Starbucks accelerates innovation at its Seattle research center

In a 20,000-square-foot facility at its headquarters in Seattle, global coffee giant Starbucks is trying something different. In a certain way, the company's new innovation center, called Tryer Center, created 48 years ago, seems to be able to house a startup in Silicon Valley.

The vision of Tryer and the next wave of brand innovations is CEO Kevin Johnson. He has been a successor to Howard Schultz for about two years, and focuses on three strategic priorities in the US: creating a better in-store experience, innovating his beverage platform, and building stronger digital relationships. The plan has been successful as the company has announced a 4% comparable store sales growth for the third consecutive quarter in the United States.

"We now have 30,000 stores around the world, serving 100 million customers a week, and with its breadth and complexity they can become the enemy of speed." It's all about transforming the way we do business. work at Starbucks, so as to accelerate the speed of innovation, "said Johnson.

At Tryer, employees are testing new cold drink combinations, using rapid prototyping via a 3D printer, and even experimenting with delivery mechanisms for the company's new partnership with UberEats. They are surrounded by walls filled with sticky notes and functional dummy shops built on wheels, so that they can be deconstructed and refitted quickly. The site is the place where new employee-generated projects – called Starbucks "partners" – across the company's headquarters are put to the test, moving from idea to action in 100 days.

Since its launch about six months ago, 133 unique projects have been tested and more than 1,500 partners have been able to see what is going on or participate themselves. Johnson said that about 40 projects are currently in stores in one form or another.

With Springboard, an online crowdsourcing platform, Starbucks partners at headquarters, at all levels, can submit ideas, collaborate and innovate. The model will eventually be extended to partners in the field across the country, to suppliers and possibly even to clients.

"We have so many partners who have in-depth knowledge of different areas of the business, so our job is to let them test and build them as quickly as possible," said Janice Waszak, Director of the Tryer Center. .

Starbucks has not revealed how much he has invested in the center or in his projects. At present, 10 employees support the full-time innovation center, with engineers and baristas working in the center on a part-time basis.

Stephanie Lim is a Senior Concepts Engineer at Starbucks. She created a one-cup brewing prototype made on the lab's 3D printer. This is a simple system that lasts for two minutes and automatically empties itself, allowing the baristas to prepare more easily in a consistent manner.

"We had this idea about 30 days ago and we got to our first prototype in about a week, and since then it has been transformed in many ways – it's version ten," he said. she said. He will go to five stores in May.

Another ongoing project is the Cold Pop store, which is used to test new cold drinks. The store allows employees to give feedback in real time.

One of the projects implemented up to now by the Tryer Center is the extension of Nitro Cold Brew, which has been deployed in about half of the current stores. Workers were able to create a new system that could accommodate more types of stores, accelerating its expansion. In its latest results, Starbucks cited Nitro Cold Brew as a contributing factor to sales growth.

Innovation in cold drinks went beyond Nitro Cold Brew. Starbucks said the Macchiatto Cloud, promoted by Ariana Grande, was its second viral drink campaign to date. Its Matcha drinks platform has also been popular. According to executives, cool drinks tend to sell regardless of the time of year. It will therefore be essential to continue to innovate on this platform.

The company is also striving to build its Starbucks Rewards base and new partnerships such as UberEats delivery.

"We went from a long – cycle innovation approach to an approach that embraces the idea – to – action mantra in action within 100 days, and then to learn and take action. Adapt, "Johnson said. "It's about creating the entrepreneurial spirit and, in so doing, unleashing the pbadion, creativity and energy of Starbucks partners to accelerate the speed of new things in our stores."