Starbucks News - Europe, Middle East, Africa

Bite The Ballot and Starbucks have partnered for the third year to encourage young people to talk about some of the issues most important to them over a coffee.

As part of Starbucks commitment to help reduce plastics waste, the focus of this years’ company-wide Global Month of Service in April, saw over 200 partners (employees) in Amsterdam and London volunteer to clear plastic waste from local waterways.

Gardeners are being encouraged to call on the help of their local Starbucks store and pick up the stores’ used coffee grounds to help boost crops growth.

Today, we are proud to share news from Starbucks Spain which has launched two new food waste projects in stores across Madrid and Barcelona.

Starbucks has welcomed back its line-up of popular cold coffees as well as brand new additions to the menu including a Cold Brew Latte to over 3,000 stores in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Starbucks and Neighbourly launch 16 new community cafés across the UK as Starbucks celebrates 20th Anniversary.

Following a similar cup collection and recycling process proving successful in UK Starbucks stores, customers in the Netherlands can now return any used paper cup to 11 stores in the Netherlands. 

In its first-ever 5p paper cup charge Starbucks UK sees encouraging mid-trial results 54 UK Starbucks stores to also trial biodegradable straws in May.

Emergency Services, NHS, Armed Forces and Veterans across the UK can now receive a 10% discount at Starbucks with a Blue Light Card or Defence Privilege Card.

Three years after their first date in the Neubaugasse store in Vienna, Adam proposes to Alina in spectacular style.

To celebrate International Women’s Day 2018, Starbucks shines a light on women across the business; from rising stars just starting out their careers, to category leaders from across the EMEA region.

Starbucks hosted a recruitment event at La Permanente on Via Turati, inviting 500 candidates, carefully selected as potential new partners (employees) for the Starbucks Reserve Roastery in Milan, opening in autumn. 

One You campaign encourages the public to stick to 400-600-600 calorie rule for three meals a day, to help reduce ‘calorie creep.'

To mark the start of National Apprenticeship Week in the UK, Starbucks has extended its apprenticeship programme to enable hearing-impaired partners to undertake an apprenticeship. 

A new range of innovative Teavana Tea Lattes is brewing at Starbucks stores across Europe this spring. The three new drinks are a full-flavour experience made with microground tea, a new way of extracting flavour from tea leaves.

Starbucks announced the launch of a pioneering 5p paper cup charge trial in 35 stores* across the city, west end, and west London, to evaluate whether customers will reduce their use of single-use paper cups.

This Valentine’s Day people all around the world will be celebrating their love for their nearest and dearest – family, friends, partners and colleagues. Here we share the tales of Starbucks sweethearts, whose love blossomed over a shared love of coffee.

More than 200 local charities around Britain are celebrating funding donations thanks to the support of Starbucks customers getting involved in Cheer for Good . 

Starbucks has achieved a Top Employer certification across Europe by the Top Employers Institute, a leading independent auditor of HR practices.

The recruitment for the first European Starbucks Reserve Roastery and the first Starbucks location in Italy, has begun today, as Starbucks launches a new careers website.

Since launching its national apprenticeship programme in 2012, Starbucks has created more than 1,300 apprenticeships for its partners (employees) and established an industry-leading programme in the UK. 

Alliance of out-of-home dining companies launch a Code of Practice and commit to changes in health & wellness programmes including a sugar reduction target of 20%, as set out in the Childhood Obesity Plan.

We will begin the trial in February and initially it will last for three months. All the money raised by the cup charge will be donated to environmental charity and behaviour change experts, Hubbub who will use the funds to run a comprehensive behaviour change study.

Starbucks is marking the start of the new year with another dairy alternative in its line up plus more vegan and gluten-free lunch options for customers.

Starbucks stores across  Greece, Denmark, the Netherlands and Austria have celebrated their 10th and 15th anniversaries this year, marking the date they first opened in these countries by donating to causes close to their local communities

This Christmas, Starbucks has donated £175,000 to charities across Europe that were nominated by its customers and partners (employees) as part of its festive giving initiative, #GiveGood. 

