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The Development of Starbucks, the leading Commercial Coffee in Asia

Published: 2026-02-25 Author: World Gafei

Last Updated: 2026/02/25, When asked where the world's most popular Starbucks store is, most Americans will answer in Seattle, Philadelphia or New York or Washington. But this is not the case. The correct answer is in Tokyo. For Americans, Starbucks coffee, like Coca-Cola and Pepsi, is an indispensable meal drink. Today, the company is headquartered in Seattle, USA

When asked where the world's most popular Starbucks store is, most Americans will answer in Seattle, Philadelphia or New York or Washington. But this is not the case. The correct answer is in Tokyo.

For Americans, Starbucks coffee, like Coca-Cola and Pepsi, is an indispensable meal drink. Today, the Seattle-based US coffee chain is actively implementing its "Asian strategy" and striving to enter the Asian market with great potential in the shortest possible time. In just four years since the establishment of the first Tokyo chain, Starbucks has 250 stores in 10 countries in Asia (including 125 in Japan, 12 in China, 11 in Thailand and 5 in South Korea). In addition to opening a beverage chain, the group plans to open its first coffee roaster in Asia in the near future.

Today, from Tokyo to Seoul and from Beijing to Bangkok, Starbucks is gradually bringing Western-style black coffee and all kinds of sparkling coffee drinks to the Asian market where tea culture prevails. Keiko Nakada, head of the Starbucks chain in Japan, was deeply impressed by the development of Starbucks in Asia. "We had expected that Starbucks coffee would sell well in the Asian market, but we did not expect it to grow so rapidly," she said. "

Indeed, in a market where tea culture has a long history and occupies the main body of food culture in the whole region, the successful foothold and rapid development of Western-style coffee is really unexpected. Market analysts explain this. They believe that Starbucks' success in Asia is undoubtedly due to its own "unique taste" in the first place. Here, people can not only enjoy more than 15 kinds of world-famous plateau coffee and comprehensive coffee, but also taste a variety of freshly baked cakes and buy utensils and small commodities related to coffee making. This is rare in ordinary coffee shops.

In addition, the brand effect of Starbucks, a world-famous coffee product, has also played a great role in opening up the Asian market. In the eyes of many Asian consumers, Starbucks is a symbol of "health, success and status". Therefore, at a time when the Asian economy is gradually recovering from the impact of the financial crisis, and many Asian consumers are paying more and more attention to their consumption level, more and more Asian middle class people are in order to upgrade their food consumption, or to pursue fashion. They are even willing to taste a cup of Starbucks coffee that they think is "successful" for twice or three times or four times the price of a tea drink.

Another important factor that Starbucks attracts Asian consumers is its elegant and unique cultural environment. Wooden tables and chairs, elegant music and elegant coffee making utensils set off an elegant and leisurely atmosphere for consumers. What is even more rare is that despite being in a foreign land, the interior decoration of the Starbucks Asia store can still maintain the original American style. As a result, Starbucks is attracting more and more Asian consumers with its unique advantages compared with crowded and smoky local coffee shops in Tokyo and tea shops in Southeast Asia filled with rickety plastic benches.

At present, the main customers of Starbucks in Asia are young white-collar workers and young consumers who pursue fashion. In the "Starbucks" chain stores in the Philippines, you can see "newcomers" holding mobile phones and wearing fashionable clothes everywhere; Thailand's "Starbucks" is also full of fashion-chasing young people. Although Starbucks coffee is expensive in Thailand, with one cup of coffee worth four lunches, many young people have no scruples in order to become fashionable. Driven by them, Starbucks' customer base is expanding rapidly. In Singapore stores, you can see big company bosses sitting side by side with leather-clad rockers, while in other Asian Starbucks chains, many parents can even be seen taking their children to big dinners. as an important part of family entertainment. This shows the popularity of this western-style coffee.

However, with the continuous expansion of the consumer team, Starbucks is facing more and more problems, the most important of which is how to position the future price of Starbucks coffee drinks with the gradual expansion of its famousness. and how to increase the number of stores as soon as possible, while improving relevant services. Because, I'm afraid, no one wants to wait in a long line at his door, just to taste a cup of coffee.