Starbucks

• 1. Introduction

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  Starbucks Corporation had 35,711 stores in 80 countries, and 15,873 of them were in the United States. Of the American stores, more than 8,900 are run by the company itself. The rest are licensed to other operators. As of 2022 it ranked 120th on the Fortune 500 and 303rd on the Forbes Global 2000. It is the largest coffeehouse chain in the world, with its headquarters in Seattle, Washington. This documentary asks how a modest operation grew to that size. It asks where the unusual name came from, and why the company walked away from whole countries. It also asks what workers, farmers and critics say about the price of that growth.

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• 2. Beans Before Drinks

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  On the 30th of March 1971, a shop opened in Seattle that sold coffee beans and equipment but no brewed drinks. Its founders were three business partners, Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl and Gordon Bowker, who had first met as students at the University of San Francisco. They took their inspiration from Alfred Peet, a coffee roasting entrepreneur. The first store stood at 2000 Western Avenue until 1976. After that, the café moved to 1912 Pike Place.

  For its first two years, the shop bought green coffee beans from Peet's Coffee & Tea. In 1973 Alfred Peet stopped supplying Starbucks, although he helped train its new Roastmaster, Jim Reynolds. For roughly the first decade, Starbucks was a local bean retailer rather than a place to sit and drink.

  A surprising reversal came in 1984, when the original owners, led by Baldwin, purchased Peet's Coffee themselves. By 1986 the company operated six stores in Seattle and had started selling espresso coffee.

  In 1987 the owners sold the chain to Howard Schultz, their former director of marketing. Schultz rebranded his own Il Giornale coffee outlets as Starbucks and began to expand the company. That same year brought the first locations outside Seattle, in Waterfront Station in Vancouver, British Columbia, and in Chicago, Illinois.

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• 3. A Name and a Siren

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  Gordon Bowker recalled that a business partner, Terry Heckler, believed words beginning with the letters "st" sounded powerful. The founders therefore wrote a list of such words, hoping a brand name would appear. One candidate was "Starbo", a misreading of Storbo, a mining town in the Cascade Range. The town was named for Peter Storbo, founder and president of the Mount Rainier Mining Company. From there, the group remembered "Starbuck", the name of the chief mate in the novel Moby-Dick. Bowker later insisted the book was not the real source. In his words, "Moby-Dick didn't have anything to do with Starbucks directly; it was only coincidental that the sound seemed to make sense."

  In 2006, Valerie O'Neil, a Starbucks spokeswoman, described the logo as a twin-tailed mermaid, or siren as she is known in Greek mythology. The first version showed the siren topless, with a fully visible double fish tail. Starbucks said the image was based on a 16th-century Norse woodcut. Other scholars say it appears to come from a 15th-century woodcut in Juan Eduardo Cirlot's Dictionary of Symbols. Some have identified the figure as Melusine, but that link is questioned. Melusine was not tied to heraldic images of two-tailed mermaids until the late 19th century.

  The second logo, used from 1987 to 1992, covered the siren's breasts with flowing hair, though her navel stayed visible. Its primary color changed from brown to green, a nod to the founders' alma mater, the University of San Francisco. The third version, used from 1992 to 2011, hid the navel and breasts entirely and left only vestiges of the fish tails. The original woodcut logo now hangs at the company's headquarters in Seattle.

  When Starbucks entered the Saudi Arabian market in 2000, the logo was altered to remove the siren and keep only her crown. A Pulitzer Prize-winning column by Colbert I. King in The Washington Post reported this in 2002. Three months later, the company announced it would use the international logo in Saudi Arabia after all. In January 2011, Starbucks announced further changes: the wordmark around the siren was removed, and the siren was enlarged and made green.

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• 4. Public Offering, Global Reach

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  In June 1992, when Starbucks went public under the ticker symbol SBUX, it had 140 outlets and revenue of US$73.5 million. Five years earlier, revenue had been only US$1.3 million. The market valued the company at US$271 million. Selling 12% of it raised around US$25 million, which let the company double its number of stores over the next two years.

  In July 1996, a store in Tokyo became the first Starbucks outside North America. The Philippines followed in December 1997 as the third market outside North America. In 1998 the company bought the UK-based Seattle Coffee Company, which had 56 outlets, for US$83 million. It rebranded every one of them as Starbucks. In 2014 it paid US$913.5 million for the 60.5% of Starbucks Coffee Japan that it did not already own.

  Not every opening survived. In 2000 a Starbucks opened inside the Forbidden City in Beijing. For years, protesters objected that an American chain there was "trampling on Chinese culture", and the location closed in July 2007. In Israel, the company opened six of 80 planned stores between 2001 and 2003. After losing US$6 million, Starbucks and its partner Delek closed all six in April 2003. They cited "on-going operational challenges" and a "difficult business environment."

  The first Australian store opened in Sydney in July 2000. In 2008 Starbucks announced it would close 61 of its stores there. Nick Wailes, a strategic management expert at the University of Sydney, said, "Starbucks failed to truly understand Australia's café culture." In 2014 the remaining stores were sold to the Withers Group.

