Recently we posted a blog to the MSI community called Your Bold Solutions . We invited the MSI community to help us find a solution to please both the customers who want a consistent everyday blend like Pike Place™ Roast and those who want variety and a “bolder” flavor profile. Here are the ideas you shared: The brewed coffee team placed these suggestions into four groups. We want to share where we’re at on these bold solutions. 1. Low Tech or High Tech – Faster Single Cup We have engaged with our equipment research and development team to evaluate both low-tech and high tech solutions for quicker (on demand) brewing. We have and will continue to test both solutions … more »

Vanilla is the most popular sugar-free flavor indicated by your votes on MSI. 42% Vanilla 30% Caramel 28% Hazelnut We've seen lots of ideas on the site about offering more sugar-free syrups. What flavor would you most like added to the menu?

Many of you are probably aware of the (PRODUCT)RED relationship we started at the onset of our holiday promotion in late November. So far, with your help, we’ve been able to generate funds that could provide more than 1.4 million daily doses of medicine to help save lives in Africa. This may help to provide 3,800 people with the necessary medication to fight HIV/AIDS for one year. This is an amazing milestone and we are so proud of what we have collectively done so far! We have been talking a lot about how we can extend our partnership with (PRODUCT)RED throughout 2009. We have heard some feedback from you that the (STARBUCKS)RED EXCLUSIVE beverages are something you enjoy but are concerned … more »

Howard Schultz returned to the CEO position almost a year ago and has since been at the helm of transforming Starbucks. Over the past months we’ve tried some new things. Last night at a Starbucks store in Seattle, Howard sat with about fifty customers from the local community. Howard talked with customers to understand what they think of some of these new products and programs. It was like a live MSI listening session for many of the topics shared echoed the ideas you’ve shared here. At this unique and intimate gathering, customers shared some of the reasons why they love Starbucks. Among the common sentiments were - “You know what to expect and there’s a sense of community … more »

Hi, my name is Suzanne and I am the Brand Manager for Tazo Tea here at Starbucks. I’ve been lucky enough to have been a part of Tazo now for about seven great years. Tazo was started by a guy named Steve who wanted to “pull the doily out from under the tea cup” and introduce a whole new generation of tea drinkers to the captivating world of tea. His goal was to breathe new life into this ancient beverage, which (back in 1994, anyway) he felt held little interest to most Americans. He believed that if you searched the world for the highest quality teas, herbs and spices, brought them together in intriguing ways people had never tasted before, and had a little fun while doing … more »

Hi, my name is Sue, and I work in Global Responsibility on environmental impact. I've written about recycling and wanted to give you an update. We are developing our program for next year, and you will be seeing some exciting things! First of all, we have reviewed our recycling status - currently 70% of the North American stores where we manage trash are recycling behind the counter already. Early next year, we are going to survey the stores where we don't manage trash to find out how many of them are already recycling. We want to be sure that all stores that have the ability are recycling. One thing that is impacting recycling these days is the market. You may have heard that recyclers … more »

Many of the ideas on My Starbucks Idea are about ways we can help reduce our environmental footprint by using a reusable cup. Reusable Cups Reuse, Recycle Reduce paper cup usage Now available at Starbucks are earth-friendly tumblers made with a minimum of 27% recycled material. Starting on January 3, these tumblers will be available in all Starbucks hot beverage sizes: 8, 12, 16, and 20 ounces. They even come with a coupon for a free hand-crafted beverage – another idea shared here at MSI. Bring back free beverage with purchase of a cup You can take action to reduce your environmental footprint by taking the mug pledge at www.starbucks.com/sharedplanet . Each time you bring in your own … more »