Starbucks Discoveries Milano (Espresso) coffee beverage relaunched in Japan
The Starbucks Discoveries Milano (espresso) flavor had been temporarily discontinued shortly after launching last September due to insufficient capacity to meet the high level of consumer demand.
30/03/06 Starbucks Coffee Company and Suntory Ltd., one of the leading Japanese producers and distributors of food and beverages, announced the relaunch of Starbucks Discoveries(R) Milano (espresso) coffee drink in convenience stores in four Japanese prefectures at the end of April. The Starbucks Discoveries Milano (espresso) flavor had been temporarily discontinued shortly after launching last September due to insufficient capacity to meet the high level of consumer demand.
Starbucks Discoveries Milano (espresso), launched on September 27, 2005 together with another flavor, Starbucks Discoveries Seattle (latte). The coffee drinks were so popular with customers that sales far exceeded initial projections. The decision was made to focus on the production of the Starbucks Discoveries Seattle (latte) coffee drink and temporarily discontinue Starbucks Discoveries Milano (espresso).
Starbucks and Suntory have doubled the production capacity for the Starbucks Discoveries coffee drinks and will reintroduce Starbucks Discoveries Milano (espresso) in convenience stores in the Tokyo, Kanagawa, Chiba and Saitama prefectures on April 25, 2006. Although no plans are announced, the companies are working to expand into new areas to respond to the high customer demand.
Starbucks Discoveries coffee drink is a fresh, ready-to-drink chilled cup coffee featuring the high-quality coffee customers expect from Starbucks. Using the same high-quality Italian Roast coffee found in Starbucks retail stores, Starbucks Discoveries is made fresh and kept refrigerated, with a short, 14-day shelf life, one of the shortest on the market today. Starbucks Discoveries Milano (espresso) has a full coffee flavor with a mild sweetness and a pleasant roasty aftertaste.
The launch of Starbucks Discoveries represented Starbucks first entry into the chilled cup coffee segment anywhere in the world. The Company took more than a year to create a superpremium ready-to-drink coffee designed to appeal to the local taste preferences in Asia, using the same high-quality coffee found in all Starbucks retail stores and coffee-based products worldwide.
Starbucks has a proven track record of creating successful coffee-related products. Through a joint venture with the Pepsi-Cola Company, in 1996 the Company introduced bottled Starbucks Frappuccino(R) coffee drinks and later Starbucks DoubleShot(R) espresso drinks. To date, these Starbucks coffee innovations remain the No. 1 products in their respective segments of the ready-to-drink coffee category in the United States. Consumer products, such as these, and the new Starbucks Discoveries, broaden the brand's reach to customers who may not have visited a Starbucks retail store.
As announced in May 2005, Starbucks entered into an agreement in Japan with Suntory Ltd., one of the leading Japanese producers and distributors of food and beverages, for the manufacture and distribution of Starbucks Discoveries coffee drinks. Starbucks Coffee Japan, Ltd., which has operated Starbucks stores in Japan since 1996, will provide ongoing consulting support including local brand and marketing expertise for the Japanese market.
