- Starbucks and Uber are joining forces to deliver coffee, snacks, and other items in six major US cities.
- Starbucks says 95% of its menu will soon be available on the Uber Eats app, and purchases come with a $2.49 flat booking fee.
- It is scheduled to launch in San Francisco on Tuesday before rolling out in New York, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Washington, DC, over the next few weeks.
- The new system means Uber Eats couriers will be able to deliver coffee from 3,500 stores, a quarter of all Starbucks stores in the US.
- Starbucks said it developed new packaging to maintain coffee temperature during 30-minute deliveries.
- Uber Eats is the fastest-growing meal delivery service in the US, growing at 150% annually.
Starbucks is teaming up with Uber Eats to deliver coffee in six major US cities, the coffee giant announced on Tuesday.
Uber Eats will partner up with Starbucks Delivers, the coffee chain’s delivery service, to offer on-the-go coffee to people in San Francisco, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and Washington, DC.
The service is scheduled to start in San Francisco on Tuesday before launching in the other cities over the next few weeks, Starbucks said.
By the end of the rollout, Starbucks said, Uber Eats couriers will be able to pick up Starbucks products from one-quarter of the chain’s US stores, which amounts to about 3,500 branches.
Starbucks said people would be able to order 95% of its menu on the Uber Eats app under the new service.
Starbucks has also come up with new "packaging solutions" to keep coffee hot within the promised 30-minute delivery time, the company said.
Orders will come with $2.49 base booking fee on top of the cost of coffee, food, and courier travel, it said.
Read more: 10 facts you should know about coffee, including how to get the most caffeine
The service was a success when it was tested in Miami last fall, prompting the company to roll it out to more cities, the chain said.
Starbucks said the service would be available in seven US cities - the six announced Tuesday and an unnamed seventh - by this spring and would debut in London at a later date.
Starbucks has 29,000 stores worldwide. Uber Eats delivers food and drink from 200,000 restaurants to customers in 36 countries.
"The partnership with Uber Eats brings together the fastest-growing meal-delivery service in the US with one of the largest food and beverage retailers," Starbucks said on Tuesday.
Uber Eats is the fastest-growing meal delivery service in the US, bringing in nearly as much new spending as industry leader Grubhub.
Uber Eats' partnership with McDonald's has helped to propel the service forwards, and they will hope the Starbucks partnership has the same effect.
In 2018's third quarter, Uber Eats accounted for $US2.1 billion of overall gross bookings, and is growing at more than 150% annually.
