Starbucks has announced a significant expansion of its collaborative coffee innovation network, with the goal of protecting the future of coffee production worldwide. Building on its existing agronomy research at Hacienda Alsacia, Starbucks’ first company-operated farm, the company has added new farms in Guatemala and Costa Rica, with plans to invest in future farms in Africa and Asia. The expanded network is designed to enhance productivity, increase farmer profitability, and develop climate resilience in coffee-growing regions.
Collaborating with over 450,000 farms worldwide, Starbucks supports the cultivation of high-quality Arabica coffee. As a purchaser of 3% of the world’s coffee, Starbucks recognizes the pressing challenges caused by climate change. To address concerns such as rising temperatures, droughts, and disease such as coffee leaf rust, Starbucks is prioritizing research and innovation to ensure a sustainable future for coffee and it's farmers.
The new farms in Costa Rica and Guatemala will focus on studying hybrid coffee varieties under varying environmental conditions such as elevation and soil composition. In Costa Rica, adjacent to Hacienda Alsacia, the farm will experiment with mechanization, drones, and other technologies to address labor challenges in Latin America. The farm in Guatemala’s Antigua Valley will replicate smallholder farming practices, providing valuable insights into the challenges faced by smaller farms.
This expansion is part of Starbucks' broader strategy to support coffee farmers through its coffee innovation network, which also includes 10 Farmer Support Centers across coffee-growing regions and 70 model farms within the company’s supply chain. These centers and farms serve as hubs for research, best practice dissemination, and hands-on learning for farmers.
Starbucks has distributed nearly 90 million climate-resistant coffee trees to farmers since committing to deliver 100 million trees by 2025. This initiative is helping farmers cope with climate change by offering disease-resistant varieties that support both productivity and quality.
The upcoming investments in Africa and Asia will complete Starbucks' innovation network, spanning the three main coffee-growing regions known as the Coffee Belt: Latin America, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific. This global presence allows Starbucks to study diverse landscapes, farming practices, and the unique challenges posed by different climates.
Research conducted on Starbucks’ coffee innovation farms will be scaled through its innovation network, ensuring that findings benefit the broader industry. The network also includes the sustainability learning and innovation lab at Hacienda Alsacia, scheduled to break ground in December. Through this collaborative framework, they aim to improve coffee farming practices and develop solutions that could apply to other crops facing similar climate-related threats.
The company’s ongoing efforts reflect their commitment to ensuring that coffee remains a viable and profitable crop for generations to come.
