It was founded in 1971 by Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl, and Gordon Bowker at Seattle's Pike Place Market initially as a coffee bean wholesaler.

Starbucks was converted into a coffee shop serving espresso-based drinks under the ownership of Howard Schultz, who was chief executive officer from 1986 to 2000 and led the aggressive expansion of the franchise across the West Coast of the United States.

[32] In July 2008, during the Great Recession, Starbucks announced it was closing 600 underperforming company-owned stores and cutting U.S. expansion plans amid growing economic uncertainty.

Research firm Keyhole monitored the progress of the campaign; a December 2013 media article reported that 27,000 people had participated and US$180,000 of purchases had been made to date.

[45][46] In January 2014, as part of a change in compact direction, Starbucks management transitioned from a singular brand worldwide to focusing on locally relevant design for each store.

[63][64][65] In June 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, the company announced that it would close 400 of its locations in the US/Canada region over the subsequent 18 months as it moves from the coffee house concept to what it calls "convenience-led" formats with drive-through and curbside pickup.

[72] On March 23, 2023, Narasimhan told employees that he would work a half-day behind a store counter each month, and he trained as a barista to immerse himself in the brand and stay close to customers.

[80][81][82] During the union drive, the company sent other managers and executives, including its North America retail president, to Buffalo to engage with employees about operational issues and participate in their work.

[95] In August 2022, the National Labor Relations Board accused the company of illegally discriminating against unionized workers by refusing them wage and benefit increases and requesting restitution.

Critics have argued that the claim on the label misleads consumers into thinking that Ethos is primarily a charitable organization when it is actually a for-profit brand and only 5 cents per bottle supports clean-water projects.

[137] In February 2023, Starbucks announced it would introduce a line of coffee drinks made with extra virgin olive oil, including lattes, shaken espresso, and cold brews.

[245][246] In November 2017, Starbucks commenced operations in Jamaica, where the first store opened in the resort city of Montego Bay[247] on the shores of the Doctor's Cave Beach Club, offering views of the Caribbean Sea.

Schultz returned as CEO during the financial crisis of 2007–08 and spent the succeeding decade growing the company's market share, expanding its offerings, and reorienting the brand around corporate social responsibility.

[301] Analysts have long believed that the firm's corporate governance must determine how to contend with higher materials prices and enhanced competition from lower-priced fast-food chains, including McDonald's and Dunkin' Donuts.

[317] The fish tail was cropped slightly, and the primary color was changed from brown to green, a nod to the Alma Mater of the three founders, the University of San Francisco.

[321] The logo was altered when Starbucks entered the Saudi Arabian market in 2000 to remove the siren, leaving only her crown,[322] as reported in a Pulitzer Prize-winning column by Colbert I.

In September 2009, company-operated Starbucks stores in Canada and the United States successfully implemented a new water saving solution that meets government health standards.

Different types of milk are given a dedicated spoon that remains in the pitcher and the dipper wells were replaced with push button metered faucets for rinsing.

It also identified five areas of focus: expanding plant-based menu options; shifting to reusable packaging; investing in regenerative agriculture, reforestation, forest conservation and water replenishment; better ways to manage waste; and more eco-friendly stores, operations, manufacturing, and delivery.

Frappucinos will get straws made from a different material that is sustainable and environmentally friendly such as paper or compostable plastic, while other cold drinks will get straw-less lids.

[356] In 2019, the non-profit labour justice organisation Fair World Project released an article outling how despite Starbucks had passed coffee producers as slave free in their Brazil production units using their internal C.A.F.E.

[378] The series featured podcasts, written word, and video, and was distributed via the Starbucks mobile app, online, and through the company's in-store digital network.

Although the hosts have previously consumed Starbucks coffee on air "for free" in the words of MSNBC president Phil Griffin, it was not paid placement at that time.

[386] In mid-November 2013, an arbitrator ordered Starbucks to pay a fine of US$2.8 billion to Mondelez International, a corporate spin-off of Kraft, for its premature unilateral termination of the agreement.

[398][399] In March 2020, Starbucks announced that starting from April 6, all U.S. employees and their eligible family members could use up to 20 free mental health therapy or coaching sessions per year.

[402][403] Starbucks have a range of ready-to-drink iced coffee products in shops and supermarkets, which are produced under license by Danish-Swedish dairy cooperative Arla Foods.

While Johnson did not comment on their future, he condemned the Russian invasion and did say that the company "will donate any royalties we receive from our business operations in Russia to humanitarian relief efforts for Ukraine".

A black woman filed a suit after her direct supervisor, a regional vice president, said he would like to call her Toby, a slave name which was given to African Kunta Kinte in the TV miniseries Roots.

[415] In 2008, a former African American Starbucks engineer sued the company for discrimination after his supervisor failed to address racist bullying he was experiencing at the workplace, instead giving him extra work due to his complaining.

It came during an ongoing public furor over the direction of LGBTQ+ rights in the US, with other major corporations, like Target and AB-InBev, which manufactures Bud Light, also receiving heightened criticism and scrutiny.