Connecting Communities in Malaysia
Berjaya Starbucks Coffee
Starbucks Malaysia launched the second Connecting Communities in Malaysia Project - Mengkuang Series in June 2015 in partnership with Craft CT 01 Enterprise located in Felda Chini Timur 01 in Pahang, the East Coast of Malaysia; providing sustainable income to the village and contributed to the livelihood of local community.
INTRODUCTION
Deriving from Starbucks’ ethos in community connection, Starbucks launched the Connecting Communities in Malaysia project in 2013 to commemorate Starbucks Malaysia’s 15th anniversary. The project reflects Starbuck Malaysia’s commitment in striking a balance between profitability and social conscience and a brand that contributes back to the local communities. Connecting Communities in Malaysia is a community project that contributes to small villages in support of local sourcing to make an impact on the families and local communities.Starbucks has always believed in giving back to the communities in wherever they do business. This project aims to elevate the value of the Starbucks brand which the company hopes to share with their customers. The objective of this project is to have a program that links their customers to contribute to the local community, to provide a better living for the banana farmers and Mengkuang weavers by sourcing from them.
FRAMEWORK AND STRATEGY
For the first project, Starbucks contributed by purchasing a substantial amount of bananas directly from the village and created 12 types of banana based food. These were then retailed at all Starbucks stores nationwide and 15 percent of the proceeds were channeled to build a computer center for children of Kampung Lubuk Jaya.Subsequently, a second community was chosen in 2015, where Starbucks partnered with Craft CT 01 Enterprise located in Felda Chini Timur 01 in Pahang, the East Coast of Malaysia by producing Mengkuang based products to be retailed in selected Starbucks stores. The first product developed was the Starbucks Mengkuang Hot Cup Sleeve. This project enabled Starbucks to provide a sustainable income to the villagers of Felda Chini Timur 01.
Starbucks further empowers the local communities by creating awareness on this project at all stores and also mention on the source of products at all communication collaterals.
ACHIEVEMENT AND IMPACT
From April to December 2013, Starbucks purchased bananas above the market price (31625.3 kg worth RM110,116.10) from banana farmers in Kampung Lubuk Jaya and sold a total of 118,167 bananas (12 types of banana based products) and channeled 15 percent of the profits amounting to R118,000 to build a community computer center. From February 2015 to January 2016, Starbucks successfully purchased Mengkuang products worth more than RM100,000 from the community in FELDA Chini Timur 01, Kuantan, creating a stable income for the villagers.Positive impacts from the Connecting Communities in Malaysia project can be seen until today. The Starbucks Community Computer Centre in Kampung Lubuk Jaya serves as a platform to provide the children and community from the village with computer knowledge through E-learning programs. Starbucks worked with an NGO, HOPE Worldwide to provide the course syllabus, materials and class conductors at the center. This is the 2nd year, HOPE Worldwide Malaysia has received the Starbucks community service grant to run the Community Computer Center, and the total amount received was USD18,640. The Community Computer Centre also hosts the Young Authors Program where Starbucks hopes to create a platform to bring young writers together and cultivate an interest in writing among the young. With the robust business growth, Starbucks has begun to source bananas from two other villages – Kampung Parit Serong and Kampung Sungai Gulang- Gulang in March 2016 to further enhance the Connecting Communities in Malaysia project.
FUTURE DIRECTION
Starbucks’ main focus for these projects is sustainability – The Connecting Communities in Malaysia project is on-going and will continue to flourish. With the positive response and continuous support of Starbucks customers towards the local sourcing initiative, Starbucks Malaysia looks forward to engage with more local communities to create meaningful and sustainable projects that will benefit more communities.
Starbucks® in Malaysia is operated by Berjaya Starbucks Coffee Company Sdn. Bhd., a licensee of Starbucks Coffee International. From the opening of our first store in Kuala Lumpur on 17 December 1998, we have expanded to Sabah and Sarawak and surpassed the 220 stores milestone in May 2016. Now close to our 18th year in operation, Starbucks has grown not only to become the favourite coffee places for Malaysians but also a productive member of communities across the country.
