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Food & Drinks Information Kuwait

Starbucks prices in Kuwait compared to Starbucks in the US

Murqab a reader of the blog sent in the above two receipts. One is for a tall hot chocolate he purchased at a Starbucks in New York and the other is of a tall hot chocolate he purchased at a Starbucks in Kuwait. So how much of a difference is there in price? According to the popular online currency site XE.com, Murqab paid 900fils for his hot chocolate in New York and KD1.500 for his hot chocolate in Kuwait. Thats makes the Starbucks in Kuwait 60% more expensive than the States.

69 replies on “Starbucks prices in Kuwait compared to Starbucks in the US”

60% eh? I am also guessing that the Starbuck employees here in Kuwait don’t get full benefits like they do in the states. Full medical and dental, 401k, vacation time, tuition reimbursement. And that is just for their part time staff.

Of course the extra 600 fils is for Al-Shaya for being considerate enough to bless Kuwait with Starbucks. Why else do you think they keep popping new branches in every nook and corner?

Well it’s about time someone did an actual real live comparison to bring these facts home… we always knew they’re overcharging, but never knew how much

Btw, even in the US Starbucks is thought to be overpriced for the crappy coffee that you get from them

Don’t forget the fact that I paid 8.375% tax above the original price.

Kuwait has 0% tax

so its actually 78.4% more expensive here in Kuwait

thanks for posting this

FUNNY, not 2 mention that the owner was running for parliment and was complaining the sudden increase in prices, a cup of coffee and a sandwich from starbucks would cost u no less than 3.5 kwd , this is supposed 2 b a cost efficient coffee shop.

In Japan everything is very expensive, but ironically the price of starbux is matching with US prices not Al-Shaye prices!

Don’t blam Alshaya company! Blame yourselves for buying a crappy cup of coffee for %60 more and continuing to buy from them again and again.

The best thing if YOU want Starbucks coffee, which i go once in a blue moon, just get the coffee and make it in you house or your offfice, that is if you want to drink coffee not to see and to be seen.

Or go to CO-OP and get the Daffidove coffee, brew the coffee and go sit in starbucks

I agree with Murqab. Kuwait has no taxes and it should be compared with the $2.85.

BTW, our calculations are based on $ today, which had appreciated at least 10% over the past few months. Having said that, it is actually 90% more expensive than the US three months ago 🙂 Nice margin!

Simple solution people. Boycott.

Stop buying and they will reduce their prices – or go out of business.

It’s pretty pathetic that a country of 3m people has 70+ Starbucks littered around the place anyways.

The Avenues alone has what 8 locations? Talk about killing other people’s chances of opening a coffee shop business and offering variety to the already bored consumer.

yeah i do hate them for that, don’t just compare it to the states compare it to any other country and u ill find the one in kuwait is more and sometimes MUCH more expensive, and i stopped buying already because it really annoys me.

Don’t forget the cup sizes. A Venti there is much larger than here and so forth.

You are paying more *and* getting a smaller size cup.

Just to clarify
i got this today.

“Signature hot chocolate is completely different from Hot chocolate.
Sig. is a premium chocolate, much more tasty and thicker than hot chocolate.”
FYI.

tall plain coffee frap used to sell at .950 fills, currently around 1.350
i wouldnt believe that an american would buy a frap at aprox $4

I’m studying in the US:
Supply and demand explains the difference in price. However, The cup sizes are the same. Venti = 20oz everywhere.

To add injury to insult, the beverage bought in the States supports an AIDS program in Africa, a 5 cent contribution for every (RED) beverage purchased.

Nobody noticed that there is general (social) message below the US Starbucks receipt, whereas the Kuwait one says “No Refund”. So much for the CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) views of Al Shaya. When you import products, also import their good culture. It is important. This is what makes the brand more acceptable.

How many receipts that we get everyday have such messages at the bottom? Anybody did such a survey / compilation?

insult to injury* ,

I’ve always wanted to use that phrase, the first time I ever use it and I F$#@ it up !

okay, total rip-off gotta agree. Lets rewind a couple of months back, during December, a tall toffee-nut late costs KD 1.750 (not considering the KD 0.250 for a string of added caramel).. which is equivelant to USD 6.08 (taking an avg exchange rate of 0.288), while in the States, you would NEVER pay over USD 6 for a tall drink with no extras.

