12 Surprising Things You May Not Have Known About Starbucks

This morning, Starbucks announced some changes they’ll be making to their coveted rewards program, effective starting this April.  To put it simply, customers now get rewarded based on the amount of money spent, not the amount of visits made.

In light of these new modifications, we put together a list of some other facts you might not have known about the coffee chain.

1. There are Starbucks stores in 67 countries

Although the franchise first got its start in Seattle, Washington, there are now Starbucks stores located in 67 countries around the world.

This adds up to more than 22,000 stores in places from Russia to Guatemala, and everywhere in between. (This stat is as of June 2015, so there very well may be even more stores in more locations today.)

2. They’re making some serious health changes

Starbucks has already made health changes in their stores, such as adding salads to the food lineup and making gluten-free orders an available option. Something you may not know, however, is that they’re also digging deeper.

By the end of 2016, Starbucks has committed to having all of their beverages be completely free of artificial flavors to all locations in the U.S. and Canada.

By 2020, Starbucks says it will reduce the average added sugar their indulgent beverages contains by 25 percent.

For their complete Health and Wellness timeline, click here.

3. Starbucks uses over 4 billion cups per year

That’s right – there are over four billion paper cups being used within their stores around the world every year.

In an effort to reduce the waste associated with these cups, Starbucks gives a 10-cent discount to any customer who brings in their own cup for Starbucks to put your coffee in.

Going green and saving some green sounds like a win to me.

4. They help their employees pay for college

Since over 70 percent of the U.S. employees who work at Starbucks are students or aspiring students, they established a College Achievement Plan with Arizona State University.

This plan offers full coverage to eligible employees, as well as a team of coaches and advisors to help them earn their education while working at their Starbucks.

5. They encourage ideas from customers

Starbucks has an option on its site called My Starbucks Idea, giving customers the option to voice their opinion and pitch their ideas for Starbucks products, experience improvement, and customer involvement.

At the bottom of the site page, they include a list of ideas from customers that have been put into action. These include everything from bringing back a favorite food item to specific app features.

6. 1/6 of Americans Got Starbucks Cards As A Holiday Gift in 2015

Starbucks says that 1 in 6 Americans received a Starbucks gift card as a holiday gift in the 2015 holiday season. This is more than in 2014, as they had reported it being 1 in 7 Americans.

Another fun fact: the coffee chain had record-high revenue in the last three months of 2015, making over $5 billion in that time period.

7. A grande coffee has 4x more caffeine than Red Bull

A grande coffee at Starbucks will offer 330 mg of caffeine, while a Red Bull energy drink will offer only 83 mg. Both are under the recommended daily limit of caffeine for healthy adults, which is 400 mg.

8. There’s 36,000 possible combinations for a Frappuccino

With the different flavors, sizes, mix-ins and ingredients that Starbucks offers for this cold beverage, it adds up to over 36,000 possible combinations of drinks.

9. There is a size bigger than Venti

The Trenta size, only available for certain Starbucks Refreshers, is a 30 oz cup. (Their Venti cup is 24 oz.)

More food for thought: the Trenta size holds more liquid  than a human stomach can hold. The cup contains 916 milliliters of your beverage, while the average stomach has a 900 ml capacity.

10. They were the first ever to reach 10 million likes on Facebook

In 2010, the influential brand was the first ever to receive 10 million likes on its Facebook page. Its success can be accredited to customer interaction, giveaways and more.

Today, the page has over 36 million likes. They’re also very prominent on multiple social media forms, such as Instagram. Their very popular Pumpkin Spice Latte even has its own Twitter account. (With 114k followers, because, of course.)

11. The average customer will visit 6 times a month

An average customer will go to the stores 6 times per month, but what’s more mind-blowing is that their most loyal 20 percent of customers will travel to the store 16 times a month – at the least.

12. Their biggest market is China

What most people may assume is that the U.S. is where Starbucks has the biggest market, since it was founded on U.S. soil in Washington state. However, records go to show that the biggest market for the coffee shop is actually in Shanghai, China.

They have stated that more than 20 percent of its revenue each quarter is based on their markets in China. They also plan to double the amount of Starbucks stores available in the country in the next five years.

Photo by marcopako 