SSP Group PLC, a leading operator of food and beverage outlets in travel locations worldwide, has opened its first Starbucks store in Greece. The new store will also be the first location for Starbucks at Athens International Airport.

Starbucks licensed partner Taste Holdings Ltd has opened its second store in Durban, following the opening of its flagship store on trendy Florida Road in November.

New red cup design launches in stores on 29 November, marking the start of Cheer for Good and celebrating giving back to communities.

Drink developer Rachel Chatterton has added a Festive Cold Brew to Starbucks classic range of Christmas hot drinks. Rachel leads the team developing new drinks for Starbucks across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Starbucks France offers the programme at a variety of levels to equip baristas and store supervisors with a range of transferable skills. The year-long programme combines academic training on topics such as retail management, marketing and customer service alongside practical training in Starbucks stores.

Starbucks leads innovation in coffee, with the launch of Nitro Cold Brew marking the latest stage in Starbucks discovering a new generation of cold coffee. 

Starbucks marks the countdown to the festive season with a brand-new colour-in cup and the launch of #CheerforGood charity support in the UK.

With many  Starbucks partners (employees) aged under 25, Starbucks is committed to creating opportunities for young people seeking employment around the world. 

The Starbucks store in the "Les 4 Temps" shopping centre in La Défense, Paris has reopened following extensive renovation and now welcomes the first Clover® coffee brewing machine in France.  

Starbucks introduces a new level of high-quality design and elegance at the Four Seasons Hotel in Kuwait City with the opening of a special store called the “Coffee Suite” offering customers a feeling of luxury and innovative coffee experiences. 

Starbucks today announced that it has signed an agreement with the Alliance for Beverage Cartons and the Environment (ACE UK) to accelerate UK recycling of PE lined paper cups.

For over 10 years Starbucks France has been working with a charity organisation called “AVEC talents” who match young adults with learning difficulties with workplace opportunities, and it was through this partnership that Maxence joined Starbucks. 

Starbucks has been working in partnership with environmental organisation Conservation International for over 15 years, ensuring that 99% of Starbucks coffee is ethically sourced. 

Pentatonic, the newly launched furniture company whose products are made using post-consumer waste, today announces a partnership with Starbucks UK. 

Starbucks is celebrating its leading position of serving 99 percent ethically-sourced coffee with its partners (employees) in stores across Europe by writing ’99’ on cups on the 9th September. 

Starbucks UK introduced a new initiative to address the issue of food waste in the retail industry, as well as the issue of global hunger. 

The warming drink is made by steaming milk with aromatic turmeric powder and spices and poured over espresso - bringing a new twist to the much-loved latte. 

Starbucks Azerbaijan is celebrating the coffee passion of its baristas who have all qualified as certified Starbucks Coffee Masters. This achievement makes Azerbaijan the first ‘Black Apron’ country in the Starbucks EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) region.

Starbucks has opened two brand new stores on some of Europe’s most popular holiday islands - Palma de Mallorca, Spain and Corfu, Greece.

Starbucks has launched an innovative coffee truck, operated by North Tyneside’s veterans’ charity Forward Assist. The ‘Salute Coffee Truck’ is a converted army Land Rover vehicle, used in the Falklands War, now staffed by veterans trained at a local Starbucks store.

Starbucks has collaborated on a new project with international development charity, Send a Cow, to help farming communities in Rwanda develop effective and sustainable farming practices. 

First Starbucks store in Kazakhstan with an experiential Reserve coffee bar, combining coffee theatre with local design elements. Starbucks has opened an immersive coffee destination with the Talan Tower store in Astana.

When John and Sharlyn Taylor first sent their son Carter to the counter at a Starbucks in Dunfermline, Scotland, their objective was to make him more comfortable placing an order and handling money. They didn’t envision that in time he’d work on the other side of that counter.

