Starbucks Coffee enters South African market

Global coffee brand Starbucks has come to South Africa. Starbucks Coffee International, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Starbucks Coffee Company, has entered into a license partnership agreement with Emperica Marketing to distribute Starbucks Coffee in South Africa through its “We Proudly Brew” Starbucks coffee programme in the hotels, restaurants, hospitality and leisure market.

The first “We Proudly Brew” coffee will be served in select Southern Sun Hotels and Tsogo Sun casinos in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban from Monday, 31 May, in time for the 2010 Fifa World Cup. Customers can now enjoy Starbucks brewed coffees, espresso-based beverages and Tazo Teas in restaurants, cafes and catering facilities.

In South Africa, all Starbucks espresso and espresso-based beverages are made from 100% Fairtrade certified coffee.

Southern Sun and Tsogo Sun Gaming are ideal business partners as they are leaders in the leisure industry and share the same passion and commitment to providing customers with high quality products and outstanding service.

African farmers produce some of the top coffees in the world, and Starbucks has a long history of purchasing coffee from Africa. This move into South Africa through the foodservice channel is another sign of Starbucks commitment to doing business in Africa.

The establishments now serving Starbucks at Montecasino in Johannesburg include: Southern Sun Montecasino, SunSquare hotel, the casino and the Teatro. InterContinental Johannesburg Sandton Towers also has the new offering, as does Southern Sun Cullinan Hotel in Cape Town and Southern Sun Elangeni Hotel in Durban.

Starbucks will be rolled out into other Tsogo Sun properties nationwide in due course.

Starbucks Foodservice is a leading provider of specialty coffee brands, dedicated to serving the needs of business-to-business venues, including foodservice and office coffee operators, who in turn serve consumers.

Starbucks looks for opportunities to surprise and delight customers by offering specialty coffee brands in places where customers enjoy coffee.

More than four million cups of coffee are enjoyed globally by consumers through Starbucks Foodservice venues every day. Starbucks Foodservice venues span geographic regions and serve customers across nearly all demographics including business and industry, colleges and universities, lodging, resorts, office coffee service and restaurants.

Graham Wood, MD of Southern Sun, says of this launch: “As a brand with over 40 years of experience in servicing the local and international business and leisure traveller, and with our focus on building our portfolio of successful brands, we are excited about the association between our brand and the global leader in high quality coffee. We look forward to being able to offer our guests the large variety of coffee options that will be available to them in select hotels”.

Rob Collins, MD of Tsogo Sun Gaming, adds: “We are delighted to be partnering with Starbucks to bring the world’s foremost coffee brand to visitors at our entertainment destinations. This partnership is an example of an ongoing strategy that has seen Tsogo Sun Gaming developing relationships with like-minded brands such as Disney to bring The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast to SA, in addition to some leading local entertainment and media brands.”