After realizing THAT, I decided to boycott Starbucks (alone) and when I went to other coffee shops, I realized that others are still as expensive, it’s like Starbucks is the benchmark in Kuwait. All coffee shops are doing the same thing. Carribou is as expensive, so is Coffee Republic, Coffee Bean is a notch less expensive, so I thus stopped my Starbucks boycott, but limited it to occassions, and hopefully soon, they will realize that charging over USD 6 for a coffee drink is waay to much.

One last comment, I paid KD 1.600 for a plain late at Napkit, hell we know its snob food, but really? it’s just milk and a shot of espresso (don’t argue rent prices, still WAAAY overpriced!).

I would imagine that rental costs, shipping fees, customs fees and decorating costs (any Kuwaiti Starbucks is way better decorated than a US one) might account for some of the difference. But I wouldn’t put it past any one of our top business families to charge an extra bit here and there – and we’re all foolish enough to pay it. That is why I always have my Turkish coffee from the gahwa… usually around 200-250 fils.

I stopped going to Starbucks along time ago, even abroad. I like Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. Better yet, I prefer french coffee over this consumer trap for a coffe place. I’ve noticed that Starbucks is way popular than the other coffee franchises not only in Kuwait but also all over the world. In the case of Kuwait, I don’t think it’s because it opened first. I agree, I hate it when some people sit there for hours just staring at each other. GET A LIFE.

Nothing beats the ambience of Arabic cafés. At least you don’t see pretenious people there. Better service, better entertainment and been in Kuwait way before the oil discovery.

I don’t know how much a difference this plays into the price paid, but it IS important to note that “Signature Hot Chocolate” (the one purchased in Kuwait) is a higher-end type of hot cocoa served by Starbucks . . . it’s pricier in the States as well because it’s a mix of four different cocoas.

Do you guys know that Starbucks prices actually differ even within the States itself?

A hot chocolate from Starbucks in NY costs $2.85 without sales tax. In Texas, it’s $2.15 without sales tax. So yeah, that’s a difference, even WITHIN the country itself. If you don’t believe me, I can go buy a hot chocolate from Starbucks now and send the receipt to Mark.

That being said, should a New Yorker complain and ask why is Starbucks TX cheaper than Starbucks NY ?

So I guess the rumor that Starbucks is supporting the Zionists is just a rumor.

“The whole purpose of places like Starbucks is for people with no decision-making ability whatsoever to make six decisions just to buy one cup of coffee. Short, tall, light, dark, caf, decaf, low-fat, non-fat, etc. So people who don’t know what the hell they’re doing or who on earth they are, can, for only $2.95, get not just a cup of coffee but an absolutely defining sense of self: Tall! Decaf! Cappuccino!”
Tom Hanks as Joe Fox – You’ve got Mail

Since when is this news?? Good grief people………unless you just arrived in Kuwait yesterday, you were bound to notice that EVERYTHING in Kuwait is more expensive.

This is NOT anything new!!

Well in normal situations, with high prices the consumer demand goes down, and therefor the suppliers reduce their prices to reach to the equilibrium price. but here in Kuwait we have the opposite concept, The demand goes up for higher prices!!!
bottom line.. as long as you guys buy from starbucks there will never be a decrease in prices.

If you want their sorry excuse for coffe (or in this case hot chocolate), that’s the price you have to pay.

I’m more of a Coffee Bean person. Even if they charge you 50 fils for one honey stick, which is free in the States. Their hot chocolate costs around 900 fils :-p

for me it’s 2.15 pound here in the UK for tall hot chocolate, 2.45pounds for grande and i cant remember how much is the venti one

but still cheaper than kuwait D:
which makes 2.15gbp =0.943 fils (according to XE.com)

P.S: that”s all according to Newcastle, dunno about London

may i ask a question

does anyone of u know how much Al Shaya pay for the rent for SB?

when u know how much compare it with how much does the owner of SB in the US pay 4 rent then u’ll know y it’s 1.500 for hot chocolate in Kuwait.

do i gotta explain more or u got the idea?

BUT i gotta admit that 2 KD is alot 2 pay 4 such small cheese cake u no what i mean TOO MUCH.

***and by the way $*MARK*$ holla at me cuz i got some thing 2 show u about SB other than their high prices

TEAKO:
Rent in NYC is much more expensive that Kuwait. Furthermore, most of the SB in Kuwait are opened in places owned by Alshaye.