Six years ago, Marius started with a single challenge: to build a boat made of plastic waste. He did not know anything about plastics and building boats but didn’t let this stand in his way.

Since 2003 Starbucks has brought its own twist to the classic strawberries and cream British summer time favourite with the Strawberries & Cream Frappuccino. This year the drink is back in stores and now contains 12% less added sugar. 

Starbucks partners, friends and family join together to march in the Pride in London Parade through central London. Starbucks partners marched under a giant ‘Love Happens at Starbucks’ balloon to celebrate the LGBT+ community. 

Starbucks customers and partners in the Netherlands have donated over 1,000 backpacks filled with essential items to children affected by the refugee crisis via a partnership with the charity Human Aid in Greece (HAIG). 

Drawing on long-standing heritage of creating an inclusive and welcoming environment for partners and customers, Starbucks renews festival sponsorship for third straight year.

Starbucks EMEA, today filed accounts for the year ending October 2, 2016, for the four UK-based subsidiaries, Starbucks EMEA Limited, Starbucks EMEA Holdings Ltd, Starbucks EMEA Investment Limited, and Starbucks International Holdings Limited.

Celebrating a year since the first candidates benefitted from the Home Sweet Loan scheme in the UK, Starbucks is expanding the reach of its pioneering housing employee benefit. 

This June, Starbucks Apprenticeship Programme celebrates its fifth anniversary, and the company is celebrating the 850 partners who have graduated the programme.

22 year old Bilal Mian from London is carving out a career with Starbucks, thanks to a partnership between Hammersmith College and Remploy, the disability employment specialists.

Starbucks in Europe announces today it will partner with local NGO partners to deliver a hiring commitment of 2,500 refugees by 2022, starting in eight European markets. 

Starbucks France has unveiled the newly-refurbished Boulevard des Capucines Starbucks Store in Paris following extensive design work to restore some of the building’s historic features.  

Starbucks stores across the UK are preparing to welcome the summer season with the introduction of new salad bowls, plus a range of high protein snack pots, available in stores nationwide from 15 June. 

Amelie, 29 years old, has been working at the Starbucks Opera store in Paris as a barista for the past four years. Despite having dyspraxia and being told by doctors that she would never be able to work.

The Starbucks EMEA Newsroom team met Fabio Neno, assistant store manager from Portugal, who knows exactly how it feels to take the crown – or in Starbucks terms, the purple apron and gold milk pitcher.

With a few days left to register to vote in June’s General Election, Bite The Ballot and Starbucks UK are encouraging young people to get together in their communities to talk politics over coffee. 

Each April marks Starbucks Global Month of Service, the highlight of our year round commitment to having a positive impact in the communities we serve. Here’s what’s took place across the Europe, Middle East and Africa region. 

200 young people from London and Birmingham were welcomed at special events hosted by Starbucks partners dedicated to inspiring and educating youth about future workplace opportunities.

For the very first time, Starbucks is launching Nitro Cold Brew in Paris. Available in the beautifully Capucines store in Paris, this delicious new trendy drink is bound to take the city by storm. It will be available in 30 Parisians stores in total by the summer. 

Millions of young people across the Middle East & North Africa region have limited access to employment opportunities, and they find themselves unable to become economically active in their communities.

Starbucks gives away a limited number of free reusable cups in participating stores across Great Britain, in activity supported by Clean Up Britain.

A new apprenticeship programme launched by two district managers in Northern Ireland has been shortlisted for an industry award just two years after launching. 

This month, Starbucks celebrated its one year anniversary with National Childbirth Trust (NCT), the UK’s largest parenting charity.

The world’s leading coffee company opens Qatar’s first Starbucks store with Reserve coffee, served on a Clover Brewing System, at the Doha Festival City - Qatar’s largest entertainment, fashion and dining destination. 

