Adrian Maizey, CEO of Rand Capital Coffee, is the South African partner behind the growth and operational development of Starbucks locally. With a strong background in retail strategy and brand expansion, Maizey has played a key role in supporting Starbucks South Africa’s market positioning, footprint growth and long-term sustainability.
Maizey has led Starbucks South Africa's growth since taking over the licence from Taste Holdings in 2019. Since then, the company expanded from 13 stores to over 70 by late 2024.
On the 21 April 2016, Starbucks SA opened its first store in Rosebank and with its 10th anniversary in South Africa, Maizey he shares insights into building a global brand in a local context and the evolving dynamics of South Africa’s coffee and retail landscape.
The lessons learned go beyond coffee preferences. They reveal how premium retail must adapt structurally — not superficially — to succeed in South Africa.
We are South African, so the local coffee culture was never a surprise. What we learned in practice was how South Africa’s economic structure shapes premium retail — and therefore shapes Starbucks.
South Africa has a relatively small middle class. That means the premium customer is real and who we primarily serve. This segment has very high expectations: quality, consistency, and a premium experience are non-negotiable.
South Africa’s coffee customer is also informed and has real choice. One clear example where we had to work diligently with the parent company is the local market’s taste profile: the preference trends lighter, and we worked through the brand system to ensure the default espresso profile and offering aligned to that preference — which is why late last year we moved to Blonde Espresso, Starbucks’ lighter roast, as the default for many customers (and a large share of our shots).
The truth is we offer a full range, from Blonde through to medium and dark, plus different espresso options, so customers can choose the taste profile that suits them.
There’s also a broader structural lesson: South Africa has very high unemployment, and in parts of the formal labour market the cost and risk of hiring can be high without translating into broad-based household income gains.
That constrains household income, pushes consumers to anchor to lower price points, compresses margins, and limits reinvestment — which makes disciplined operators, strong brands, and consistent reinvestment even more important.
So our job has been to protect the Starbucks premium promise inside that reality: run a disciplined model that can keep investing in employees, training, and store standards.
And we’ve backed that with tangible long-term commitments — including generators across the estate: all but one of our stores has a generator today, and the only exception is a new store where the generator is being installed.
This is our capital at work, and it is a deliberate long-term quality choice.
We’ve stayed relevant by doing what Starbucks does best globally — deliver a premium, consistent experience — and then doing the hard work of making sure the model fits South Africa without diluting the brand.
Practically, that meant three things.
First, taste and menu architecture: working through the parent company’s systems to align the espresso profile and offering to local preferences (including lighter espresso options) and respecting local tea culture (rooibos) while keeping Starbucks standards.
Second, network and format: South Africa started with a flagship-heavy footprint; we expanded that into a broader Starbucks network with more local / neighbourhood stores and kiosks alongside destination stores — exactly how Starbucks builds frequency elsewhere.
Third, operating reliability: in this market, premium is not only the beverage; it’s the consistency of the experience.
In a market with strong independents, high standards, and a pressured consumer wallet, that combination — brand-first premium, the right formats, and reliability — is how you stay relevant.
First, resetting after the Taste Holdings (formerly JSE listed licensee of the brand) era and transitioning to a focused, locally owned and operated South African licensee — not a corporate-owned subsidiary — with a single mandate: build a durable Starbucks business here.
Second, evolving the footprint from a flagship-heavy network into a more complete Starbucks network: more local stores and neighbourhood access points, plus kiosks and delivery — widening reach and frequency while keeping standards.
Third, investing in the platform: employee capability (training, coffee masters, internal pathways) and operating infrastructure. The generator rollout is part of that story — it’s the kind of investment you make when you are serious about long-term quality and consistency.
And because we are not franchised — we own and operate every store — those investments are consistent across the estate.
Finally, we have grown Starbucks South Africa from 13 to 75 stores in five years, putting South Africa in the top third of Starbucks’ international licensed markets by store count. That is disciplined expansion, in a tough environment, while protecting premium standards.
Localisation for us is not a marketing layer — it’s disciplined execution that keeps Starbucks Starbucks, while feeling right for South Africa.
It shows up in the flavour profile customers prefer, in using South African talent in-store (and promoting from within), and in making stores feel like they belong in their community (local design cues, local partners, local activation).
