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Starbucks, which owns cafes in nearly every major city said that opening in Jamaica was one of its operational highlights in its latest December quarter.

It represents the transition of Jamaica being an exporter of quality coffee to Starbucks headquarters in Seattle to being a consumer of coffee in cafes.

“In November 2017, the company opened its first store in Jamaica and entered its 76th market globally, marking a historic milestone for the global coffee company’s Caribbean operations and its storied history of sourcing high-quality coffee from the region going back more than four decades,” said Starbucks about Jamaica in its financial report released late January.

The results for Jamaica are shrouded within the larger Americas results. However, judging by the lines at the first store in Montego Bay, they are receiving brisk business from foreigners and locals who are familiar with the brand.

The store count in the Caribbean and Latin America now totals 278 up from 251 a year earlier. It represents one of the fastest growing area outside of China for Starbucks.

Net revenues in the first quarter ending December 2017 increased 6.0 per cent to a record US$6 billion in three months. Its profit rocketed 205 per cent to US$2.25 billion over the similar period.

Global and US company sales are up 2.0 per cent.  Store sales in the Americas and U.S. store sales which now includes Jamaica increased 2.0 per cent, driven by a 2.0 per cent increase in average tickets.

Starbucks has operated stores in the Caribbean since 2002, when it opened its first store in Puerto Rico. It now operates in six Caribbean markets, including the Bahamas, Aruba, Curacao, Trinidad and Tobago, and now Jamaica. For Starbucks, which first opened over four decades ago in Seattle, USA. The opening in Jamaica marks its 17^th market in the Latin America and Caribbean region and 76^th country in the world.

Since 1971, Starbucks Coffee Company has been committed to ethically sourcing and roasting high-quality arabica coffee.