Starbucks has been known since 1971 as the upscale place offering different blends of coffee, but other items such as cold drinks, salads, cold and hot sandwiches, pastries as well as take home coffee beans for your own coffee machine. But now one of their biggest sellers the Frappuccino is in its maturity and declining stages of product life cycle and with so many of Starbucks competitors such as McDonald’s and Dunkin’ Donuts are selling their version cheaper and faster. Starbucks is now faced with how making their product which is an upscale version more desirable while justifying to the consumers why they would pay more than their competitors for the similar product (Solomon, Marshall & Stuart, 2012).
To make their product more desirable
One of the big reasons Ms. Kudler is so interested in adding gourmet coffee in her stores is because of the massive boom in coffee over the past twenty years. Coffee has gone from a cheap product sold in Styrofoam for twenty five cents to a coffee and espresso mixed in different combinations with sugar and cream sold in fancy cups for over three dollars a cup. So as Ms. Kudler joins the ever growing market she is clear that she is competing with other giants in the coffee industry. Primarily she will be dealing with Starbucks, Starbucks is the coffee industry, and currently they are in many grocery stores and strip malls everywhere. Starbucks is so popular people refer to getting a starbucks rather than getting a coffee. Ms. Kudler is aware Starbucks and there
Starbucks’ lead in the specialty coffee industry exemplifies the result of deftly executing a well-planned business strategy. Moreover, Starbucks is well positioned for what is expected to be a continuing rise in the popularity of specialty coffee products. The question before Starbucks’ leadership, however, is what avenues will lead to Starbucks’ goal of remaining true to its core, the highest quality coffee products while providing a “total coffee experience” for its customers?
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.
McDonalds (McD’s) and Burger King (BK) are key players in the fast food industry and have been competing for many years. They both provide similar food that is prepared quickly for a low price. So what sets them apart? The difference between McD’s and BK is their corporate culture – operational management. The manufacturing method at McD’s follows the “Doing It All For You” versus “Having It Your Way” at BK.
With most of the world basically running on coffee, you have more and more different places to buy your coffee every day. Trying to narrow down your options to find the best coffee can seem like a nightmare. The two main and most popular coffee corporations to choose from would be Dunkin’ Donuts and Starbucks. When choosing a specific location from the two places for your coffee needs there are things to consider such as: price, quality and convenience. I, a 4-6 cups of coffee a day drinker,have had coffee from both places, and have become what you could call, a coffee expert.
Drinking coffee is merely a habit or a routine for many Americans. Many fast food establishments from Dunkin’ Donuts to McDonalds offer a rather wide selection in sizes and flavors of such a delightful drinking commodity. Being a very popular and an in-demand beverage among the general public belies the common nuisance that many of those coffee enthusiasts may have to confront on a regular basis when buying a cup of freshly brewed coffee to go.
Starbucks first opened its doors in Seattle’s Pike Place Market with the name being coined from that of Moby Dick’s first mate (Schultz & Yang 1999). It has spread its shops across North America, all over Europe, the Middle East, Latin America as well as the Pacific Rim with an estimated 35 million customer weekly (Michelli, 2008). With tremendous growth from a small time coffee shop, the company has matured to an international icon that today it is one of the world’s leading retailer, roaster and brand specialty coffee (Story, 1971). The company offers whole bean coffees, espresso beverages, and confectionery and bakery items.
Starbucks is the world’s largest coffee roaster and retailer of specialty coffee in the world. We have enjoyed great dividend returns over the past 5 years, and our growth has been on the rise. We are currently saturating the US market, while the emerging markets of developing countries offer many possibilities for growth and increased revenues. In our US market we should look at offering more items on the menu that complement our long-standing tradition of pleasing our customers. Exotic Juices, and snacks served with the same service could add a nice margin to the bottom line. In addition, the ability to offer a drive through service for the consumer that loves fine coffee but does not have the time to stop
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.
Nothing like the fresh scent of brewed coffee in the morning – “Starbucks” a well-known coffee house that is still growing and expanding their operations today is considered the number one specialty coffee retailer around the world and abroad. Therefore, the supply and demand for coffee is on the incline and is regarded as one of the most rapid growing organizations in the world. According to the National Coffee Association, adults between the ages of 18 and 39 are more likely to purchase coffee out-of-home, then older consumers (2016). Even coffee statistics conducted in 2016 indicates “50% of the population, equivalent to 150 million Americans, drink espresso, cappuccino, latte, iced/cold coffee” (E-Imports, 2016). Other statistics numbers show that an estimated of total Americans consuming coffee would be up by 1.5% and specialty coffee up from 20% in this year alone. Even the global consumption will increase by 12% over the next years. Therefore, a key question is how will the “law of demand” predict how the consumers will behave (Lorenzetti, 2016)? Namely, will the higher demand for coffee beans impact what the consumer at Starbucks will pay for a cup of coffee? Therefore, companies such as Starbucks should analyze and understand the microeconomic model to get a clear picture of the price elasticity, cost to produce, and the overall market to make the most effective business decisions and recommendations that will have an
Starbucks can follow some strategies to differentiate their product even more that will lead to vary their menu prices. For example, Starbucks might create “saving menu” by selling some products at a lower prices to attract even more customers. Also, Starbucks might take into consideration the strategies of opening “Starbucks carts” that open in smaller express places that don’t fit for a whole store. Those “Starbucks carts” will attract even more customers because it is easier to get access to. “Starbucks carts” may provide the customers with low cost products to draw larger market base. To be a best cost provider in the market will allow Starbucks to be the most attractive company in the coffee market internationally. Thus, Starbucks will have a competitive advantage over its rivals by fulfilling the needs of a huge customer base in the market, by providing a high quality products and provide products with the best costs.
Starbucks is an American company that produces tea, coffee beverages, smoothies, baked goods and sandwiches. It was founded on March 30, 1971 in Seattle, Washington. The founders are Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegi and Gordon Bowker. Starbucks locations serve hot and cold drinks, whole-bean coffee, micro ground instant coffee called as VIA, Espresso, Caffe Latte and other tea productsStarbucks has more than 22000 retail
Additionally, Starbucks placed the cost upsurges to certain beverages and sizes instead of the entire menu; through increasing the rates of the larger size brewed coffee singularly, Starbucks can secure consumer surplus from the patrons who discover extra worth in progressing to grander subsequently to observing the cost of a small cup with duty increase over $2. With adapting the
Dunkin Donuts and Big Apple are categorized mostly as a provider routed service. Although customers are given options from a menu, very little of their order can be modified. For Dunkin Donut, muffins, for instance, come as is and ingredients in them cannot be changed. Coffee is the area of the menu that can be the most customized. Even so, machines pour the correct amount of milk or cream and sugar is measured prior to being poured into the coffee. So, under the customer wants and needs part of the matrix, service is standardized and customers have low decisions-making power.
As a well-established coffee retailer and over 35 years of success, Starbucks is at the maturity stage in the product life cycle. It is in this stage that Starbucks needs to shift gears and focus on marketing program modifications by increasing the number of customers and customer visits (Kotler, 2009, pg. 185). While improving service will attract first-time customers and retain current ones, further marketing modifications will need to be made if it wants to continue to grow. More advertising, distribution, sales promotions, and personal selling are a few of the ways to modify the marketing program.