Starbucks in a Traditional Coffee City: What the Rome Store Signals

Starbucks plans to open a three-story store at Piazza Montecitorio in central Rome, directly facing the Italian Parliament building, with billboards already up and an opening expected in April. It is the brand's second Rome location, after a 2022 branch at Castel Romano Designer Outlet in the southern suburbs.

Italy remains a traditional coffee stronghold: per-capita consumption runs at 5.8 kilograms of beans a year, and a local espresso averages about one euro, a sharp contrast with Starbucks pricing. Consumer groups and politicians have raised questions as the chain, which entered Italy in 2018 via the Milan Reserve Roastery, pushes into the capital's core.

Starbucks is about to open a store in Piazza Montecitorio in the heart of Rome, marking the brand's first foray into the core area of the Italian capital after Milan. Since entering the Italian market in 2018, Starbucks has gradually penetrated major cities, thanks to the high-profile debut of its Milan Reserve Roastery. However, as a traditional coffee powerhouse, Italy consumes 5.8 kilograms of coffee beans per capita annually, with espresso averaging only 1 euro, creating a sharp contrast with Starbucks' high pricing and local consumption habits, sparking questions from consumer associations and politicians. This article will review Starbucks' store-opening journey in Rome, its market strategy, and explore the opportunities and challenges it faces in Italy's saturated coffee market.

According to foreign media Bellezze di Roma, Starbucks plans to open a store in a three-story building in Piazza Montecitorio in central Rome, directly facing the Italian Parliament building. Starbucks billboards have already been put up around the store's exterior, and it is expected to officially open in April.

This marks the first time Starbucks has brought its stores into the capital Rome, five years after entering the Italian market in 2018. Starbucks entered Italy relatively late; on September 6, 2018, Italy's first Starbucks opened in Piazza Cordusio in central Milan. At the time, Starbucks was full of confidence, and its first store in Italy was a "Reserve Roastery" (only 4 in the world, located in Seattle, Shanghai, Milan, and New York). In the same year, Starbucks added 585 stores in the Chinese market.

After the successful launch of the Milan Roastery, Starbucks immediately began expanding in major Italian cities. The store about to open in Piazza Montecitorio is, strictly speaking, not Rome's first store, but its second branch.

Rome's first Starbucks store officially opened on April 5, 2022, at Castel Romano Designer Outlet (an outlet shopping center).

Although this store claims to be Starbucks' first in Rome, its location at Castel Romano is in the southern suburbs of Rome, a 30-to-40-minute drive from the city center, essentially meaning Starbucks first "stationed" on the outskirts of Rome. Only with the completion of the second store in the city center does the brand truly enter the city.

Italy is a coffee powerhouse, with a coffee market worth 7 billion US dollars and per capita annual consumption of 5.8 kilograms of coffee beans. At the same time, Italy is also one of the countries with the most coffee shops in the world, including many century-old brands. Facing such a saturated market and Italians' devotion to Italian-style coffee, when Starbucks officially entered Italy, outsiders were not optimistic about it. For example, after the Milan Roastery opened, then-Italian parliamentarian and Brothers of Italy leader Georgia Meloni posted on social media: "I don't understand—our Italian coffee is the envy of the whole world, so why would anyone go drink Starbucks' beverages?"

According to UNC, after the Starbucks Milan store opened, then-president of Italy's National Consumers Association Massimiliano Dona said: "We welcome Starbucks to Italy; competition in Italian coffee shops is fierce. Unfortunately, the price of 1.8 euros for an espresso is clearly too exaggerated, almost 80% higher than the average price in Milan."

According to the latest commodity price data from the Ministry of Economic Development, the average price of an espresso in Milan is 1 euro, with the most expensive being only 1.1 euros. The price of 4.5 euros for a cappuccino is even more absurd, as Milan's average price is only 1.34 euros, with the most expensive at 1.6 euros."

Although Starbucks faces enormous challenges in the Italian market, it is still actively expanding to seize existing market share. After the Starbucks outlet store opened, many people also went there to spend money.

Currently, Starbucks has opened more than 25 stores in Italy. It has also launched an olive oil coffee called "Oleato" at its Italian stores, showing Starbucks' emphasis on the Italian market.

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