Starbucks to Expand Boutique Italian Café

Starbucks on Thursday announced an investment in Italian bakery and café Princi, along with a licensing agreement to serve Princi food in specialty coffee shops set to open over the next two years.

Princi was founded in 1986 and operates a total of five 24-hour locations in Milan and London. Angel Lab and Pekepan Investments joined Starbucks Corp. in the investment, whose terms were not disclosed.

Officials plan to expand the number of Princi cafés -- starting next year in Seattle -- as well as offer Princi food in its new Starbucks Reserve Roastery and Tasting Rooms.

The Roastery locations, set to open in 2017 and 2018 in Shanghai and New York, respectively, will focus on premium, small lot coffees.

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz noted that the partnership will be the first time the coffeehouse chain will bake products in-store.

“Rocco and his team at Princi possess a passion for handcrafted food and artisanal baked goods that mirrors how I feel about our coffee," Schultz said in a statement.

Starbucks focused on overhauling its food offerings in recent years in an effort to bolster sales. The company also plans to open its first coffeehouse location in Italy next year.