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Global 500

In China, You Can Now Text Your Friend a Pumpkin Spice Latte

By
Joseph Hincks
Joseph Hincks
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By
Joseph Hincks
Joseph Hincks
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December 8, 2016, 1:01 AM ET
A Starbucks coffee cup on table, beside which a customer is
TIANJIN, CHINA - 2016/11/08: A Starbucks coffee cup on table, beside which a customer is reading on mobile phone. At the end of November, a Chinese customer posted an open letter online to the chief executive of Starbucks in China to complain about the way Starbucks calls its different size cups, which had long brought annoyance to Chinese customers. (Photo by Zhang Peng/LightRocket via Getty Images)Zhang Peng LightRocket via Getty Images

Users of WeChat in China will soon be able to buy each other cappuccinos, frappuccinos and pumpkin spice lattes after the messaging app’s owner Tencent (TCEHY) struck a deal with Starbucks (SBUX).

With the planned feature, WeChat users will be able to buy each other Starbucks-branded drinks and gifts and send them over the app along with personalized messages. The two companies will also expand the reach of WeChat Pay, a digital payment method, to around 2,500 Starbucks outlets across the country.

The partnership, announced Wednesday, will give Starbucks access to hundreds of millions of users of the communication service, according to a statement issued by the coffee giant.

WeChat reportedly had 846 million monthly active users as of the third quarter of 2016. And those numbers are likely to climb by the time the partnership kicks off in early 2017.

The growth of Starbucks digital footprint comes as the coffee-maker undergoes an aggressive bricks and mortar expansion in China, the world’s second largest consumer market. Starbucks plans to more than double its Chinese store count by 2021.

For more on Starbucks and tech, watch Fortune’s video:

Announcing the deal Belinda Wong — who was made CEO of Starbucks China in October — said, “Just as Starbucks cards are among the most gifted around the globe, we aspire to also become the most gifted brand digitally in China.”

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