PYMNTS-MonitorEdge-May-2024

Starbucks Teams With Uber Eats To Deliver Coffee

South Florida residents will be able to get Starbucks food and drinks delivered thanks to a new partnership with Uber Eats.

According to a report in the South Florida Business Journal, the partnership between Starbucks and Uber Eats in South Florida kicked off earlier this week, enabling people to order from 100 stores.

“Uber Eats makes life simpler and more satisfying for those who are short on time,” said Juan Pablo Restrepo, Uber Eats general manager for South Florida. “Because of our dedication toward fast delivery, the time that you would spend waiting in line can go toward work, play, friends and family.”

The partnership with Uber Eats isn’t the only one Starbucks has inked in recent weeks to provide delivery services to its legions of customers around the globe. In August, the company inked a deal with Alibaba, in which Alibaba’s Ele.me, a China-based on-demand food delivery platform, will begin testing what the companies call “key trade zones” in Beijing and Shanghai. The testing will start in September and be present in 150 stores. Delivery providers with Ele.me will bring Starbucks products to consumers who order them online, with the program scheduled to expand to more than 2,000 Starbucks locations across China by year’s end.

“Both Starbucks and Ele.me collaborated to develop a unique, customized delivery infrastructure that has been meticulously determined, each step along the way, including dedicated Ele.me delivery riders, precise delivery time and custom carriers,” Starbucks and Alibaba said in a press release.

The deal also calls for Hema supermarkets in China to become the first retail brand to open “Starbucks Delivery Kitchens.” They will employ “Hema’s distinct fulfillment and delivery capabilities to complement the delivery of handcrafted Starbucks coffee and tea beverages offered through existing Starbucks stores,” the statement said. “Starbucks will also leverage Hema’s highly effective consumer insights and unique fulfillment expertise to further penetrate and better serve the needs of individuals and families in communities across China.”

PYMNTS-MonitorEdge-May-2024