A loyalty program came out for users of the Starbucks card. Prior to this it was just a gift card, but now it was being turned into a card that offered perks such as, no charge for soy milk or added syrups, free refills on drinks like drip coffee and tea, and even free Wi-Fi […]

Starbucks introduced the Caramel Frappucino that included whipped cream, caramel drizzle, and a dome lid for the first time. Starbucks also entered the tea business in 1999 when it acquired the Tazo brand for $8,100,000. At this point, they had opened stores in China, Kuwait, Lebanon and South Korea. Total stores: 2,498

Starbucks introduced the “Frappuccino” in 550 stores. This name came about when Starbucks acquired The Coffee Connection in Boston. They sold a slushy drink made from a soft-serve machine and named it a “frappuccino.” Starbucks applied the name to their new drink. When it first came out it only had two flavors, coffee and mocha, […]

In January 1994, Starbucks opens its’ first drive-thru location. There were a total of 17 stores.

In 1987, the original owners sold the Starbucks chain back to former manager Howard Schultz for $3.8 million. They went off to focus on Peet’s coffee. Howard then rebranded his Il Giornale coffee outlets as Starbucks and had a major expansion of business. The revenue for that year was $ 1.3 million. Two years later […]