November 2025 | 800 words | 3-minute read
On his recent visit to India, Brian Niccol, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Starbucks, visited India’s first Starbucks Reserve® in Mumbai, where he shared coffee and conversation with Tata Group Chairman N Chandrasekaran. The visit marked the celebration of a significant milestone for the global coffee giant in India: the 500th Starbucks coffeehouse in the country, and a Starbucks Reserve® to boot, ready to welcome coffee afficionados in Delhi NCR.
However, the occasion was special for more than one reason. Demonstrating its long -term commitment to India, and its plans to deepen its coffee leadership in the market, Tata Starbucks and Starbucks Coffee Company also announced that they were collaborating to establish a Farmer Support Partnership (FSP). The FSP will connect local agronomists and farmers to global farming best practices through open-source agronomy.
“India is one of our fastest-growing markets,” said Mr Niccol. “We’re partnering with Tata to shape the future of coffee in India, including supporting farmers, empowering communities, and delivering the highest quality offerings to our customers. It’s a long-term commitment to build a stronger, more sustainable coffee ecosystem that benefits everyone, from bean to cup.”
Strengthening the coffee value chain
Starbucks Coffee Trading Company, SARL (SCTC), Starbucks’ global procurement and trading subsidiary, will collaborate closely with Tata Starbucks to empower 10,000 farmers by 2030. The FSP based in Karnataka will combine Tata Starbucks deep local knowledge, India’s coffee-growing heritage, and decades of Starbucks global agronomy expertise. It will support farmers from India’s key coffee growing states including Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala to strengthen connections with Starbucks’ global network, drive innovation, and share best practices in farming and sustainability to ensure a sustainable future for Indian coffee.
“As the largest specialty coffee player in India, we are proud to bring the Farmer Support Partnership in collaboration with SCTC, a meaningful step toward strengthening India’s coffee-growing community and securing the future of high-quality Arabica,” said Sushant Dash, Chief Executive Officer, Tata Starbucks. “Our commitment to India extends beyond growth, to investing in farmers, partners (employees) and customers to continue building a vibrant coffee culture.”
A ‘model’ practice
The FSP will set up technical ‘model farms’ in partnership with farmers in India, incorporating global learnings, to embed best practices in coffee agronomy and test sustainable solutions. It will also serve as a hub for testing new varietals, provide knowledge on innovative farming techniques aligned to Indian practices and conditions, and share insights about other agroforestry initiatives to improve coffee quality, productivity and climate resiliency.
“We’re partnering with Tata to shape the future of coffee in India, including supporting farmers, empowering communities, and delivering the highest quality offerings to our customers. It’s a long-term commitment to build a stronger, more sustainable coffee ecosystem that benefits everyone, from bean to cup.” — Brian Niccol, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Starbucks
The goal is to build upon traditional methods to help farmers improve both the quality of their crops and their profitability. The FSP will work closely with existing centres of excellence within the Starbucks global network. This includes partnering with Farmer Support Centers (FSC) in coffee-growing regions around the world, where agronomists collaborate directly with farmers on research, and learning from existing ‘model farms’ within Starbucks’ supply chain. This network includes FSCs in the APAC region in North Sumatra, Indonesia and Yunnan, China, as well as Hacienda Alsacia in Costa Rica (Starbucks’ first company-operated coffee farm and headquarters to the Starbucks Costa Rica Farmer Support Center and Starbucks Global Research and Development team).
For the farmers
Through the FSP, Indian farmers will also benefit from Starbucks 2026 global digital training tools, which will offer detailed online modules on agronomy, coffee quality, and C.A.F.E. (Coffee and Farmer Equity) practices to foster ethical sourcing and ultimately enhance productivity and sustainability. It will also educate farmers about Regen-Ag (regenerative agriculture) practices and methods to reduce carbon, water, and waste footprints, and contribute to agroforestry and social development initiatives.
The FSP will develop projects across the key Starbucks commitments of unlocking coffee productivity, increasing farm profitability and building climate resiliency over the next 5 years. To build capability and strengthen India’s entire coffee value chain, Tata Starbucks will also donate one million high-yield variety Arabica seedlings to farmers over the next five years.
Since its inception in 2012 as a joint venture between Starbucks Coffee Company and Tata Consumer Products, Tata Starbucks has been dedicated to delivering the unique Starbucks Experience to customers in India. This latest effort is part of the company’s strategy to focus on creating a differentiated and elevated coffee forward experience in India. “Through the past decade, together, Tata Consumer Products and Starbucks, have helped shape India’s thriving coffee culture and industry,” said Sunil D’Souza, Managing Director Chief Executive Officer, Tata Consumer Products. “With this new initiative, we are pleased to pair Starbucks global agronomy expertise with Tata’s footprint in India to drive tangible impact and pave the way for the future of responsible coffee farming in India.”