  China became the bigger story. In July 2017, Starbucks paid US$1.3 billion for the remaining 50% of its Chinese venture, held by Uni-President Enterprises and President Chain Store. In January 2026 it announced a joint venture with Boyu Capital to run the business in China, its second-largest market. Boyu would hold up to a 60% interest once the deal closes, pending regulatory approval.

  In Russia, the first store opened in September 2007, ten years after the company registered a trademark there. After months of suspension following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Starbucks sold its Russian stores in August 2022. They were rebranded as Stars Coffee and look very similar to the old ones. Meanwhile, Italy got its first Starbucks in Milan on the 6th of September 2018. Malta followed on the 1st of June 2019 as the 80th country with a store. The most recent first on the list is Iceland, in July 2025.

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• 5. Menu Experiments

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  In 1994, Starbucks acquired The Coffee Connection, which gave it the rights to make and sell a drink called Frappuccino. The beverage was introduced under the Starbucks name in 1995. By 2012, annual Frappuccino sales topped US$2 billion.

  The original cup sizes were the 8-ounce Short and the 12-ounce Tall. Grande, Italian for large, later meant 16 ounces. Venti, Italian for twenty, means 20 ounces for hot drinks and 26 for iced. Trenta, Italian for thirty, covers some cold drinks such as iced teas and cold brew.

  Soy milk arrived at US stores in 1997. Coconut milk followed in 2015, almond milk in 2016 and oat milk nationally in January 2020. For years customers paid extra for these choices. PETA encouraged sit-ins at stores and bought Starbucks stock to protest the charge. With its holiday menu in November 2024, the company ended the upcharge for non-dairy milk.

  In February 2023, Starbucks announced Oleato, a line of coffee drinks made with extra virgin olive oil. Brady Brewer, the chief marketing officer, called it "one of the biggest launches we’ve had in decades." The idea came from Howard Schultz, who was introduced to a daily teaspoon of olive oil by a producer he met in Sicily. The drinks began in Italy, reached Southern California in spring 2023, and then spread to the UK, the Middle East and Japan. CNN reported that some customers experienced digestive distress. Oleato was permanently discontinued in November 2024.

  Other experiments came and went. In March 2009, the company introduced VIA instant coffee and ran blind taste challenges in which many people could not tell it from fresh coffee. Financial analysts speculated that instant coffee would devalue the brand. In November 2012, the Verismo single-serve machine went on sale. In 2010 some US stores began selling alcohol, and by August 2014 a store in Williamsburg, Brooklyn was among 30 serving beer and wine. In December 2012, Starbucks paid US$620 million for Teavana, then shut the brand down in early 2018.

  Digital habits mattered as much as drinks. In May 2008, the Starbucks Card, previously just a gift card, became the base of a loyalty program that awards stars toward free items. The complete mobile platform launched in January 2011, and mobile transactions exceeded 26 million by December of that year. Free Wi-Fi reached all US and Canadian stores on the 1st of July 2010. In June 2025, the company began testing a protein-infused foam topping.

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• 6. Hard Times and Resets

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  In July 2008, with the Great Recession deepening, Starbucks announced it would close 600 underperforming company-owned stores and cut its US expansion plans. On the 29th of July it also cut almost 1,000 non-retail jobs, of which 550 were layoffs and the rest were unfilled positions. In January 2009, it announced 300 more closures and the elimination of 7,000 positions. Schultz said he had board approval to reduce his own salary. Between February 2008 and January 2009, the company ended an estimated 18,400 US jobs and began closing 977 stores worldwide. Revenue slipped from US$10.3 billion in 2008 to US$9.7 billion in 2009.

  Schultz had been chief executive from 1986 to 2000. Orin Smith succeeded him and ran the company for five years, growing sales to US$5 billion. Jim Donald was chief executive from 2005 to 2008. Schultz returned in 2008, and Kevin Johnson took over in 2017. Schultz came back once more in April 2022 as an interim chief. Laxman Narasimhan took over in 2023 and on the 23rd of March told employees he would work a half-day behind a store counter each month. In August 2024, he was ousted and replaced by Brian Niccol, who had been chief executive of Chipotle since 2018. Niccol started on the 9th of September with a salary of US$1.6 million and a US$10 million starting bonus.

  On the 12th of April 2018, two men were arrested in a Philadelphia Starbucks after a manager said they were trespassing. The arrests led to protests over their apparently racially motivated nature. Johnson apologized, and the company declined to press charges. He also announced that some 8000 locations would close on the 29th of May for a seminar on racial bias.

  On the 20th of March 2020, the pandemic led Starbucks to close all café-only stores in the United States for two weeks, leaving only drive-thru and delivery. Workers were to be paid for the next 30 days. Lockdowns cut sales by about 10% overall and by 50% in China. In June 2020, the company said it would close 400 locations in the US and Canada over 18 months and open 300 pickup-focused stores. In December 2020, it set a target of about 55,000 stores by 2030, up from roughly 33,000.

