Starbucks Believes In Blockchain Tech, Microsoft Involved

Tech publication GeekWire reports that global coffee chain Starbucks will use Microsoft’s Blockchain Azure service to track coffee production. At the Microsoft Build Developer’s conference, the two companies described the several initiatives they are working on together, including using the blockchain to track coffee along the supply chain.

Starbucks will use Microsoft’s Azure Blockchain Service, which is growing in popularity. The hope is that the program will bring greater financial possibilities to farmers, as well as allow users to track their coffee as it arrives from the source.

The utilization of Microsoft’s Azure Blockchain Service is a part of its “bean to cup” program, which was announced last year, and is a pilot that has been launched in Costa Rica, Colombia and Rwanda with the intention of gathering real-time information about the supply chain process and supporting farmers.

Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella, praised the effort,

They are coming together to completely take what is that iconic experience that is Starbucks and incorporating digital throughout.

Kevin Johnson, CEO of Starbucks, said at the time of the announcement of the bean to cup program,

Over the next two years, we will look to demonstrate how technology and innovative data platforms can give coffee farmers even more financial empowerment. We’ll leverage an open-source approach to share what we learn with the rest of the world.

Microsoft and Starbucks are both encouraging of blockchain, working with Bakkt to increase adoption and development.