Starbucks opens first store in Rome as confidence in Italian market grows

The Piazza Montecitorio outlet represents Starbucks’ 25th store in Italy | Photo credit: Starbucks

Starbucks has said it is ‘more optimistic than ever’ about the future of the brand in Italy after opening its first store in the capital city of Rome. 
 

The Piazza Montecitorio outlet represents Starbucks’ 25th store in Italy and will be followed by two further sites in the city at the Roma Termini rail station in May 2023. 

Starbucks entered the Italian market in 2018 with the Starbucks Reserve Roastery in Milan and plans to reach 37 stores nationwide by the end of 2023. 

While still a relatively new market for the US coffee giant, the importance and tradition of Italian coffee shops has often been cited by the Seattle coffee chain as paramount to its global growth.  

Visits to Rome, Verona and Milan in 1983 prompted former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz to bring Italian espresso beverages and café culture to the US. 

“We are humbled by the warm welcome by the Italian consumer and more optimistic than ever about the future of the brand in Italy,” said Vincenzo Catrambone, General Manager, Starbucks Italy.  

Following Starbucks’ first outlet in Verona in September 2022, Catrambone said the coffee chain would continue ‘evolving the formats and locations’ of new stores across Italy to meet the ‘needs and taste preferences’ of Italian consumers. 

In February 2023, Starbucks launched an ‘innovative’ range of Oleato coffee beverages infused with extra virgin olive oil across its Italian stores. Schultz said the move represented the ‘next revolution in coffee’ that brings together an ‘alchemy of nature’s finest ingredients’.   
 

World Coffee Portal research shows the Italian branded coffee shop market is the ninth largest across Europe at 1,163 outlets. The market is heavily dominated by domestic brands with only five international brands — McCafé, Starbucks, Dunkin’, EL&N and Puccino’s — currently operating in the country.