  Niccol's arrival brought a strategy called Back to Starbucks. In January 2025 the company ended its open-door policy, so customers must now make a purchase to use restrooms and seating. In February 2025 it cut 30% of its menu, including some Frappuccino blended drinks, the Royal English Breakfast Latte and White Hot Chocolate. In July 2025, corporate employees were told to return to the office four days a week from October, with a voluntary exit program on offer. For the year, revenue reached US$37.1 billion while net income fell to US$1.8 billion.

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• 7. Workers United

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  In August 2021, workers at three Starbucks stores in Buffalo, New York announced on Twitter that they had formed an organizing committee, Starbucks Workers United. Their goal was a union affiliated with Workers United. Two more stores joined in September, but those petitions were later withdrawn to keep the process fast for the original three.

  During the drive, the company sent managers and executives, including its North America retail president, to Buffalo to talk with employees and join their shifts. Employees were required to attend meetings with anti-union messages. Starbucks temporarily closed some area stores for remodeling and added extra staff at one store preparing to vote. Workers said this reduced union support, while Starbucks said the extra staff covered increased sick leave. In October, the company began working with Littler Mendelson, a self-described "union-busting firm." Starbucks asked the National Labor Relations Board to include every Buffalo store in one vote, but the board rejected that and ordered store-by-store elections.

  On the 9th of December 2021, the Elmwood Avenue store voted 19-8 and became the first unionized Starbucks location owned by the company in the United States. The Camp Road store voted 12-8 against joining. Workers in Mesa, Arizona had petitioned for an election on the 18th of November, partly after a well-liked manager was fired for whistle-blowing on the company's anti-union plan.

  In February 2022, Starbucks fired seven workers in Memphis who had led the unionization effort and temporarily closed the store. In August 2022, the board accused the company of illegally discriminating against unionized workers by refusing them wage and benefit increases. That same month, unions were certified at 211 locations. On the 17th of November 2022, Red Cup Day and one of the busiest days of the year, over 100 locations went on strike. Workers wanted higher staffing levels, better wages and consistent schedules.

  Among more than 9,000 American locations, fewer than 3% have voted to unionize, and no contract has been negotiated. Starbucks says the union delayed bargaining and filed more than 22 unfair labor practice charges. By March 2023, the board found no merit in those complaints and ruled instead that Starbucks had refused to bargain. In June 2023, a court ordered Starbucks to pay US$25 million in punitive damages and US$600,000 in compensatory damages to a former regional manager, finding she was fired in 2018 because she was white. On the 23rd of June 2023, workers at unionized stores went on strike over the company's stance on in-store pride decorations.

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• 8. Farmers and Footprint

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  Starbucks began drafting corporate social responsibility plans in 1994. It later partnered with Conservation International to build its coffee and farmer equity program, known as C.A.F.E. Practices. The program rates suppliers on 249 indicators, and farmers with high scores receive higher prices. Its zero-tolerance rules require workers to be paid in cash, check or direct deposit, earn the established minimum wage and work free of harassment. They also bar employing anyone under the age of 14. Starbucks has moved 90% of its coffee purchases to preferred C.A.F.E. certified providers.

  Daniel Jaffee, an assistant professor at Washington State University, argues these practices merely "green wash" the company's image. Marie-Christine Renard of Chapingo University in Mexico studied a joint effort in Chiapas. She concluded that it paid better prices but did not let producers gain the knowledge needed to improve their coffee quality. In 2019 the Fair World Project said Brazilian labor inspectors had found evidence of child slave labor in the supply chain, even though C.A.F.E. had passed those farms. In 2022 Starbucks announced it would stop certifying its coffee as fairtrade and rely on its own investigations.

  The numbers on pay cut both ways. In 2006 Starbucks said it paid US$1.42 a pound, more than 33% above the commodity price. Yet a pound of that coffee ultimately sold for US$10.99 once transport, processing, marketing, rent, taxes and salaries were counted. Of the roughly 300 million pounds it bought that year, about 6% was certified fair trade.

  The company's water habits drew attention in October 2008, when The Guardian reported that a constantly running tap in each store's rinsing well wasted 23.4 million liters of water a day. In September 2009, push-button metered faucets replaced the wells in company-operated stores in Canada and the United States. The change was reported to save up to 150 gallons of water a day in each store. In July 2018, Johnson announced that single-use plastic straws would be phased out of cold drinks worldwide by the 1st of January 2020. In January 2020, Starbucks set a goal of cutting its carbon emissions, waste and water impact by 50% by 2030.

  Recycling has been a harder test. Starbucks put 10% recycled paper into its cups in 2006, a share that Allen Hershkowitz of the Natural Resources Defense Council called "minuscule." In 2026 the environmental group Beyond Plastics tracked 53 polypropylene cups, which Starbucks calls widely recyclable, by placing Bluetooth trackers in them. Researchers dropped them in recycling bins at stores across 9 US states and the District of Columbia. Not one reached a recycling facility.

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