Starbucks launches campaign to promote new espresso

A multimillion pound campaign inviting customers to try the new Guatemala Antigua single source espresso for free will support the new range.

Starbucks will post a code on a dedicated campaign site every day between 3 and 9 April for customers to redeem against free samples in-store between 9:30 and 11:30.

Elsewhere Starbucks is opening its first innovation store in London to showcase its Reserve range and coffee making technologies.

Espresso will be made using a Simonelli manual espresso maker of which there are only a few in the UK. It will also offer limited edition Starbucks Reserve coffees made with its ‘clover’ machine which uses a vacuum-press to aerate the coffee.

Ian Cranna, vice president of UK marketing for Starbucks says: “Increasingly sophisticated British coffee drinkers are looking for choice and the chance to explore something new. Our experience and expertise in sourcing and roasting the best coffee in the world sets us apart in an increasingly competitive market, and means we are the first UK branded coffee shop where our highly trained baristas can offer customers a perfectly crafted latte, now with high quality single Origin Espresso.”

Starbucks will be hoping the new range and giveaways will go some way to restore its appeal with consumers after its brand reputation was damaged by the tax avoidance row at the end of last year. It follows a campaign which offered customers cheap lattes every Monday morning in January and February.