Starbucks Korea Introduces Exclusive Electric Delivery Vehicles... "World's First"

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Hyewon] Starbucks Korea announced on the 25th that it will collaborate with CJ Logistics to convert logistics delivery trucks at some stores in Seoul to eco-friendly electric delivery vehicles. This is the first case in the domestic coffee industry, and Korea is the first in the world among Starbucks locations to introduce dedicated electric delivery vehicles in cooperation with a comprehensive logistics company.

Starbucks uses logistics delivery vehicles to transport various necessary items for store operations, including raw materials, consumables, food, and MD products, from the logistics center in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, to over 1,600 stores nationwide.

Starting this month, Starbucks has deployed two electric delivery vehicles capable of integrated ambient and refrigerated delivery to four stores in the Seoul City Hall area (L'Escape Hotel R branch, Seoul Tower branch, Shinsegae Department Store 5F branch, Shinsegae Department Store 6F branch) and two stores in the Gangnam area (SSG Market Dogok R branch, Seoul Express Bus Terminal branch) for pilot operation. The plan is to gradually expand the operation of electric delivery vehicles nationwide.

The round-trip distance from the logistics center to the stores is approximately 140 km, and the newly introduced electric delivery vehicles can travel up to 180 km on a single rapid charge.

The introduction of electric delivery vehicles is part of the ‘Better Together’ sustainable mid- to long-term strategy announced in April last year. Starbucks has outlined various detailed tasks to reduce carbon emissions, including achieving zero single-use cup usage at all stores by 2025.

Song Hoseop, CEO of Starbucks Korea, said, “It is very meaningful to introduce eco-friendly electric delivery vehicles, one of Starbucks’ key sustainability plans,” and added, “Environment and sustainability are among the most important challenges for future society, and we will continue to strive to be Starbucks that delivers experiences and values about sustainability together with our partners.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.