Results are in! The food team wanted to know if you noticed where the nutritional information is placed on the sandwich package. This is how you responded: 24% Front 54% Back 22% Both The correct answer? Both! We recently updated our sandwich packaging and now include the nutritional information on the front as well as the back. A good idea to have it in two places? You tell us.

Hi, it’s Erin here on the food team. This week, we announced that we are updating some of our food recipes to include fewer ingredients. We’ve eliminated some unnecessary “stuff” including artificial flavors, artificial dyes and artificial trans fats. We are also no longer using high-fructose corn syrup. Providing options with more natural ingredients is a top priority for the Food team and we know it is on your minds as well. We are also continuing to work on increasing the number of nutritious food offerings and reducing calories and sodium levels. One of my favorite items coming out at participating stores on June 30 is the new Blueberry Streusel Muffin which is now … more »

If you’re anything like me, this is the time of year where you’re stocking up on allergy pills and spending time in the great outdoors. ‘Tis the season to cleanup a local park and work in your garden. Well, did you know that one of the biggest by-products from our stores is something that you can recycle and reuse in your park or garden? Can you guess what I’m talking about? That’s right- coffee grounds! We started a program called Grounds for your Garden way back in 1995 and to this day we offer our customers a complimentary five-pound bag of used coffee grounds (at participating stores). These grounds have plenty of uses but one of the best (and easiest!) ways … more »

Thanks to YOU and our passion for coffee, today Zagat Survey® ranked Starbucks #1 Best Coffee in the Fast Food and Quick Refreshment categories and as the #1 Most Popular Quick Refreshment Chain. Zagat Survey ® rates and reviews companies based on thousands of opinions and is recognized as a leading source for consumer information. Your opinion matters and we thank you for this recognition and the ideas you share with us at My Starbucks Idea. Please chime in and share your thoughts and ideas with us about this exciting news... Cheers! Michelle Gass executive vice president, Marketing and Category ® Registered trademark of Zagat Survey, LLC, used with permission. Within the Quick Refreshment … more »

A top idea on My Starbucks Idea, both from partners and customers, is recyclable cups. This is one of the main reasons we were excited to announce the goal of having a recyclable cup by 2012, in our 2008 Starbucks Global Responsibility report . We recently took a big step towards this goal with our Cup Summit, held on May 12th at the Seattle Support Center. The meeting pulled together key stakeholders in our cup supply chain - paper and plastic manufacturers, cup makers, recyclers, academics working on recyclable materials, nonprofits such as Global Green and GreenBlue who are working to increase recycling, city and state representatives leading the way in recycling, and Starbucks partners who … more »

Hi, this is Kerry Busheikin, vice president of Operations for Licensed Stores East. There have been a lot of great questions lately about licensed stores. I wanted to take this opportunity to share some information about why we license and the benefits it provides our customers and I’ll address some of the questions asked. A Starbucks licensed store is owned and operated by an approved licensee. Each licensee is closely evaluated to ensure they meet our stringent requirements in order to operate the Starbucks brand. These retail locations are staffed by the licensee’s employees and they follow Starbucks training guidelines including beverage quality, store cleanliness, and creating … more »

Calling all early-birds! If you were up early this morning you might have caught a glimpse of Howard Schultz on MSNBC’s morning news program “Morning Joe”. Howard was a guest on the show to announce Starbucks new alliance with the news program. This is an exciting way for Starbucks to be a part of your day by combining your morning coffee with informed, insightful discussions and important news topics of the day. If you missed it or want to learn more, you can watch today’s segment on the Morning Joe website ( here ). We hope you enjoy “Morning Joe – Brewed by Starbucks” and look forward to reading your comments below. Thanks!