.S. Dream Academy is a national afterschool and mentoring program that helps our nation's children reach for their dreams. We empower those children most at risk of incarceration to maximize their potential by providing them with academic, social and values enrichment through supportive mentoring and the use of technology. The vision is to create an army of young men and women with positive dreams for their lives, equipped with the tools to make those dreams a reality. U.S. Dream Academy’s newest initiative is focused on accelerating the reading levels of 3rd grade students using innovative and research based reading strategies combined with positive youth development principles. We seek to increase the protective factors and academic performance of our students to ensure successful graduation from high school.  Academic achievement decreases the risk of future incarceration significantly.

The expanded Starbucks College Achievement Plan will be offered to more than 140,000 full-time and part-time partners (employees) and will also provide a remarkable additional benefit to the 10,000 Opportunity Youth Starbucks has committed to hire

Full tuition coverage is now available for all four years of college with access to 49 online degree programs, with no commitment to stay with Starbucks post-graduation

Nearly 2,000 partners successfully enrolled to date, Starbucks commits to at least 25,000 graduates by 2025.  Over ten years, Starbucks estimated investment could reach up to $250 million or more

SEATTLE and TEMPE, ARIZ.; April 6, 2015 – Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ: SBUX) and Arizona State University (ASU) today announced that Starbucks College Achievement Plan, first introduced in June 2014, will now offer 100 percent tuition coverage for every eligible U.S. Starbucks partner (employee). As part of its commitment to redefine the role and responsibility of a public company, Starbucks developed this program in partnership with ASU to create additional pathways to opportunity for its partners. Full tuition coverage was previously available to juniors and seniors, but now all eligible part-time or full-time partners can apply for and complete all four years of a bachelor’s degree through ASU’s top-ranked online degree program. In addition to partners receiving full tuition coverage, the company is offering faster tuition reimbursement - now at the end of each semester.   

"Everyone deserves a chance at the American dream," said Howard Schultz, chairman and ceo of Starbucks. "The unfortunate reality is that too many Americans can no longer afford a college degree, particularly disadvantaged young people, and others are saddled with burdensome education debt. By giving our partners access to four years of full tuition coverage, we will provide them a critical tool for lifelong opportunity. We're stronger as a nation when everyone is afforded a pathway to success."

Nearly 2,000 Starbucks partners have already enrolled in the program, and this significant expansion will offer a top-notch education to all full-time and part-time partners, with the opportunity to choose from 49 undergraduate degree programs through ASU Online. The company will invest up to $250 million or more to help at least 25,000 partners graduate by 2025.

Over the next three years, Starbucks has also committed to hiring 10,000 “Opportunity Youth,” a population of nearly six million disconnected youth between the ages of 16 and 24 who are not working or in school. With the right skills and training, Starbucks believes Opportunity Youth represent a huge, untapped talent pool for American businesses, and through employment and access to higher education, hopes to help create a sustainable future for these young Americans.

“The College Achievement Plan has been a powerful demonstration of what is possible when an enlightened and innovative corporation joins forces with a forward-thinking research university,” said ASU President Michael Crow. “This program is a clear expression of Starbucks commitment to its partners and ASU’s continuing mission to provide access to higher education to all qualified students.”

United States Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, looks to this innovative model from Starbucks and ASU as an example for other industries and businesses. “Howard Schultz and Arizona State University President Michael Crow continue to do incredible work together,” said Secretary Duncan. “Today’s announcement from Starbucks and ASU is another win for students.  Partnerships like this one show how innovative strategies can expand access to college for thousands of students.  I hope more institutions and companies will take their lead to collaborate on ways we can all do more to make higher education more attainable and affordable.”

The value of higher education

There is a clear and demonstrated value of having a college degree, both the opportunity it affords and the measureable impact on earning potential throughout a lifetime.

The disparity between what U.S. college and high school graduates earn has more than doubled in the past 30 years (1). A typical bachelor's degree recipient can expect to earn 66 percent more (compared with a high-school graduate) over a 40-year career (2).

The benefits are not limited to wages alone. On virtually every measure of economic well-being and career attainment—from personal earnings to job satisfaction to the percentage employed full time—young college graduates are outperforming their peers with less education (3).  And, people with a college degree tend to be healthier, and they exercise more (4).

