Starbucks brings Chinese intangible cultural heritage to its stores

Starbucks has launched a new initiative to celebrate China's first UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) Spring Festival, blending traditional Chinese culture with modern coffee experiences.

The coffee giant recently upgraded its retail spaces to reflect this theme and collaborated with rural heritage inheritors to promote cultural preservation and enhance the in-store experiences.

Molly Liu, CEO of Starbucks China, said, "Starbucks is honored to offer customers more innovative space options that combine coffee culture with traditional Chinese culture as the first ICH Spring Festival approaches. In the future, Starbucks will continue to refine our third space, bringing customers an upgraded Starbucks experience".

Last week, Starbucks unveiled its fourth ICH-themed concept store in China, located in Nanjing, Jiangsu province.

This marks the first ICH concept store in the city, which joins other similar locations in Beijing, Shanghai and Suzhou.

In collaboration with the "Star Embroidery Future" project, led by the Beijing Starbucks Foundation, the company worked with rural women artisans to incorporate nearly 20 iconic scenic spots from the ancient capital of Nanjing into the store's design. This curatorial approach uses both planar and installation art to bring traditional crafts to life in a modern setting, according to Starbucks.

Additionally, Starbucks launched a new product line inspired by ICH: the Bai ethnic group's tie-dye keychain.

The tie-dye technique, which has been passed down through generations in Dali, Yunnan province, was completed by Zhang Hanmin, an inheritor of the Bai ethnic group's craft. The keychain, representing the rich cultural heritage of the Bai people, will be available in stores nationwide.

Through this initiative, Starbucks continues to redefine how commercial brands can support the preservation of traditional Chinese culture and craftsmanship.

As part of its celebrations, Starbucks will host a series of Spring Festival-themed coffee tastings and ICH salons at its ICH concept stores nationwide, said the company.