Tata Starbucks has partnered with globally renowned Indian designer and couturier, Sabyasachi Mukherjee, for a limited-edition spring collection of ceramic mugs and stainless-steel tumblers, available exclusively in India.
The association sees Tata Starbucks team up with Sabyasachi to help 'Educate Girls'- a not-for-profit association with a focus on developing young girls' schooling across India by offering the help they need to foster their abilities and build careers. The merchandise carries Sabyasachi's signature style Toile de Jouy with flora and fauna native to India, and specifically from the couturier's native, The Bay of Bengal. "Being born in a middle-class Bengali household, education is very close to my heart, because we knew that that was our only way out. I believe the progress of a country is very closely attached to the ecosystem of education that is cultivated within the country. So for me, this collaboration was a natural step." said Sabyasachi Mukherjee, a luxury Indian designer, and couturier.
The digital print is hand-rendered by the Sabyasachi Art Foundation, a for-profit collective homed within the brand to empower, mentor and employ fine artists. "When we do a collaboration, we are very particular that we either work with a very iconic brand, or work with somebody who multiplies positive impact globally, or somebody that carries the India story forward. The beautiful thing about our association with Starbucks is that we were able to do all of these," Sabyasachi Mukherjee added.
Starbucks has had a long standing relationship with 'Educate Girls' NGO and through its' latest collaboration aims to increase customer participation through the visual appeal. charm, and exclusivity of Sabyasachi. "Our entire communication has really been about Thankfulness. When you walk into a Starbucks and place an order we have our Barista do the signature call out and thank the customer. For the first time ever we have a different type of callout that will use the customer's name alongside a thank you message from the identity-protected resource who is benefiting from the partnership." said Deepa, Director - Marketing, Category, Loyalty, Digital at Tata Starbucks, while speaking at the launch event at Starbucks Fort, Mumbai.
Our commitment and dedication to our communities are what bind us together. I’m very excited to see, two iconic brands, Starbucks and Sabyasachi, come together to support Educate Girls. I’m positive that we can take steps to make meaningful contributions to our communities together,” said Safeena Husain, founder of Educate Girls.
The artistic drinkware will be available starting April 12 at all Starbucks® stores for prices ranging from INR 1600 to INR 2500. "Without sounding too modest, I will say that with Sabyasachi we have built quite an iconic brand, however, we are aware that our products remain unaffordable to a large set of consumers. With this collaboration, we have made a deliberate effort to make our brand more accessible to the ones who wish to associate with the essence of our brand," added Sabyasachi Mukherjee, while speaking at the launch event.