I really don’t like SB their coffee is not so special. We have many local coffee shops here that blow SB away when it comes to taste, price, and atmosphere. This why SB is losing money, they can’t even compete with McDonald’s coffee here (from Consumers Report survey). The only reason SB is popular in Kuwait is because what Desert Girl said. People just sit their for hours because they have nothing to do.

i guess the most expensive starbucks that ive been to is here in kuwait; singapore, hong kong is just almost same as the price in the philippines, venti size will just cost you 1kd, but here it will cost you 2kd.

maybe the possible reason why is the rent here is expensive so they have no choice but to increase their price so it will compensate the rent they are paying in to.

and here i was shocked when i first come to strabucks, because they asked me if i want creme, vanilla or chocolate on top, because in philippines, they will not bother to ask you, its automatic that they will put a creme and chocolate or vanilla on top. : )

have you guys tried gloria jeans?

guys guys.. just a note..

Starbucks Tall Coffee drinks have just a SINGLE shot of coffee
where as ALL other coffee shops (CBTL, 2nd Cup, Caribou, Coffee Republic…. ) offer TWO shots for a standard 12oz. drink (equivalent to tall at starbucks)

And if you want to add another shot to your tall starbucks drink.. you have to pay an extra 300 fils for a shot that if you don’t consume.. they’re gonna throw it away anyway !!!

So basically… at SB you’re paying more money for less coffee !
Talk about a ripoff !

“Starbucks, better known for amusingly complicated premium coffee offerings, took a cue from fast-food chains and announced a plan Monday to sell pairings of coffee and breakfast for $3.95, citing the economic downturn.
With the $3.95 breakfast offer, customers will be able to get a 12-ounce coffee with a breakfast sandwich or roll or a 12-ounce latte with either oatmeal or a coffee cake.”

LOL – wonder how they intend to price this offer here in Kuwait – 4 KD perhaps !

by the way even if u compare starbucks Daeyya with marina branch there is a difference.. Daeyya is much much expensive !! Maybe because they need to make money since it is not always crowded like marina ;p

I love latte’s but due to SB high prices and the economic crisis i can’t afford a grande latte everyday, so i bought a bag of coffe from them (kd 3500) i made the coffe at home, added one shot to a cup of skimmed milk and thats it!!!
Now i can use my money for something more worth it : P

Thank god someone realized and brought this up i dont drink coffee and i hate Starbucks

anyway M.Al shayaa owns boots pharmaceutical … i went to the one in avenues to buy a blood pressure monitor for my mom so i was looking around and found that boots blood pressure monitor products are more expensive than the other ones (OMRON) boots products in the UK are cheaper than other brands so that the consumer buys boots stuff lol

anyway so i went online quickly on my phone clicked on boots.co.uk exactly the same machine £14.99 and in kuwait KD40 and its made in china …. walah i feel sorry for the kuwaiti people who buy from these 7arameeya

well you got to figure in the purchasing power parity of both countries and post factoring compare the prices. it would be inappropriate to compare international prices without the PPP. a simple rule of thumb is the mac index which would suggest that if the mc donalds burgers in kuwait are 60% more expensive than usa then starbucks kuwait is rightly priced, else you know who is on the losing side.
food for thought 🙂

the price turned my head…………and also i saw the employee who was cleaning the toilet a moment before…was making my drink….ooooooo….its not at all hygenic…the starbucks should provide cleaners…oooooo…its dirty…un proffesional…i did drink my cappucino……but hesitatingly
starbucks in kuwait not good…

Haha! the only time I enter starbucks is to get the monthly student talk magazine ;p the poeple in the marina strabucks probabaly know my face for that!, I wish the owner sees me doing that, its like a defiance against his crappy prices. I don’t drink coffee and yes its true that microvae heated KDD choc milk tastes way better … and don’t complain about shipping costs and what not, mcdonald’s and subway are american brands too and they’re the same price (almost) as in america and everywhere around the world (not sure about britain though, dang even a bottle of water costs 400 fils more than here and they got rivers and freshwaters all around!)

BY the way i am a regular customer of starbucks i just notice when i buy a latte one of barista came from the comfort room and holding a flor cleaner and directly go to the bar and do my latte they should not hold dirty things specialy when serving us right its very growss!!!

me also every they i pass by starbucks to by my plain crossant and american coffe i also notice they are vey an hygenic thats why now i started buying to caribuu because lasttime i buy one of there barista is holding garbage can. i dont know if they are collecting it or what but sudenly he hold a plate and get a crossant and serve it to me i dint say anything because a dont want to offend someone specialy barista of starbucks are friendly also

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