Starbucks opened its first store in India in Mumbai.
The store opened on 19 October 2012 in the Elphinstone Building at Horniman Circle. It was operated through Tata Starbucks, the 50:50 joint venture between Starbucks and Tata Global Beverages. The partnership connected Starbucks’ international brand with Tata’s established presence in India’s tea, coffee, and consumer-goods industries.
Mumbai was Starbucks’ launch city, not Delhi, Bengaluru, or Chennai. Delhi received its first outlets in January 2013, while Pune followed later that year. Bengaluru’s first store opened in November 2013, and Chennai joined the network in 2014.
The Indian business is commonly branded Tata Starbucks, and its stores use the name “Starbucks Coffee—A Tata Alliance.” That detail can cause confusion: the question asks for the city of Starbucks’ first Indian store, while the company’s local operating structure is the Tata Starbucks joint venture.