The 50-year rise of Starbucks, from a single Seattle location selling roasted beans to one of the most recognizable brands in the world

Mary MeisenzahlMar 20, 2021, 18:28 IST

Reuters/Jacky Naegelen

Starbucks is celebrating its 50 year anniversary this March.
The international chain started selling roasted beans in Seattle in 1971.
Today drive-thrus and pickup orders are the source of most of Starbucks' business.

The first Starbucks opened in Pike Place Market in Seattle in March of 1971.

First Starbucks. Photo by Epics/Getty Images

Source: Insider, Starbucks

Initially, the storefront only sold coffee beans and equipment, a far cry from the extensive menus available today.

The Starbucks sign is seen on the window of the World's first ever Starbucks coffee shop. Epics/Getty Images

Source: Starbucks

In 1981, future CEO Howard Schultz first visited Starbucks. The following year he joined as director of retail operations and marketing.

Howard Schultz. AP Photo/Koji Sasahara

Source: Starbucks

In 1982, Starbucks also opened its fifth location, selling brewed coffee for the first time.

FILE PHOTO: A customer sips her coffee in Starbucks' Mayfair Vigo Street branch in central London Thomson Reuters

Source: History Link

In 1983, Schultz was famously inspired by espresso bars in Milan, and hoped to bring the concept back to the US.

Espresso. Photo by: Eddy Buttarelli/REDA&CO/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Source: Starbucks

The first Starbucks latte was served in downtown Seattle in 1984, testing out Schultz' idea of expanding into espresso drinks.

Starbucks latte. Lauren Edmonds

Source: Starbucks

In 1987, Schultz's coffee house company Il Giornale acquired Starbucks for $3.8 million and becomes the Starbucks Corporation.

Starbucks. Scott Olson/Getty Images

Source: Starbucks, Historylink

In 1991 as the coffeehouse concept was catching on in the US, Starbucks differentiated itself with tall, grande, and venti sizes.

Starbucks sizes. Rickey Rogers / Reuters

Source: Delish

By 1992, there were 165 Starbucks locations, and the company completed an IPO at $17 per share.

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz speaks about the the company's financials during the Starbucks Annual Shareholders Meeting. Stephen Brashear/Getty

Source: Starbucks, MSN

Starbucks started testing out drive-thrus in Southern California in 1994.

Starbucks drive-thru. Photo by Tim Boyle/Newsmakers

Source: Delish

Starbucks first introduced the frappuccino in 1995 as a blend of coffee, milk, and ice. Other customizations would come later.

Coffee Frappuccino® Blended Coffee Starbucks

Source: Starbucks

Starbucks' first locations outside of North America opened in Japan and Singapore in 1996.

Starbucks in Tokyo. Photo by Budrul Chukrut/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Starbucks started selling the Pumpkin Spice Latte in 2003, and its been an iconic part of the fall lineup ever since.

Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte. Push Doctor / Flickr / CC 2.0 Attribution

Source: Delish

In 2005, Starbucks hit 10,000 stores around the world including in Japan, Saudi Arabia, and Australia.

Starbucks Hong Kong. Photo by Budrul Chukrut/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Source: Starbucks

Starbucks hit a rough patch in 2007, with stock prices plummeting 42% as customers turned to competitors like McDonald's and Dunkin who started offering higher-quality coffee items.

Source: CNN

Starbucks hit a rough patch in 2007, with stock prices plummeting 42% as customers turned to competitors like McDonald's and Dunkin who started offering higher-quality coffee items.

Schultz returned as CEO in 2008 to close underperforming stores, retrain employees, and get Starbucks back to its roots, priming the chain for a comeback.

Howard Schultz, president of the US Starbucks coffee chain, drinks a cup of coffee in the first Starbucks store on February 16, 2006 in Chongqing Municipality, China. Starbucks is taking the plunge into the Chongqing market. The Chinese coffee market is expected to grow by 70 per cent in total sales volume between 2003 and 2008 to reach 11,073 tons, Euromonitor's findings indicate. China Photos/Getty Images

Source: CNN

In 2009, Starbucks was early to launch a mobile rewards program and payment method that grew to almost a million members by 2020.

Insider Intelligence

Source: Starbucks, Insider Intelligence

In 2011, Starbucks followed design trends to make the logo more minimal, removing the company name and simplifying the color scheme.

Starbucks logos. Starbucks

Source: Insider

Starbucks acquired the chain Teavana for $620 million in 2012.

Starbucks sells Teavana branded teas. Starbucks

Source: Insider

Starbucks opened its first Reserve Roastery and Tasting Room in Seattle in 2014, a larger-format flagship-style store.

Starbucks Reserve Roastery and Tasting Room. Matt Weinberger/Business Insider

Source: Starbucks

That year, Starbucks also launched mobile order and pay, which has become a key part of the business.

Starbucks mobile order and pay. Starbucks, via The Motley Fool

Source: Starbucks

Cold Brew joined the menu in summer 2015 before it was adopted by other chains.

Starbucks Cold Brew. Erin McDowell/Insider

Source: Insider

Instagrammable drinks like the Unicorn frappuccino drove sales in 2017, and customers were able to customize increasingly elaborate drinks.