Those with college educations are even shown to live longer than their peers. Between 1990 and 2008, the life expectancy gap between the most and least educated Americans grew from 13 to 14 years among males and from 8 to 10 years among females. This gap has been widening since the 1960s. At age 25, U.S. adults with a college degree can expect to live nine years longer than those with only a high school diploma (5).

A college education promotes civic and community involvement. An individual with a bachelor’s degree is twice as likely to volunteer as a high school graduate (6), and adults with a higher level of education are twice as likely to vote as those with lower education levels.

College education is crucial to getting a middle-class job – millennials with only a high school degree are more than three times as likely to be unemployed as those with a college degree (7).

The fastest-growing jobs in America all require a college degree. By 2018, 63 percent of all jobs in the economy will require postsecondary education and training beyond high school (8).

As an independent, private foundation, Lumina Foundation is committed to increasing the proportion of Americans with post-secondary credentials, and applauds this innovative program from Starbucks and ASU. “The value of a college degree only continues to increase. But so do the costs of achieving that degree,” said Lumina Foundation President and CEO Jamie Merisotis. “Starbucks is not only recognizing the value of higher education, but is actively addressing the disparity in opportunity to achieve a college degree. By investing directly in their partners, they are also investing in the long-term success of their company and the nation.” 

In addition to benefitting the individual, educated and employed individuals have a positive impact on the national economy. Persistent high unemployment among young people adds up to $25 billion a year in uncollected taxes. One unemployed 18-24-year-old costs federal and state governments more than $4,100 a year in forgone tax revenue and benefits received (9). Educating America’s young people and giving them the best opportunity for a sustainable future and continued employment is a benefit to our economy and society. 

The benefit for Starbucks partners

Through this innovative collaboration, all benefits-eligible partners in the U.S., including Teavana®, La Boulange®, and Evolution Fresh™ partners, who do not already have a college degree, may choose from 49 undergraduate degree programs taught by ASU’s award-winning faculty such as electrical engineering, education, business and retail management. Partners will have no commitment to remain at the company past graduation. This is in addition to the full comprehensive package of benefits that Starbucks offers to its partners – including healthcare coverage, company stock for eligible partners and 401(k) matching.  Starbucks is one of the only retailers to offer a stock program that includes part-time retail hourly partners. 

ASU's online degree programs offer the highest quality and most flexibility, ensuring the best chances for success in achieving a degree. Each course is fully designed to make the most of online learning, and ASU’s highly-engaged faculty are retrained for effective online teaching. ASU is a leader in employing innovative educational technology to deliver tailored academic support. They also invest in the student support services that are critical to reducing drop-out rates, and are ranked first in student services by US News & World Report. The diplomas ASU awards to online students are identical to their on-campus degrees, and their session-to-session student retention rates and graduation rates are extremely strong.  

“I know that there is an entire company standing behind me saying ‘You can do this.’ And that is an incredible feeling,” said Markelle Cullom, a three-year Starbucks partner enrolled in ASU Online through the College Achievement Plan. “For me, working at Starbucks is the opportunity for a better future.”

Additional details on this announcement, as well as downloadable photo and video assets – including stories from partners currently enrolled in the College Achievement Plan – are all available on the Starbucks Newsroom http://news.starbucks.com/collegeplan. 

About Starbucks

Since 1971, Starbucks Coffee Company has been committed to ethically sourcing and roasting high-quality arabica coffee. Today, with stores around the globe, the company is the premier roaster and retailer of specialty coffee in the world. Through our unwavering commitment to excellence and our guiding principles, we bring the unique Starbucks Experience to life for every customer through every cup. To share in the experience, please visit us in our stores or online at http://news.starbucks.com. 

About Arizona State University

Arizona State University is one of the nation’s leading public research universities and is ranked among the top 100 universities in the world. Known for innovation and entrepreneurism, ASU has pioneered the model for a New American University with a focus on accessibility and quality education, training students to learn for a lifetime. According to its mission, ASU “will be measured not by who we exclude, but rather by who we include and how they succeed; pursuing research and discovery that benefits the public good; assuming major responsibility for the economic, social, and cultural vitality and health and well-being of the community.”

