Responding to customer demand for more wholesome and delicious food options, Starbucks Coffee Company has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire San Francisco-based Bay Bread and its La Boulange bakery brand for $100 million in cash, as well as to hire renowned French baker Pascal Rigo.

La Boulange bakery and Pascal Rigo are known for skillfully crafting authentic French pastries and breads from scratch using high-quality ingredients. With this acquisition, Starbucks plans to introduce many of Rigo’s secret and stored recipes into its US company-operated stores under the La Boulange brand.

At the same time, Starbucks also hopes to accelerate the expansion of the company’s retail footprint over time in key US cities to further build a differentiated brand and customer experience unique to the premium retail bakery café category.

“This is an investment in our core business. After more than 40 years, we will be able to say that we are bakers too,” said Starbucks chairman, president and CEO Howard Schultz.

“In La Boulange bakery and Pascal, we’ve found a company and a culinary artist who share our passion for creating premium products, reinventing and elevating an entire product category, and delivering the best customer experience. We believe La Boulange is truly unique in terms of visionary leadership, product taste and quality, brand authenticity, bakery capabilities, and potential for growth.”