Competition For The Coffee Industry

The specialty coffee industry had seen steady growth for years and the trend was expected to continue until at least 2015. Of the various segments within the specialty coffee industry, most of the growth was attributable to beverage retailers “Coffee and kiosks”. In 1979 there were approximately 250 specialty coffee retailers. The number quadrupled by 1989 to approx 1000 outlets, and it exploded to roughly 15000 by 2002. Nationally, specialty coffee sales totaled over $ 10 billion in 2005.

A recent primary research survey has found that 70% of occasional coffee drinkers view the Mr. Coffee brand as an inferior or budget coffee brewing device that does not make a superior cup of coffee (Appendix, Opinion survey). Brands such as Keurig, Cuisinart, and DeLonghi inspire more thoughts of quality coffee than Mr. Coffee. Other consumers are opting to spend several dollars per cup of coffee at coffee houses such as Starbucks, Caribou Coffee, Dunkin Donuts, and even McDonalds (Appendix, Opinion survey).

The growth of the coffee industry is expected to keep growing even become larger in the near future. Without new innovation the industry would never grow. There have been some tiny and some large changes in the coffee world that in toll add up to a new experience that many cannot refuse to be a part of. One of the goals of many coffee shops is to make the customer comfortable and happy. To do this many Starbucks’ around the world have installed new wireless charging stations in there stores so that when costumers are there they can easily charge their phones without worrying about bringing a charger of their own. This new addition to the stores is just one part of getting ready for the future. Phones and technology in general is a huge part of everyday life and this has to be incorporated into many places people shop. By adding technology to stores it makes the entire buying process more streamline. Starbucks has also integrated the use of phones in to the payment system at every store. Customers use their own phone that has a barcode to pay for their goods. With just the touch of a button the entire buying process can be completed. This makes it easy because you do not need to worry about remembering your wallet all you need is your phone and many people already have it with them. Included in the app is also a rewards system that provides user with rewards bases on how often they go and even recommendations for what a customer may enjoy next time. One of the newest changes

The “Coffee Wars – The Big Three: Starbucks, McDonald’s and Dunkin’ Donuts” article focuses on the company analysis of the Starbucks brand and how its main competitors, McDonald’s and Dunkin Donuts, has affected their brand and driven competition higher. Even though there are many companies trying to enter the specialty coffee market, these three companies own the majority of the market share. With Starbucks’ top quality and above average prices they hold a different market than the fast coffee/food market of Dunkin’ Donuts and Starbucks; yet the competitive moves Dunkin’ Donuts has made over the years in order to compete with Starbucks and surpass McDonald’s has driven competition up between all three companies. The competition has stiffened ever more in the past ten years due to the changing economy. This led to “the big three” to come up with different techniques to gain competitive advantage over the other. Although the competition between these companies is to gain most of the market share, consumers are still loyal to a certain brand; this makes it difficult to gain each other’s clientele. McDonald’s continues to appeal to customers who want value and speed, Dunkin’ Donuts focuses on the middle-class, while Starbucks a customer who desires a higher quality product along with being recognized for using the brand.

Marketing is a competitive field that companies outdo each other to make a profit. Café Campesino is a retail-based company that assists farmers to sell their products in a fair and profitable trade. The American coffee industry is that which is on growth with more than 64% of American drinks an average of a cup of coffee a day. The coffee industry just like other agricultural products is affected by a host of factors from climatic variations to fluctuation of prices. This paper seeks to look at Café Campesino's marketing plan in the coffee industry. The paper appreciates the effect

The industry’s saturation is moderately high with a monopolistic competition structure. For new entrants, the initial investment is not significant as they can lease stores, equipment etc. at a moderate level of investment. At a localized level, small coffee shops can compete with the likes of Starbucks and Dunkin Brands because there are no switching costs for the consumers. Even though it’s a competitive industry, the possibility of new entrants to be successful in the industry is moderate. But this relatively easy entry into the market is usually countered by large incumbent brands identities like Starbucks who have achieved economies of scale by lowering cost, improved efficiency with a huge market share. There is a moderately high barrier for the new entrants as they differentiate themselves from Starbuck’s product quality, its prime real estate locations, and its store ecosystem ‘experience’. The incumbent firms like Starbucks have a larger scale and scope, yielding them a learning curve advantage and favourable access to raw material with the relationship they build with their suppliers. The expected retaliation from well-established companies for brand equity, resources, prime real estate locations and price competition are moderately high, which creates a moderate barrier to

Starbucks is known for their Frappuccino’s; unfortunately they are on a downward spiral in sales due to competitors such as McDonalds. In 2008 Starbucks admits to its losses due to their competitors. “Company executives now freely admit that such thinking is largely to blame for the woes that led to Tuesday’s announcement that Starbucks will close 600 U.S. stores and eliminate thousands of jobs. The coffee giant’s missteps have come at a spectacularly bad time, hitting as the economic slump deepens and consumers are seeing their discretionary spending eaten up by rising gas prices and grocery bills (Linn).”