It also shows up in how we operate through local constraints. Load-shedding is real, so reliability becomes part of the brand promise.
Localisation also means accountability.
Because we own and operate every store, we can enforce one way of working and one quality standard — it’s not different owners interpreting the brand differently.
Ethical sourcing is foundational through Starbucks’ global coffee standards (C.A.F.E. Practices and related verification).
In South Africa, the evolution has been practical: reducing single-use waste where possible, increasing reusables and customer incentives, and tightening operational discipline (waste, shrink, and stock control) because sustainability and efficiency are linked — if you waste less, you buy less, ship less, and throw away less.
And reliability investments support that too: consistent operating conditions reduce disruption and waste, and they protect product quality. In this market, operational discipline is part of sustainability and affordability.
All coffee sold in South Africa is verified through C.A.F.E. (Coffee and Farmer Equity) Practices. This has evolved locally to include support for African Farmers: A deepened focus on sourcing from African regions (like Ethiopia, Rwanda, and Kenya), ensuring that the premiums paid directly support economic stability and sustainable farming on the continent.
The brand is focused on significantly reducing its local plastic footprint.
The upcoming introduction of strawless lids will reduce volumes of straws per beverage across all South African outlets, not only reducing the environmental impact of straws, but enhancing the consumer experience with an ergonomic drinking experience that enhances the sensory perception of iced beverages.
To encourage a "bring your own" culture, Starbucks South Africa offers a R2 discount on any handcrafted beverage when a customer uses a reusable cup as well as offers a core and seasonal range of retail merchandise cups and tumblers to suit every reusable occasion.
This is where the “Latte Index” idea is useful: the price of a latte is a proxy for the cost of doing business — wages, rent, utilities, logistics, and what consumers can afford. In most markets, Starbucks pricing moves with those local realities.
South Africa is unusual because coffee is priced low relative to the real cost stack, despite long supply lines, FX-linked inputs, and distance-to-market.
That gap creates pressure across the value chain. If the category anchors too low for too long, it becomes harder to pay and retain skilled labour, harder to invest in store maintenance and training, and harder to build a resilient supply chain.
Over time, the risk is under-investment in standards and skills — which is why disciplined operators matter.
This links to Peter Thiel’s point in Zero to One: if you create value but can’t capture it, you don’t reinvest — you just survive.
The goal is a rational model where premium standards are sustainable, and accessibility is achieved through smart architecture and efficiency, not by breaking the economics.
Also, even in producing countries like Brazil, you still see premium coffee brands pricing above the local average because rent, labour, and brand positioning dominate the final retail price — the bean is only one component.
Digital has shifted Starbucks from “a place you visit” to “a brand you can access.”
Delivery partnerships and digital ordering reduce friction, while Starbucks Rewards creates a structured value exchange (and lets us target offers without discounting everything for everyone).
It has also improved operating discipline: digital demand signals strengthen forecasting, labour planning, and in-stock execution — which matters more in South Africa than in markets with shorter supply lines.
To combat the impact of lockdowns and the rise of the “stay-at-home” economy, Starbucks integrated deeply with third-party aggregators.
Integration with Uber Eats and Mr D allowed the brand to reach consumers in their homes and offices, which helped us grow coverage without needing a physical storefront in every suburb. Delivery has also helped stabilise sales volumes in a challenging economy where mall foot traffic can fluctuate.
And in a country with load shedding, “digital” includes the infrastructure itself. By providing consistent high-speed Wi-Fi and charging points — and backing stores with generators so those services remain reliable — Starbucks positioned its stores as dependable hubs for remote workers and customers who need to stay connected.
The future is a bigger footprint, but with smarter formats: more local stores and neighbourhood access points, more kiosks, and better digital integration — without losing the in-store experience.
Innovation will stay beverage-led (seasonal, local preferences, and cold beverages), but the real strategic focus is building a more sustainable operating model: better planning, better supply reliability, and more rational category economics so we can keep investing in partners, stores, and customer experience for the long haul.
And we’ll keep proving long-term commitment through concrete investments. Backup power across the estate is a simple, tangible example: all but one store has a generator today, and the only exception is a new store where the generator is being installed.
It is a practical demonstration of long-term quality, not short-term optimisation.
