Starbucks rolls out new green cups with stronger flavor

Starbucks China has rolled out its first smaller cup products on Tuesday, providing stronger flavor to meet the heavy coffee drinker's demands for high-end products.

The "Intenso Collection" with its "apron green" cup will be the first time that Starbucks China has developed a new cup size globally.

The collection of cup size holds 259 ml and features four products, priced at 33 yuan ($4.50) each.

The new product has double espresso and milk with cream. The stores have also been equipped with smaller sized milk jugs for the new products. Starbucks regular sized cups are tall (355 ml), grande (473 ml) and venti (592 ml).

China is Starbucks's second largest market, operating more than 6,500 stores and is aiming to reach a total of 9,000 stores by 2025.

Jason Yu, general manager of Kantar Worldpanel China, said new products from Starbucks have been differentiating their brand through premium pricing while keeping up with local consumers' preferred taste.

"Brewed coffee in China is more of becoming a beverage and has been empowered with more social functions," said Yu.

"As a result, a growing number of domestic on-premise coffee brands have developed flavors catering for local consumers such as liquor flavored lattes and orange flavored lattes."

Wang Zhendong, a speciality coffee expert in Shanghai, said that the Intenso Collection itself is not new to the Chinese on-premise coffee market but has diversified the portfolio for Starbucks China.

"What is going to really improve the coffee experience for Starbucks is its recent update on localization of its whole supply chains, which has shortened the roasting days for coffee beans and will elevate the product quality for coffee houses," said Wang.

In September, Starbucks opened its China Coffee innovation Park in Kunshan, Jiangsu province, its largest investment in manufacturing and distribution in the country, completing the scaled vertical integration "from bean to cup" in one market.