Starbucks, the Seattle based coffee giant, has started selling wine and beer in Japan, starting from this week.
Ten different kinds of alcoholic drinks and seven food items will be available at the Japan’s first stand-alone Starbucks Evening store, a modified shop that serves beer and wine alongside plates of cheese and tapas in the Marunouchi business district of Tokyo
Red and white wines will each sell for 918 yen (£5.70) per glass and sparkling wines for 972 yen (£6). Cheese and fruit tarts are priced at ¥410 (£2.50), according to the Japan Times.
The Wine Fraggino, a blend of blueberry wine from the town of Yoichicho and ice, created especially for the occasion was available for two weeks prior to the launch on Wednesday.
Starbucks sells alcohol in about 250 stores worldwide, but it will be the first such outlet in Asia. The branch will stay open until 10.30pm on weekdays and 9pm on Saturdays.
Starbucks Evenings, which offers a menu with alcoholic beverages is currently available at Stansted Airport in the UK. In the US, about 30 branches offer the service.
Starbucks is to offer a 50p discount if customers bring their own cup to have their drink served in, the company has said. The measure will initially come in as a two-month trial starting in April and could be permanently rolled out after review.
The decision comes as a major victory for waste campaigners as it was revealed 7 million paper cups are used in Britain every day amounting to 2.5 billion cups dumped in landfill or incinerated each year.
