Starbucks Indonesia plans to double its current 200-strong store network within five years.
In an interview with Indonesia Real Time, Starbucks Indonesia COO Anthony Cottan says demand is growing for the American-based global coffee giant’s products – and so, too, is Indonesia’s middle class.
Starbucks made its Indonesian debut in 2002, opening its first store in the luxury Jakarta mall Plaza Indonesia. It now has cafes in 13 of the nation’s larger cities, located in shopping centres, airports, hospitals and motorway laybys.
Cottan said the company plans to introduce bubble tea in June in a trial in several stores and is planning its first ‘Community store’, which, like those in markets like Thailand and Korea, will return a share of profits to community causes.
He said it was great that Indonesians are adopting more of a coffee cultures.
“More people are doing it and taking a deeper level of interest. I love all these independent coffee shops; they have great coffee. They roast it fresh, using Indonesian beans most of the time.”
Starbucks Indonesia is trying to make its global culture relevant to the Indonesian market, Cottan said.
“We try to make each [cafe] relevant to its neighborhood. The [outlet] in Grand Indonesia Mall has a very Batavia feel about it. The one we have in Stasiun Kota (in central Jakarta)… has an industrial look. So just because we’re a big company doesn’t mean that we can’t build with some consciousness and some connection to heritage. That makes it more exciting,” he told Indonesia Real Time.
