Nestle recently announced that it acquired a majority stake in popular premium coffee chain Blue Bottle Coffee. While Blue Bottle's store count is currently insignificant relative to Starbucks’ store network, the acquisition of a significant stake by Nestle could potentially lead to faster expansion. Further, Nestle could provide Blue Bottle with a higher marketing budget, which would improve its brand strength and potentially create a strong competitor for Starbucks over the long run. Blue Bottle has been a boutique chain with a fairly limited presence, so it hasn't impacted Starbucks significantly so far. While Blue Bottle is still a small brand with fewer than 50 stores, it now has strong growth potential with Nestle’s backing.

Source: Forbes September 22, 2017 17:37 UTC