Challenge
Starbucks operates in nearly 18,000 stores across North America, each with its own unique layouts, store formats, and customer flows. In a network this wide, the in-store environments have a lot of work to do: guide customer decisions quickly and efficiently, all while supporting always-changing menus and evolving food and merchandise offerings.
But to execute all that consistently at the store level requires a high degree of precision and coordination. Without it, environments become fragmented — introducing inconsistent messaging, slowing customer flow, and creating operational friction for staff.
At the same time, the growing role of food, merchandise and customizable beverages add another layer of complexity. Menus, signage, and product visibility are a key part of how stores actually operate and showcase new offerings. Everything needs to work together to support speed, accuracy, and an increasingly complicated product mix.
Recognizing the need for greater uniformity, segmentation, and precision — and a more reliable way to deliver it — Starbucks Coffee Company partnered with Imagine to build a connected system capable of managing and executing store-specific environments at scale.
Solution
Starbucks Coffee Company partnered with Imagine to deliver an operating model powered by Dotti, Imagine’s intelligent in-store marketing platform — designed to manage highly complex, store-specific environments at scale.
This system is powered by:
- The production and distribution of ~250,000 sign kits annually
- Programs containing hundreds to thousands of unique elements, tailored to individual store profiles
- Kits composed of 125+components on average, including menus, promotional signage, and supporting materials
- Support for New Store Kits (NSKs), introducing additional variability with 10–50 unique elements per location
- Advanced fulfillment infrastructure, including pick-to-light systems and high-volume kitting
- Daily output of ~11,000 unique kits, supported by more than 600,000 square feet of warehousing
Together, Dotti and Imagine’s operational infrastructure make it possible to roll out complex, store-specific environments with consistency and accuracy — something that would otherwise be difficult to manage at this scale.
Results
Since 2008, Imagine has supported the coffee giant’s promotional print programs, expanding into kitting in 2023 and menu production in 2024 to play a more central role in how the in-store environment comes together.
Today, Starbucks Coffee Company benefits from:
- Clear, consistent environments across thousands of locations, helping customers move through decisions quickly and confidently
- Menus, food and merchandise offerings that are fully integrated into the store environment, making it easier to introduce and scale new items without adding operational friction
- Reliable execution of complex campaigns, helping store teams stay focused on serving customers instead of managing inconsistencies
As Starbucks Coffee Company continues to evolve its formats and offerings, Dotti and Imagine Group’s integrated delivery system helps ensure every store environment works the way it should – consistently, day in and day out.
Because when everything works together, everything just clicks … however you take your coffee.