Starbucks boss: we’re not all froth
Attacked for business hubris and $4 confections, Howard Schultz insists the firm is all about real, Fairtrade coffee
The following correction was printed in the Guardian’s Corrections and clarifications column, Tuesday 24 March 2009.
In the interview below we said all the espresso-based coffee used in its European stores was Fairtrade certified. That is not the case. Starbucks has made a commitment that all the espresso-based coffee sold in its outlets in the UK and Ireland will be Fairtrade certified by the end of the year
The Frappuccino king truly knows how to talk. Starbucks’ chairman, Howard Schultz… discusses ethical sourcing, quality roasting and the “unparalleled” standards of freshness in Starbucks’ coffee beans…
Starbucks’ effort to revive its fortunes will play heavily on what Schultz sees as its ethical strengths. All of the espresso-based coffee used in its European stores is Fairtrade certified. The company’s charitable efforts extended to mobilising thousands of employees to help rebuild hurricane-savaged New Orleans last year. Trying to tap into the zeitgeist, the firm offered a free coffee to anybody who voted on US election day.”Even though people are under economic pressure, they still want to support those brands with values that are compatible with their own,” says Schultz, who professes to be perplexed that Starbucks is targeted by a “vocal minority” of anti-capitalist protesters…
