Starbucks, Tingyi brew drinks plan

Tingyi Holding Corp, a leading food and beverage producer, has inked an agreement with global coffee chain Starbucks to manufacture and distribute the latter's ready-to-drink products on the Chinese mainland.

The move is expected to help the global coffee chain expand its footprint in China, especially in lower-tier cities, where the Seattle-based company does not have much visibility.

According to Euromonitor International, a market research firm, the global RTD coffee market volume is expected to surge to 453.8 million liters by 2017, from 297.5 million liters in 2014. The RTD coffee and energy drinks category is a $6 billion business globally, and it is set to grow by 20 percent over the next three years, according to Starbucks.