“It is thanks to the hard work of our partners all around the country that we have recorded a UK profit for the third straight year," said Martin Brok, president, Starbucks Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) 

After successfully launching new espresso capsules in 2016, Starbucks is expanding its range with four new coffees. The new capsules, compatible with Nespresso®* machines, introduce a blonde roast lungo and decaffeinated option to the assortment.

With National Apprenticeship Week in the UK underway, two store partners from the Colmore Row store in Birmingham recognise the importance of the Starbucks Apprenticeship programme. 

The Basildon Starbucks became more than just a place to visit for Neary. First employed at the store through a work placement program, he became a permanent part-time partner four years ago.

Located at the historic turn-of-the-century Palazzo Delle Poste building on Piazza Cordusio, this one-of-a-kind 25,500 square foot retail space will feature the company’s premium, small batch, Reserve coffees served in a variety of brewing methods.

 UK is first market in Europe to launch Nitro Cold Brew at the Starbucks Reserve Bar in London’s Covent Garden. The arrival of Nitro Cold Brew marks Starbucks next chapter of cold coffee innovation in Europe, by offering customers a wider choice. 

As a gesture of respect and gratitude, as Starbucks signals its intent to open in Italy, we have sponsored a three-year garden project in the historic Piazza del Duomo in Milan.

The opening of the first store with a Reserve coffee bar experience, in the heart of Kuwait’s dynamic business district, represents Starbucks uncompromising pursuit of elevating the coffee experience for its customers. 

 An initial 20 stores in Central and West London will offer the paper cup bin encouraging ‘from-street-to-in-store’ disposal to ensure more paper cups are recycled. 

“Think about the skills that people have, not that they’re Deaf,” said Haytam Lakb, Starbucks barista. “Think about the personality, skills and experience.”

With more than 25,000 stores, Starbucks is in 75 countries around the globe. Here are some of Starbucks top stories of 2016.

Charities in Great Britain, the Netherlands, France, Switzerland and Austria receive Starbucks donations and community recognition.

Coffee is a passion that brought 26 partners (employees) together for the 2016 Barista Championship in London to compete for the top prize.

The first Starbucks express store in Europe in London’s major business hub, Canary Wharf, allows customers to order, pay and pick-up their orders faster.

Starbucks stores in Europe, the Middle East and Africa purchase aprons sewn by women of the Ineza Cooperative to provide funds and exposure to survivors of the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

The Aupark Shopping Centre in Bratislava is now home to the first Starbucks in the Central European country of Slovakia. Starbucks partnered with AmRest to open the store.

“Life has been incredibly difficult for the people of Eastern Congo, but even in the hardest circumstances, you see their grit and determination," said Dave Olsen.

Marta Swiac is one of the first applicants to benefit from a programme Starbucks UK announced in September 2015.

“This store will not only offer amazing coffee and world-class customer service, it is a representation of our commitment to South Africa through its localized design." 

Colorful, springtime designs with birds, butterflies and flowers are featured on Starbucks iconic cups in the company's Europe, Middle East and Africa region. Meet the partners (employees) who designed them.

“It’s truly an honor to be recognized in this way,” said Jaz Rabadia, senior manager of Energy and Initiatives for Starbucks UK. 

“Customers who visit my store are curious about the different coffees that Starbucks offers,” said Becca Turner. “It was fun to create artwork to help tell the coffee story.”

Starbucks, along with its regional partner Taste Holdings, prepare dozens of young South Africans for employment through an innovative training program.

With millions of refugees fleeing conflicts in Syria and seeking safety across Central and Western Europe, Starbucks is using the scale of its digital platforms to raise funds for crisis relief organizations.

"Everything that we’ve done sits on the foundation of those wonderful experiences that many of us have had in Italy, and we’ve aspired to be a respectful steward of that legacy for 45 years,” said Howard Schultz.

Aaron Swift returned from an emotional four-day journey in Rwanda with one goal in mind: “I wanted to find a way to help Rwandan farmers and educate my peers at the same time."