Evolution Fresh Revolutionizes $3.4 Billion Cold-Crafted Juice Category with the Opening of Its First Store

Four months after acquiring Evolution Fresh, Inc., Starbucks Coffee Company (NASDAQ:SBUX) today announced the opening of the first Evolution Fresh™ store and the transformation of the brand’s look and feel to better reflect the pure, natural ingredients in each beverage and its strategic expansion and growth. The Bellevue, Wash. store opening and refreshed branding positions Evolution Fresh as a leader in the $3.4 billion and growing cold-crafted juice category and furthers its commitment to evolve and enhance the customer experience with innovative and wholesome products.

The first Evolution Fresh(TM) store opened on March 19, 2012, introducing customers to a unique, premium juice and food experience. (Photo: Business Wire)

Health Meets Design Experience

Today’s opening of the first Evolution Fresh™ store introduces customers to a unique, premium juice and food experience. Combining fresh, natural ingredients with culinary and globally-inspired recipes, each order is personalized and handcrafted to create delicious offerings – including wraps, salads, soups and more. Evolution Fresh is also offering vegetarian and vegan offerings – to help customers get the most out of life, whether in-store or on-the-go.

The experience begins when customers enter the retail store. A captivating one-of-a-kind, patent-pending interactive juice wall displays educational and entertaining digital illustrations of juices and smoothies being handcrafted. As customers experience the store, they’ll be able to order personalized fresh hot and cold food items at the food counter or grab ready-to-drink beverages and food items to go.

"Evolution Fresh is a revolutionary new approach to serve our changing lifestyles,” said Arthur Rubinfeld, president, Global Store Development. "The Evolution Fresh store offers super-premium juices and foods that are alive with fresh-picked, natural flavor and taste great.”

In addition, Evolution Fresh is designed and constructed to meet Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED^®) certification. The store includes many LEED-certified features, including its urban location, locally-sourced materials and reused and recycled components, as well as elements that lend to water and energy conservation and waste reduction.

Ready-to-Drink (RTD) Beverages

Beginning today, the refreshed Evolution Fresh brand will cycle into grocery channels. The new branding clearly reflects the vibrancy of real, pure ingredients and products, highlighting the fact that the juice is never heated due to Evolution Fresh’s innovative use of high pressure processing (HPP). After cold pressing and squeezing the juice, an innovative technology called High Pressure Processing (HPP) is used to retain more of the flavors, vitamins and nutrients of raw fruits and vegetables.

"Evolution Fresh sets a new standard in premium cold-crafted juice. We are making real juice that has more of the nutrients and flavors from the fruits and vegetables from which it comes from,” said Jeff Hansberry, president, Channel Development. "We have a tremendous opportunity to change people’s lives not only by making premium-quality, natural juices and foods more readily available, but also by offering an extensive variety of choices for customers to select the best options for their lifestyle.”

The brand refresh also marks the company’s commitment to bringing customers products that are never heated and to continued innovation to the category. Evolution Fresh plans to build on its product line-up with new seasonal and core juices that are never heated through high pressure processing (HPP).

Starbucks acquired Evolution Fresh in November 2011. Since then, Evolution Fresh’s distribution has expanded to additional grocery channels and will be further expanded in Starbucks company-owned retail stores later this year.

About Evolution Fresh, Inc.

Evolution Fresh offers pure juices and natural foods to provide delicious nutrition to consumers. Acquired by Starbucks in 2011, Evolution Fresh is one of the few major juice companies in the U.S. using high pressure processing (HPP) to preserve fresh-picked flavor and capture more of the vitamins, minerals, and nutrients of fruit and vegetables - this juice is squeezed fresh, bottled cold and never heated. Evolution Fresh offers an extensive portfolio of bottled juices, available in grocery retailers (and soon through Starbucks stores) on the West Coast, and serves customers seeking super-premium juices and foods through a differentiated retail store experience in Bellevue, Washington. Together, Starbucks and Evolution Fresh seek to make incredible nutrition widely accessible. To learn more about Evolution Fresh, please visit us online at www.evolutionfresh.com.

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