By Zanub Saeed
Starbucks announced that it opened more of its Evolution Fresh Inc. juice stories in Washington state this week and throughout the fall, as a means to jump on the juice market.
Starbucks opened its first Evolution Fresh store to sell the juice products this March in Bellevue, Wash., with the second opening this Friday in downtown Seattle, said the Associated Press on Friday. Two more Evolution Fresh juice bars will open this fall in Seattle and San Francisco, the first in California.
The Evolution stores are a means to move beyond the café and coffee industry and cater to a wider market, noted the Associated Press. They will also be selling Evolution drinks at supermarkets and convenient stores across the country in bottles as means to expand their product nationwide.
"It's clearly part of the American lifestyle at this point," Arthur Rubinfeld, president of global development for Starbucks and Evolution Fresh retail, told the Associated Press.
Starbucks reported bought the rights to Evolution Fresh last year for $30 million, said the Associated Press. The company is said to use fresh fruits to make their juices via a process called high-pressure pasteurization, without heating the drinks, said the report. Because of this, more nutrients from the fruits are preserved, and Starbucks felt that this added bonus would put them a step above their competition.
At the stores, "juice experts craft fresh juice blends and serve up globally inspired recipes using fresh ingredients in a unique retail setting with convenient free local delivery," according to the company.
Available to purchase at Evolution Fresh Inc. are fairly expensive drinks like the 120-calorie, 16-oz. bottle of coconut water with pineapple, which costs $5, said The Los Angeles Times on Friday. If that same juice was made by hand, it would cost $8, and smoothies can cost up to $7, according to the first store in Bellevue.
