New Starbucks Roastery in China offers digital experience

Starbucks Reserve Roastery in Shanghai opened recently -- culminating in Starbucks most ambitious project ever. The world’s second Starbucks Roastery is created three years after the inaugural Seattle Roastery and it a multi-sensory coffee experience in an interactive coffee and retail destination, according to the company.

As customers enter the Roastery and step through the front doors of the 30,000 sqf building, they’ll be greeted by the sight of a two-story, copper cask, adorned with more than 1,000 traditional Chinese stamps, hand-engraved to narrate the story of Starbucks and coffee. As part of their experience, customers can visit many attractions including one of three coffee bars offering multiple brewing methods, explore specially-crafted teas at the 3D printed tea bar, enjoy freshly baked Italian artisanal food, and marvel at the ceiling made of 10,000 handmade wooden hexagon-shaped tiles, inspired by the locking of an espresso shot on an espresso machine.

“The affinity we have built with our partners (employees) and customers over the past 18 years in China is special and we knew we must bring the Reserve Roastery, our boldest, most premium store ever, to Shanghai, China’s bustling metropolitan hub and one of the world’s most dynamic retail destinations, as well as a gateway to customers from across Asia and the world,” said Howard Schultz, executive chairman of Starbucks Coffee Company. “We’ve created a space that both recognises and celebrates our 46-year history of coffee leadership and retail innovation with China’s rich, diverse culture."

Located at 789 Nanjing Road West, the Shanghai Roastery will become the first Starbucks location and the first-of-its kind in China to seamlessly integrate a real-time, in-store and online customer experience. Customers are invited to immerse themselves in the first Starbucks augmented reality (AR) experience -- accessible through the custom-designed Roastery digital web-app platform or on Alibaba’s Taobao app -- by pointing their mobile devices at key features around the Roastery to bring information about the Starbucks bean-to-cup story to life.

To help customers create their personal Roastery discovery journey, the Roastery digital web-app platform also incorporates a digital menu and will intuitively, through AR technology, share details of the coffee bars, brewing methods, as well as other not-to-be-missed unique online and offline experiences. Each step of the way, customers unlock a virtual badge and once all badges are earned, they receive a custom Roastery filter to commemorate the moment and share on social media. The Shanghai Roastery digital experience is designed by Starbucks and powered by Alibaba Group’s scene-recognition technology.

This experience also extends to Alibaba’s online marketplace, Tmall, allowing customers to purchase Shanghai Roastery and Reserve branded merchandise and whole bean coffee or to register for specially-curated coffee tasting experiences that can be enjoyed at the Starbucks Roastery in Shanghai.