Starbucks Invests In High-End Italian Bakery, Princi

Starbucks has its hands in a lot of different products outside of the coffee it serves up in stores — cold brew coffee, coconut milk, juice, to name a few. Now the company is expanding its portfolio with the acquisition of a company specializing in Italian baked goods.

Starbucks announced on Thursday that it had invested an Italian bakery, Princi, and plans to sell the baked goods in its new cafes, dubbed Starbuck Reserve Only.

The new investment in Princi will allow the coffee giant to develop and operate all new Princi locations outside of Italy, as well as sell the goods at its own Reserve Only stores. Starbucks announced two years ago that it would begin opening about 100 new higher-end stores across the U.S.

“We have never baked in our stores in 45 years. But all of that will change with the creation of this unique partnership,” Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz said in a statement. “I can think of no better pairing for our most premium coffee experience and am excited by the possibilities we envision in Princi food elevating every daypart – breakfast, lunch, and dinner – in Starbucks Roasteries and Reserve Stores.”

The new Starbucks Reserve Roastery and Tasting Rooms in Shanghai and New York, which were announced earlier in the year, will exclusively sell Princi goods, the company said. Those locations are expected to be opened in 2017 and 2018, respectively.

Schultz says operating different chains outside of traditional Starbuck shops — including the Reserve Only and Princi stores — will allow the company to sell coffee at varying price points.

However, the company hasn’t always had good luck when it comes to branching out. Last year, Starbucks closed all standalone La Boulange bakery stores. La Boulange bakery goods are still sold at Starbucks stores.

The company also transitioned several of its Teavana — tea-centric — cafes into regular coffee shops last year.

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist