U.S. coffee chain Starbucks has opened its first store in Colombia, hoping to increase the number to 50 in the next five years in order to directly compete with Colombia's signature Juan Valdez coffee stores.

"We feel that we are here to offer another kind of what Colombian coffee is. All coffee that we will serve in our stores is Colombian and it will be milled and toasted right here with our business partner Nutresa," Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz told a press conference.

The first Columbian branch of the U.S. multinational is located in '93 Park, one of Bogota's most vibrant and exclusive areas in the north of the capital, near a Juan Valdez store.

Colombia's local coffee chain Juan Valdez currently has over 200 stores across the Andean country.

According to Schultz, each Starbucks store generates on average 12 to 15 direct jobs. To compete in a country where one of the world's best coffees is produced, the U.S. firm is associated with Mexico's food company Alesea and Colombia's Nutresa.

"Our success in the world does not necessarily mean that we will succeed here. We have to win the hard way, we have to go beyond our costumers' expectations and do it in a way that provides a pleasant experience for them in our stores," Schultz added. Endi

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