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Starbucks' retail prices go up Tuesday; packaged coffee hike set for July

June 23, 2014

Starbucks recently announced plans to hike prices on roast and ground packaged coffee sold in grocery stores and select beverages sold in company-owned retail stores.

Starting Tuesday, customers in most markets will see a price increase of 10-15 cents on Grande and Venti brewed coffee and a 15-20 cent increase in Tall and Venti sized latte and mocha drinks. In most stores customers will see no change in the price of Starbucks' most popular drinks, the Grande Latte, Tall Brewed Coffee and Frappuccino beverages. According to Starbucks, customers should notice an increase of less than 1 percent over the average ticket price.

Retailers set their own prices on packaged coffee, but Starbucks is suggesting an 8-percent increase. That would increase the price by around $1 per bag. The increase puts the price back near where it was in April 2013, when Starbucks lowered the suggested price by 10 percent.

The packaged coffee increase, scheduled to take effect on July 21, does not impact K-Cups, VIA and Seattle’s Best Coffee.

While a spokesman for Starbucks did not attribute this price increase to the increase in the cost of coffee beans, last year’s price decrease was attributed to a fall in the cost of coffee beans at the time.

"For both our packaged coffee and retail business, there are many factors that contribute to our pricing decisions (including competitive dynamics and our overall cost structure)," said Zack Hutson, spokesman for Starbucks. "We price our products on a long-term, market-by-market, and product-by-product basis. When making pricing decisions, our goal is to provide value to customers while continuing to operate our business profitably."