How Does Yunnan Coffee Feature in the New Heritage Store?

Starbucks opened its first intangible cultural heritage concept store in Shanghai at Shenyuli in Suhewan MixC World, Jing'an, starting trial operation on September 30. The space pairs Yunnan ethnic minority craftsmanship with Shanghai qipao design and serves Reserve Yunnan coffee beans.

The store works as both a third place and a heritage art exhibition venue. Entry signage uses Yunnan Honghe tin craft, door handles are handmade silver, and a coffee bean flower pattern covers an interior wall. Siphon coffee brewing gives customers an interactive way to try the Reserve Yunnan beans.

For professional coffee knowledge exchange and more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account: cafe_style) For more specialty coffee beans, please add the private WeChat of Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee), WeChat ID: qjcoffeex Starbucks has opened Shanghai's first intangible cultural heritage concept store at Shenyuli in Suhewan MixC World, Jing'an, Shanghai, which began trial operation on September 30. This store combines Yunnan ethnic minority craftsmanship with Shanghai qipao design concepts to create a unique venue that serves both as a third place and an intangible cultural heritage art exhibition space. The store offers Reserve Yunnan coffee beans and incorporates interactive experiences such as siphon coffee brewing. This move continues Starbucks' public welfare trajectory since the 2020 "Rural Mothers Acceleration Plan" and also echoes the current trend of guochao consumption.

For professional coffee knowledge exchange and more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account: cafe_style)

For more specialty coffee beans, please add the private WeChat of Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee), WeChat ID: qjcoffeex

According to news from Jing'an, Shanghai, on September 30, the day before the National Day holiday, Starbucks' first intangible cultural heritage concept store in Shanghai — Starbucks Reserve Shenyuli Intangible Cultural Heritage Concept Store — began trial operation at Shenyuli, Suhewan MixC World, No. 100 Fujian North Road, Jing'an District.

This intangible cultural heritage concept store is not only a uniquely styled third place, but also serves as an exhibition venue for intangible cultural heritage art. The cultures of Shanghai and Yunnan blend together here, bringing customers an immersive dual intangible cultural heritage cultural experience, and it has also become one of the popular check-in spots for citizens to explore historical relics and experience the urban landscape.

It is understood that the sign at the entrance of the store uses Yunnan Honghe tin craftsmanship, and the door handles are handmade silver. On the wall inside the store, there is a full background wall featuring a coffee bean flower pattern made with traditional embroidery craftsmanship. In addition, the themed decorative wall is also inlaid with a pure silver Starbucks Reserve hand-hammered pattern logo.

The store's interior decoration combines Yunnan ethnic minority craftsmanship with the design concepts of Shanghai qipao. The Starbucks baristas in this store all wear a unique embroidered mermaid pin on their chests, which is also a product specially customized for the Shanghai intangible cultural heritage store.

According to Lu Shilan, manager of the Starbucks Reserve Shenyuli Intangible Cultural Heritage Concept Store, the first intangible cultural heritage concept store has launched Reserve Yunnan coffee beans — one natural process and one washed process from Yunnan Tianyu Farm — and customers can also experience the traditional Shanghai siphon coffee brewing method on site.

Lu Shilan said that the location "Shenyuli" was chosen because of the strong historical architecture and atmosphere in the surrounding area, and it is hoped that through Starbucks' third place approach, combined with coffee interaction, consumers can learn about the craftsmanship and culture of artisans. As Shanghai is Starbucks' "city of a thousand stores," this intangible cultural heritage concept store has also become a shining new "star" among those thousand stores.

This intangible cultural heritage concept store is Shanghai's first, but not the world's first. In November 2011, China's first "Intangible Cultural Heritage Cultural Experience Store" landed in Beijing. That store, together with batik craft inheritors, launched Starbucks' first coffee bar themed around batik art, and also displayed intangible cultural heritage artworks.

Leo Tsoi, Starbucks global executive vice president and CEO of Starbucks China, said: "Building a bridge between intangible cultural heritage culture and the modern city was our original intention in establishing this store, and we hope to bring intangible cultural heritage art to more young urban consumers."

It is understood that the inspiration for this store type came from the "Rural Mothers Acceleration Plan" launched by Starbucks in May 2020. This is a public welfare project jointly launched by Starbucks and the China Women's Development Foundation, dedicated to empowering rural women who inherit intangible cultural heritage skills, helping them become self-reliant and live better lives.

Starbucks is an "unusual" company that builds emotional connections with consumers by closely integrating store design with local urban culture. As young people today increasingly identify with the aesthetics of local culture, "guochao" has gradually become a consumer trend, and Starbucks is also actively participating in it.

This store is precisely born out of understanding and embracing local culture, creating a unique emotional connection for every customer by constantly redefining the third place. With diversified concepts such as green sustainability, the beauty of intangible cultural heritage, pet friendliness, sign language stores, and co-creation spaces, Starbucks has always used higher-quality and more innovative store formats to become a fulcrum for interaction between cities and communities.

Looking across China, Starbucks' development pace has gradually become integrated as part of urban life. Today, the opening of this Shanghai first store, the Starbucks intangible cultural heritage concept store, is the best confirmation of that. It perfectly integrates into Shanghai's cultural charm and is also a manifestation of Starbucks' further development of this public welfare project.

Image source: Internet

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.