In the UK, the three leading competitive coffee brands are Costa Coffee (with 1,992 outlets), Starbucks Coffee Company (with 849 outlets) and Caffè Nero (with 620 outlets). They enjoy a 3-firm concentration of 53%; (Market concentration measures the market share of the largest companies in an industry)

There are many sellers in the market heating up pricing competition. Competitors like McDonald’s, Dunkin Donuts, Peet’s Coffee and other specialty coffee companies incentivize price wars. Furthermore, coffee’s demand is elastic which makes it difficult to increase prices without greatly reducing the demand. This makes differentiation and positioning very important. Also, it is easy for customers to switch from coffee vendors. Whichever company is most convenient for the customer will likely win the business. Competition is a top priority in the industry.

Research showed that 54% of the Americans over the age of 18 drink coffee everyday and 62% of the regular coffee was purchased from a coffee shop, rather than homemade. For corporation coffee house chain, Dunkin’ Donuts is developing very well in home base country and has its chains everywhere including Asia. That is why it is chosen to study within this industry for its financial performance.

When Howard Schultz launched Starbucks, its main targets were the competitors and the customers. Schultz’s brand aimed at gaining dominance in the coffee industry in addition creating a Italian coffee shop feel in the United States (Buchanan & Simmons, 2009). The strategy of Starbucks was based on new products, listening to customers wants and ensure future expansion (Buchanan & Simmons, 2009). In creating convenience for customers, Starbucks created stores almost on top of eachother. They hinged on the idea that, they did not want to lose out on a sale if a line was too long. This action, of placing stores in heavy populated areas, basing need on projected growth of an area caused some decline in sales during economic trouble with the economy. The 2007 recession, failure of subprime mortgages, increased competition from McDonald 's McCafe brand, and Dunkin Doughnuts all led to a decline in sales for Starbucks in the fourth quarter of 2007 (Buchanan & Simmons, 2009). To attempt to regain market share and recover after the

McDonald’s, in addition to several other fast food vendors like Burger King, Dunkin’ Donuts, Panera Bread and independent coffee houses remain Starbuck’s toughest competition (Adamy). McDonald’s began introducing its espresso beverage products in 2001, and offers its product at a price between two and three dollars to compete with Starbucks between three and four dollars a cup coffee (Adamy). Similarly, Dunkin’ Donuts has recently implemented a plan to expand nationally (Adamy). On average, Dunkin’ Donuts coffee products cost approximately 20 percent less than Starbucks’ (Ball and Leung). In response, Starbucks has announced recent

Statistics show that over half of the American population consumes coffee on a daily basis. You may drink coffee hot, cold, mixed, or even in a frappuccino. Individuals are able to make coffee at home, or buy it on the go. Coffee provides people with caffeine, which ultimately gives energy for hardworking people all around the world. The main focus for this paper will cover the following topics, with coffee as the basis: causes for shifts in supply and demand, how coffee supply and demand influence price, quantity,

Founded first as a restaurant called Open Kettle, it was later renamed to Dunkin Donuts in 1950 by William Rosenberg and Stephen So in Quincy, Massachusetts. Dunkin Donuts has become most famous for its donuts over the years, as well as their coffee. They have approximately 3,000 restaurants in the US and around the world, and sell 2.5 million donuts every day. Dunkin Donuts has evolved into one of Forbes magazine “Top 10 Global Fast-Food Chains”, and tops the lists of other noted industry websites and magazines. Recently, Dunkin Donuts has changed the way they want customers to think about them by incorporating the tag line “America Runs On Dunkin”, and adding new menu items, to their marketing

In general the coffeehouse industry in the United States was experiencing an increase in coffee consumption per capita due to the “Starbucks effect”. At this time Starbucks was operating approximately 20,000 stores in the United States and was living a fast expansion strategy worldwide.