Starbucks Unicorn Frappuccino. Kate Taylor

Source: Insider

Just five years after they were acquired, Starbucks closed all 379 Teavana stores because they were underperforming.

Teavana. Getty

Source: Beverage Daily

Starbucks faced backlash after two black men were arrested at a Philadelphia Starbucks in 2018 in a viral video, though bystanders said the men did nothing wrong.

Protestor Donn T (C) demonstrates inside a Center City Starbucks on April 15, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Police arrested two black men who were waiting inside the Center City Starbucks which prompted an apology from the company's CEO. Mark Makela/Getty Images

Source: Insider

In response, Starbucks closed all 8000-plus US stores for a day in May 2018 for racial-bias education, which also became a permanent part of new hire training.

A Starbucks barista fulfills an order in a South Philadelphia store, before more than 8,000 branches nationwide will close this afternoon for anti-bias training, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Mark Makela/Reuters

Source: Starbucks

The coffee chain embraced plant-based options, launching the Impossible Breakfast Sandwich and almond and oat milk varieties.

Starbucks added oat milk. Courtesy of Starbucks

Source: Insider

Drive-thru and pickup orders have become key to Starbucks' business, making up 80% of orders prior to the pandemic and even more since then.

Starbucks drive-thru. Photo by Jason Whitman/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Starbucks continues to invest in drive-thru technologies, including digital screens with AI that can recommend items and make waits shorter.

Starbucks barista. Mary Meisenzahl/Insider

Source: Insider

Now, Starbucks is offering employees paid time off to get the COVID-19 vaccine and extended catastrophe pay due to the pandemic.

Starbucks barista. Ted S. Warren/AP Images

Source: Starbucks

Burger King was blasted for its terrible tweet on International Women's Day. From Pepsi to KitchenAid, here are 5 other brands whose campaigns have caused a stir in recent years.

Cookies on the Business Insider India website

The 50-year rise of Starbucks, from a single Seattle location selling roasted beans to one of the most recognizable brands in the world

The first Starbucks opened in Pike Place Market in Seattle in March of 1971.

Initially, the storefront only sold coffee beans and equipment, a far cry from the extensive menus available today.

In 1981, future CEO Howard Schultz first visited Starbucks. The following year he joined as director of retail operations and marketing.

In 1982, Starbucks also opened its fifth location, selling brewed coffee for the first time.

In 1983, Schultz was famously inspired by espresso bars in Milan, and hoped to bring the concept back to the US.

The first Starbucks latte was served in downtown Seattle in 1984, testing out Schultz' idea of expanding into espresso drinks.

In 1987, Schultz's coffee house company Il Giornale acquired Starbucks for $3.8 million and becomes the Starbucks Corporation.

In 1991 as the coffeehouse concept was catching on in the US, Starbucks differentiated itself with tall, grande, and venti sizes.

By 1992, there were 165 Starbucks locations, and the company completed an IPO at $17 per share.

Starbucks started testing out drive-thrus in Southern California in 1994.

Starbucks first introduced the frappuccino in 1995 as a blend of coffee, milk, and ice. Other customizations would come later.

Starbucks' first locations outside of North America opened in Japan and Singapore in 1996.

Starbucks started selling the Pumpkin Spice Latte in 2003, and its been an iconic part of the fall lineup ever since.

In 2005, Starbucks hit 10,000 stores around the world including in Japan, Saudi Arabia, and Australia.

Starbucks hit a rough patch in 2007, with stock prices plummeting 42% as customers turned to competitors like McDonald's and Dunkin who started offering higher-quality coffee items.

Schultz returned as CEO in 2008 to close underperforming stores, retrain employees, and get Starbucks back to its roots, priming the chain for a comeback.

In 2009, Starbucks was early to launch a mobile rewards program and payment method that grew to almost a million members by 2020.

In 2011, Starbucks followed design trends to make the logo more minimal, removing the company name and simplifying the color scheme.

Starbucks acquired the chain Teavana for $620 million in 2012.

Starbucks opened its first Reserve Roastery and Tasting Room in Seattle in 2014, a larger-format flagship-style store.

That year, Starbucks also launched mobile order and pay, which has become a key part of the business.

Cold Brew joined the menu in summer 2015 before it was adopted by other chains.

Instagrammable drinks like the Unicorn frappuccino drove sales in 2017, and customers were able to customize increasingly elaborate drinks.

Just five years after they were acquired, Starbucks closed all 379 Teavana stores because they were underperforming.

Starbucks faced backlash after two black men were arrested at a Philadelphia Starbucks in 2018 in a viral video, though bystanders said the men did nothing wrong.

In response, Starbucks closed all 8000-plus US stores for a day in May 2018 for racial-bias education, which also became a permanent part of new hire training.

The coffee chain embraced plant-based options, launching the Impossible Breakfast Sandwich and almond and oat milk varieties.

Drive-thru and pickup orders have become key to Starbucks' business, making up 80% of orders prior to the pandemic and even more since then.

Starbucks continues to invest in drive-thru technologies, including digital screens with AI that can recommend items and make waits shorter.

Now, Starbucks is offering employees paid time off to get the COVID-19 vaccine and extended catastrophe pay due to the pandemic.