(1) David H. Autor, Associate Department Head, MIT Department of Economics and author 

(2) U.S. Department of Labor 

(3) Pew Research Center

(4) The College Board 

(5) Center on Society and Health 

(6) Bureau of Labor Statistics, (2015), Volunteering in the United States, 2014 

(7) Baum, S., Jennifer, M., Payea, K., (2013); Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current population, Pew Research Center

(8) Carnevale, Smith and Strohl, “Help Wanted” at 13. full article 

(9) In This Together: The Hidden Cost of Young Adult Unemployment (January 2014)

John Culver, group president for Starbucks China and Asia Pacific, Channel Development and Emerging Brands inducted to Florida State University College of Business Hall of Fame

In 1982, having just graduated from Florida State University, John Culver packed up his VW Rabbit and set off across the country to start working in the restaurant business. Not sure where his career would take him, Culver sought to gain diverse experience across the hospitality industry.

More than three decades later, what began as a cross-country road trip has flourished into a remarkable career that was recently recognized by Florida State University College of Business, which inducted Culver into its Hall of Fame. Since 2003, the college has honored 35 of its alumni with this prestigious distinction, celebrating those who have excelled in their careers and made significant contributions to the college and their professions.

“John’s career and leadership accomplishments combined with his involvement in the community embody the excellence, commitment and inspiration that we aspire to instill in all students and our graduates at Florida State University,” said Caryn L. Beck-Dudley, Dean of the College of Business.

“It was an amazing experience to see the energy and focus that Florida State brought to its hospitality program, and the opportunity that would provide me to learn and to grow,” said Culver, recalling his first time stepping onto the Florida State campus. “The Dedman School is one of the top hospitality schools in the country, and it provided me a strong foundation around leadership, business management and operations which I have carried with me throughout my career.”

Upon graduating with a degree in hospitality management, Culver spent several years working in the restaurant industry before taking a position with Nestle USA that ultimately led to him overseeing the company’s foodservice sales division. But it was in 2002 that Culver received a call that would, in his own words, “absolutely transform my life.”

That call was from Starbucks, and soon after, Culver joined the company to lead its foodservice division. After more than ten years of dedicated service to Starbucks, Culver today leads the company’s global Channel Development and Emerging Brands portfolio while also overseeing the company’s fastest-growing business in the China and Asia Pacific region.

“When you think of Starbucks and the more than 22,000 stores we operate around the world, the 300,000 partners (employees) who wear the green apron across 66 different markets – it’s truly an amazing company to be a part of,” said Culver.

What’s more, Culver notes, the culture of the company encourages Starbucks partners to be active members of the communities they serve.

“At Starbucks, I’ve found a company that’s aligned with my values. Our commitment to veterans and helping the men and women serving in the military is of particular importance to me. I am very proud to support those returning from Iraq and Afghanistan and our commitment to hire 10,000 veterans over the next five years,” said Culver.

Starbucks Veterans Initiative particularly resonates with Culver, whose father was a 28-year Army veteran. “All these things define me as a person and as a leader and are part of the legacy I want to leave for others," he said.

Part of that legacy is the John & Karen Culver Endowment for International Travel Support – a fund created by Culver and his wife, Karen, to support international travel opportunities and experiences for students studying at Florida State University. A number of Florida State students have had the opportunity to round out their educational studies with international work experience made possible through this scholarship program.

Offering advice to students as they prepare to begin their careers, Culver notes, “I think it’s very important that students go out and determine what they want to do with their careers and where they want to live, and reflect within themselves by asking:  Does the company I am considering joining have values similar to mine and will they provide me meaningful growth and development opportunities in the future?”

Culver also serves on the Florida State University Foundation Board of Trustees, and in 2011, he was named Alumnus of the Year by the Dedman School of Hospitality’s Society of Hosts.

SEATTLE; April 8, 2015 – Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ: SBUX) plans to release its second quarter fiscal 2015 financial results after the market close on Thursday, April 23, 2015, with a conference call to follow at 2:00 p.m. PT. The conference call will be webcast and can be accessed on the company’s website: http://investor.starbucks.com. A replay of the webcast will be available on the company’s website until end of day Thursday, May 21, 2015.