China

The beverage company only needs the approval from EU and Whitbread’s pension fund trustees.

The fast food operator also introduced the fully-automated dessert station in Suzhou.

The amount is double the size than its previous valuation of US$1 billion.

The coffee giant have also trialled their Star Kitchens in Shanghai and Hangzhou.

They also expressed plans to launch 5,000 more sites internationally for the said concept.

Some restaurants in Beijing will also pilot a program to reduce straws.

The results are driven by their digital and delivery platforms.

The campaign includes giving farmers irrigation and processing facilities. Starbucks has announced that their Starbucks China Farmer Support Centre (FSC) plans to train 50,000 farmers and give education and health support to 6,000 children by 2023. The first phase of the campaign includes a pilot program with the charitable organisation China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation (CFPA), where the coffee chain will provide farmers customized agricultural inputs such as fertilizers, soil improvements and access to irrigation and processing facilities. The said partnership with CFPA will also give 400 elementary school students 400 hours of supplemental education each which includes enrichment activities that improves the students’ mental and emotional development. “Starbucks has helped establish Yunnan as one of the most important coffee producing regions globally by improving market access for farmers and bringing the best of China’s arabica coffee to the world,” Belinda Wong, CEO of Starbucks China, said. “I am thrilled to partner CFPA as their unparalleled expertise and capabilities make them the ideal partner to kick-off our commitment to address pressing needs faced by China’s coffee farmers even more effectively. This is only the beginning of our ambition to scale our efforts, one village at a time, to build thriving coffee farming communities for generations to come.”

The delivery programme also includes full coverage of Beijing and Shanghai. Starbucks will be launching their delivery services in 11 cities in China through the online food delivery platform Ele.me, a subsidiary of Alibaba. The move is part of their plan to enable delivery services for 2,000 Starbucks stores across 30 cities, as a result of the coffee giant’s partnership with the e-commerce company. Meanwhile, Starbucks Korea has announced that they will be launching 300 more cashless stores. The move is driven by the positive results of their existing 103 cashless stores. They also reported that their cash settlement ratio have decreased from 3.4% to 0.2% in the past three months.

The pizza chain also launched a concept store that will serve as a product testing hub.

The site marks as the brand’s 15th restaurant in Asia.

Changes in consumer trends are boosting coffee sales in the country.

The offer is said to be the largest take-private in Asia if the food operator accepted.

KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell in China could soon belong to new owners.

E-commerce giant Alibaba will roll out chain of diners staffed by robotic waiters.

The fast food giant is pressing ahead with its expansion strategy.